More than a year after announcing his own death as a writer in the wake of a controversy over his book Madhorubagan, (One Part Wisdom), Perumal Murugan has returned to literature with an English translation of his short story ‘Neer Vilayattu’ on Friday.
Just over two weeks after the Madras High Court quashed petitions seeking to prosecute him, he has published an English translation of his 15-year-old Tamil short story. Translated into English as ‘The Well’ by N Kalyan Raman, the story is available on Juggernaut Books app.
Murugan had given up writing last year when Hindu right-wing activists triggered protests against his book Madhorubagan five years after it was published in 2010, claiming that it hurt the sentiments of the Kongu community of Thiruchengode in Tamil Nadu, where the novel is rooted. Dejected, he announced on Facebook, “Author Perumal Murugan has died. He is no god, so he is not going to resurrect himself.”
But last fortnight, the Chennai High Court judges ruled in his favour. “Let the author be resurrected to do what he is best at: Write,” the judges said.
After the High Court verdict, Juggernaut Books approached Perumal Murugan to let it translate and publish some of his short stories “in celebration,” said the publisher’s executive editor R Sivapriya in a post on the Juggernaut site.
“He agreed immediately and, in a matter of days, sent a selection of what he considers are his best stories,” said Sivapriya. Translator Kalyan Raman chose to begin the initiative with ‘Neer Vilayattu’, “a story that begins in light and laughter and play till an accretion of small actions results in a swift descent of darkness.”
In a note on the Juggernaut site, Perumal Murugan says ‘Neer Vilayattu’ was a story that garnered a lot of attention when it was first published in Tamil. He speaks of his fascination for wells and the many stories he wrote around it, picking out this one as his favourite.
“‘Neer Vilayattu’ developed into a narrative that could accommodate many readings. The language of the story too evolved to suit that possibility. I wrote the story fifteen years ago. I still feel a kind of dread when I read it today,” says Murugan.
