CHENNAI :
India is an ancient land
We are its citizens
United we will all live
Divided we will all fall
As poet Subramania Bharati once wrote, the idea of how to weave unity and untread divisiveness in this ancient land has long been ingrained in the minds of great thinkers. Years later, Tamil writer Sivasankari continued to be inspired by the turban-clad Mahakavi’s words. After finishing 25 years as an accomplished writer, she embarked on a journey crisscrossing the country, in 1993. “I have contributed to all genres of Tamil literature like short stories, travelogues, biographies, and interviews. I had to do something bigger for the literary world that has given me respect and recognition. I wanted to combine literature and patriotism.”
With the aim of ‘knitting’ the country through literature, Sivasankari traversed several states — from green, lush Kerala to the hilly areas of Manipur and Kashmir. Based on the eighth schedule of the constitution (which at the time listed 18 languages), she contacted different language literary organisations to reach out to 102 writers whose work captured their cultural context. What began as a six-year project ended as a 16-year tapas as the writer terms it, with four volumes — South, North, East, and West — titled Knit India Through Literature, a compendium of Indian literature.
While these volumes have largely lingered in anonymity over the years, Sivasankari bagged the Saraswati Samman 2023, a few weeks ago, and her work found a mention in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Mann Ki Baat’. Much before government recognition, Sivasankari’s work caught the eye of curious readers such as Seattle-based Jayanthi, who distributed the volumes abroad to universities. Akhila Srinivasan, one of the directors of Shriram Group, also contacted her and began distributing 400 sets of Knit India in libraries and varsities in Tamil Nadu.
The origin story
This massive undertaking stems from two incidents — the first was from a three-day trip to Mysuru with other Indian language writers to discuss ‘The Women of Brewster Place’ by African-American writer Gloria Naylor. While returning via train, she says, “A thought struck me; when we Indian writers meet, we can discuss American, Black, French, and Japanese literature but not Indian literature because there aren’t enough translations.” A month later, at the Eastern India Women Writer’s Conference in Sikkim, she realised, “Everyone there knew I came from Madras and Kanjeevaram saris, dosa, idli, sambhar but they didn’t even know about Mahakavi Bharatiyar…What do I know about Assamese culture or Manipur or Sindhi literature? Nothing. We call ourselves Indians but we hardly know each other.”
With this idea brewing in her mind, she spent hours in libraries, scouring through books and planning meetings with writers via post. Armed with two tape recorders, and a long list of appointments, she began her journey in the pre-internet era, a mammoth task. “Today, you can write a message on WhatsApp to America, and in 10 seconds you get a reply. In those days, telephone was a luxury,” she laughs.
From obtaining permission to traverse Manipur which had militant uprisings to translation troubles coupled with the daunting task of travelling alone, Sivasankari’s journey was not always easy. The magnum opus also leeched away much of her time but the “Bharat darshan” gifted her the chance to meet thinkers who shaped this country. “Each volume is a child for me. I have met practically all the literary giants of last century like Basheer, MT Vasudevan Nair, Mahashewta Devi, and BK Bhattacharya,” she says.
In her travels, Sivasankari found that despite the variation in habits, it was culture and tradition that brought people together. “In every language, Atithi Devo Bhava and Matha-Pitha-Guru-Deivam are respected. However different we are, the values seem to be the same. As our former President Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan said, Indian literature is one written in many languages.”
Power of literature
The writers in the volume address the beating pulse points of India’s landscape such as the the partition of India, questions of feminism, caste etc. It contains valuable glimpses into the lives of writers such as Kannada writer SL Bhyrappa, who was the sole survivor of his family in a plague outbreak, or Andhra poet Ravuri Bharadwaja whose most prized possession is glasses from his childhood bought by a sex worker Lakshmi, who looked after him. For Sivasankari, hearing these narratives was a “new awakening.”
Reflecting on the power of literature, the author says, “A good piece of writing, if it comes from the heart with authentic truth, and if you write it in such a lucid and interesting way, it will touch the hearts of readers. I don’t want literature to preach or be judgemental. Analyse and present problems as authentic people, if it affects and bothers my readers and makes them think positively.” She adds younger generations must engage with the country’s history and greatness.
Storytelling and writing are processes of sharing. In the preface of the first volume, traversing the southern regions, Sivasankari recalls her mother narrating the tale of a kind-hearted orphan who yearned to help her land and prayed for a money-bearing tree. A tree, bearing gold coins, sprouted in front of her house, removing the roots of poverty. The author writes that she finds herself in a similar situation, with the fruits of her labour — Knit India “...blessed with the right type of soil, water, and fertiliser, the seed has grown into a huge tree that abounds with fragrant flowers and luscious fruit. Yet, I do not want to enjoy them all by myself; but I would rather share this bounty with my countrymen.”