Transverse

Persistence of Decency – A Review of Jeyamohan’s ‘Stories of the True’

Jeyamohan has long been India’s most prolific secret, a writer whose hundred-plus novels, essays, epics, and criticisms have shaped Tamil literature while remaining largely invisible to the English-speaking world. That may change with “Stories of the True” (Farrar, Straus and Giroux), a collection born when he was worn down by the irony-soaked landscape of postmodernism,…
A Muttulingam’s “I’ll Catch a Fat Goat” (கொழுத்தாடு பிடிப்பேன்) – Short Story Review

“கொழுத்தாடு பிடிப்பேன்” takes the form of a letter written by Shanmugalingam, a middle-aged Sri Lankan man who has migrated to Canada and found himself entangled in a domestic scandal. The letter, addressed to an immigration officer, recounts his version of the events that led to his arrest. Through this framing, the story attempts to reveal…
A Muttulingam’s “Black Squirrel” (கருப்பு அணில்) – Short Story Review

The young man at the center of “Black Squirrel,” Logidasan, is an undocumented immigrant from Sri Lanka living in the bright, cold margins of a Canadian city. He is a janitor who polishes other people’s glass doors, trying to leave some trace of himself in his new society. The story does not dramatize his arrival…
Ashokamitran’s “Gandhi” (காந்தி) – Short Story Review

https://azhiyasudargal.blogspot.com/2011/02/blog-post_8709.html In Ashokamitran’s “Gandhi,” what starts as a young man’s bitter monologue about a friend’s betrayal becomes something far more: a meditation on the dangerous comfort of our own righteousness. The protagonist, who prides himself on dispensing wisdom about truth being “bitter to digest,”[1] finds himself choking on a particularly unpalatable piece of it: his…
Ashokamitran’s “500 Trophies” (ஐந்நூறு கோப்பை தட்டுகள்) – Short Story Review

https://eluthu.com/kavithai/341637.html ஐந்நூறு கோப்பைத் தட்டுகள் has tangents to grand themes like history and politics, maybe even guilt and retribution. But the one sharp theme it directly deals with is the psychology of bitterness. Here, the fall of Hyderabad’s old order, and the bitterness of a man who has lost everything with it, is reflected through the…
M.Navin’s “Diamond” (வைரம்) – Short Story Review

Navin’s short story வைரம் is a haunting study of power, memory, and the unhealed scars we carry into old age. The story’s narrator, Lakshmanan, recalls his schooldays under the shadow of Kumarasamy, a classmate who was smarter, wealthier and crueler. Kumarasamy, even as a boy, thrives on the intoxication of power, exacting a petty fee…
P.S.Vinothraj’s “The Adamant Girl” (கொட்டுக்காளி) – Film Review

முனுசாமித்துணை is painted across the front of an auto, its large eyes watching silently. That auto rides along for much of the film, its unblinking gaze echoing the camera’s own interest: observe silently, reserve judgment. Pandi’s eyes are wounded. His sisters’ eyes brim with compassion. His aunt’s are clouded with sadness. The older men’s are…
Self-Education & Philosophy – Part 1

This is a translation of Jeyamohan’s தற்கல்வியும் தத்துவமும் – 1. Whenever philosophical education comes up in Tamil Nadu, many people raise their hands to say they’re interested in philosophical practice. Most have read books by philosophy teachers, spiritual orators, or religious leaders – and they’ve read these works with great intensity. These readers share certain characteristics.…
In Translation, Myself

For the past three years, I’ve been exploring Tamil literature – reading slowly, with awe & confusion, but also with a sense of homecoming. These writings have carried voices, questions, and emotions that feel both timeless and personal. Through this blog, I hope to translate some of those Tamil short stories and essays into English.…