 An evening of book releases
 A packed hall. Hushed, expectant silence. A galaxy of Tamil writers and film personalities. All this at the release of nine books in Tamil by the recently floated company ‘Amrudha
Padhippagam’.
It was something of a jackpot for Tamil readers as so many books were released at one go on the evening of December 26 at the South Indian Film Chamber of Commerce,
Chennai.
There were senior, renowned writers like Asokamitran, Sujatha, K Karunanidhi, K V Shailaja, Manushyaputhiran, Randorguy and Adavan Deetchanya and film directors like Balu Mahendra and Bala on the stage.
Releasing the book ‘Kodai Umizhum Kural’, one of the five books written by Additional Director General of Police Thilakavathi, that were released by the book house, writer Sujatha said he found no need for a separate categorisation of Dalit literature. He argued that he would be able to “get into the skin of his characters” and was able to write about Dalits without being a Dalit himself.
Pat came the response to his observation from Adavan Deetchanya, who received the first copy of the book, that only one who wears the shoe knows where it pinches. He welcomed Thilakavathi’s effort in compiling Dalit literature – 43 writers in one book - and said only Dalits could understand their problems and write about them!
The audience quietly savoured this intellectual sparring.
Releasing the compendium ‘Vungalukkaga Ulaga Cinema’, authored by Thilakavathi, director-cinematographer Balu Mahendra invited the writer to do a screenplay and direct the movie – all he wanted was to capture the story on his camera! Thilakavathi was beaming from ear to ear and shook her head in disbelief at this compliment. Receiving the first copy of the book, noted writer Randorguy wanted Thilakavathi to write more books on this interesting subject of world cinema.
Writer and social activist Nammazhwar stole the show with his pertinent remarks while receiving the first copy of the book ‘Moochu Thinarugirathu Bhoomi’, written by Dr V Jeevanantham and released by C Mahendran, a Communist leader.
 He commended the author – a medical practitioner – for touching upon ecological and environmental battles that were going on in India in places like Plachimada, in Kerala, against MNCs like Coca-Cola, and called him a true ‘nationalist’ of the Gandhian variety. He said the book puts before you serious questions regarding the future of the world.
There was time to laugh when critic Pamaran’s collection of articles, called ‘Ariya Uthadugal Unnathu’, was released by cinema director Bala and the first copy was received by K Karunanidhi. Humoursly chiding the organisers for making a ‘buffon’ of him, Pamaran nevertheless entertained the audience with his Kovai Tamizh and a lot of criticism of just about everybody and everything under the sun.
The two-part book of South-Asian short stories, ‘Moongil Thirai’, and ‘Marappalam’, translated by Thilakavathi, drew great appreciation. N Murugesapandian and Kameela Nasser, who released and received ‘Marappalam’, praised the author’s diligence in giving a small write-up about the countries from where the stories originated.
She had chosen writers from distant and unheard-of lands like Laos and Brunei also, apart from places like Thailand and Japan. The speakers stressed that this was a trendsetter when it came to translations as people would get to know about the place of origin of the stories also.
The other books that were released that evening were: ‘Kalathin Kannadi’ by Thilakavathi (a voluminous work on Tamil literature in the ‘90s) and ‘Che Guevara’ by Thilakavathi, and ‘Kalam Varaindha Mugam’ (collection of short stories) by Balu
Sathya.
What was most remarkable was that the organisers had seen to it that everything went on like clockwork. The precision was astonishing as each of the nine books was released separately: there was the person who released the book, one to receive the first copy; there were speeches by the two and then an acceptance speech from the writer. Apart from this, each dignitary on the dais was honoured with a memento immediately after the release of the book! All this called for a lot of planning and accurate execution.
Kudos to Dr Prabu Thilak, Thuraigeetha and Sukumaran – the three who have launched the publishing house - for putting up a splendid performance.
S.Chitra
|
