CHENNAI: Sahitya Akademi released Pudhumai Pithan Stories, an English translation of all 99 short stories of Pudhumai Pithan by V Subramanian and R E Asher at the Thanthai Periyar Hall, University of Madras, on Saturday.
The event was organised by the Department of English, University of Madras. A S Ilangovan, officer in charge, Sahitya Akademi, Chennai, welcomed the dignitaries and said, “Pudhumai Pithan’s stories are relevant to the current society even after so many decades. I believe that after Thiruvalluvar, Pudhumai Pithan was the most revolutionary writer in Tamil. The Akademi is pleased to publish the English translation of his stories.”
K Chellappa, a retired professor, said that he was happy that an English department was organising an event to honour a Tamil writer. “Bharathi revolutionised poems and Pudhumai Pithan revolutionised short stories. He was the first person in Tamil literature to write realistic short stories,” he said. He added that Pudhumai Pithan was one among the few who wrote about women’s protests against society in those days, through his story Saba Vimochanam. Translation is not an easy job, it is an imitation of an imitation and only through imitation, one can understand the reality, he said.
Speaking about the difficulty in finding equivalent words for Tamil in English, V Subramanian, translator of the stories, said, “Pudhumai Pithan has used common words in his stories. His choice of title, syntax and diction surprised Asher, the other translator. Asher insisted that we not use too many words as Pudhumai Pithan had chosen to be brief.”
Writer and journalist Maalan said that the rest of the world can now get to know the literary treasure in the State through this book.
A 10-minute short film on Pudhumai Pithan was played at the event.