Literarture – Fiction
By Damodar Mauzo. Translated from the original Konkani by Jerry Pinto
Readers who feel that they are missing something here in this almost comically polarized, existentialist formulation between dying and tea-drinking have every right to feel puzzled.For there is a hidden allusion here to Albert Camus,
By Appadurai Muttulingam. Translated from the original Tamil by Kavitha Muralidharan
2023
Most of these stories are those of survival and not lofty heroism. Put in vulnerable and helpless situations, where solutions lie beyond their control, the courage and maturity of the characters come across in their resilience, tolerance and acceptance, despite their flaws. As readers, we witness a growth in our own empathy and understanding of the conditions of being a refugee.
By Paul Lynch
2023
All prophets tell similar stories. This story always rests on the world ending in fire and brimstone, darkness falling like a shroud over unfortunate people, and a seeming end to wickedness.
By Vanna Nilavan. Translated from the original Tamil by G. Geetha
The ancient Tamil poetry of the Sangam Era is a significant contribution of the Tamils to world literature. More or less two millennia later, the contributions of the Tamil novelists and short story writers to these youngest literary genres are equally remarkable.
By V.J. James. Translated from the original Malayalam by Ministhy S.
Dattapaharam is a coming of age novel, a search for the self of five young college students who confront themselves and their inner demons.
All three by Andaleeb Wajid
Andaleeb Wajid, a young Bangalore-based, hijab-wearing young woman, who has written over 40 novels in genres ranging from young adult and romance to horror, often raises eyebrows because her overtly Muslim identity is seen to be in contradiction with her choice of the genre derisively termed as ‘chick lit’. Is a hijab-clad Muslim woman reading and writing romances an anomaly? Actually, not!
By Yendluri Sudhakar. Translated from the original Telugu by K. Purushotham
The initiative of the Hyderabad Book Trust in publishing alternative literature in translation is commendable. By publishing K Purushotham’s translation of Yendluri Sudhakar’s Speaking Sandals: Narratives from the Madigawadas of Ongole, it has ensured the text pan-Indian visibility.
Selected & edited by Manohar Shetty
It is only now that the State has earned the description of a land of sand, sea and fun, an outcome of Goa being promoted as a tourist destination.