Reminiscences–In Translation–Tamil
By Perumal Murugan. Translated from the original Tamil by V. Iswarya
Such a setting recurs in his novels. Many of his students hail from the ‘rock bottom of society’ (p. 108) with non-literate parents for whom making ends meet takes urgent precedence over getting higher education. Fear of the English language haunts many of his students. Their inadequate command over it seems insurmountable to them because the department of English in colleges is either under-staffed or lacks well-trained teaching staff. The instance illustrates the shortcoming of ethno-centric medium of instruction in Tamil Nadu but also resembles various linguistic contexts where asmita (identity) built on the so-called first language—such as Odia—stymies the mobility of the disadvantaged students in a globalized world. Institutional failure to provide resources for competency in the English language reinforces caste,