The Sahitya Akademi is the only institution that undertakes literary activities in 24 Indian languages, including English. Every year, it announces awards to young writers under the ‘Yuva Puraskar’ category. This year, 23 regional authors were conferred with this title.
For Tamil, Lakshmihar’s Koothondru Kooditru was recognised. The author says, “Writing is an art and for me, art is a lifestyle. You cannot take the art from an artiste and vice versa.”
Lakshmihar has, to date, written 55+ short stories, and his short story collection from 2024 bagged the award. The book is in talks to be translated into English and Kannada. Lakshmihar talks to CE about his literary journey, evolving themes and the importance of language.
Excerpts:
What does this recognition mean to the book and the author?
I am happy to get such an award. It is important to know how the award will be perceived. It is an acknowledgement for the author more than the book because not only the book but also the author will be spoken about.
Among the stories, what are a few themes you have captured, and how do you think the readers will resonate with them?
The book is a combination of 12 short stories in the genres of surrealism and magical realism. These two genres are applicable to present the current generation’s state of mind. Everybody is restrained to a box these days. Because of this, individuals are forgetting to generate authentic thoughts. The absence of authentic thoughts is leading to fewer conversations with the self.
The one who failed to remember to communicate with a fellow human being is now forgetting to have a conversation with themselves. Hence, the book focuses on the chats people have in their minds — why and for whom are we taking our actions, who has hurt us, who likes us, what should be trusted and not. The stories revolve around the thoughts that people who lived before us had, and the ones who will live after us will have.
Genres like magical realism can feel distant from real life. How do you help readers engage with these stories?
The scale on which we value everything based on our personal experiences will not be enough to understand this book. We are caged in a circle formed by our society, which is not needed. That eventually becomes our comfort zone. To break those shackles, young writers like me and many before me, have written books poking us to think outside the cage; to dream and to attain a life beyond that.
Writers write the story and then fix this as a genre rather than the other way around. So the genre just happens.
Did writing in this genre require any specific preparation or research?
Language is important when you translate your thoughts onto a paper and finally to a reader. This language acts as a bridge between the author and the reader. Thus, the language requires exercises, in terms of grammar, spelling errors, and being factually or politically correct. Examining the language used by the writers before us, or trying to simplify their language to today’s audiences.
In terms of thoughts, it is our everyday experiences and observations. It is better to write in the language that we think. In this way, we are true to the language and the story.
When writing beyond reality, how do you enable a deeper engagement with the audience?
We have become beings that does not consume anything without a preconceived notion. Every word and action has a definition now, and people stick to those explanations. The book encourages experiencing events without any prior assumptions, providing a new experience to the readers. When we leave behind our presumed understanding, only then will we learn the reality.
In a diverse literary landscape, how do Tamil writers carve space for themselves globally?
There are a number of Tamil writers who write in all kinds of genres, and books that could be kept on display on the world stage. The only drawback is that they have not been found yet. We should look at it culturally and politically because all of us — the authors before me and even in my generation — are trying to bring the spotlight on the regional authors. We are at a finding stage now. I hope that in this digital age, the talented authors are recognised and given their due.