This lesson is a brief introduction
to, and an appreciation of, the themes, style, and message of R.Chudamani’s
short stories.
R.Chudamani is a noted Tamil writer,
who has earned a unique reputation in her own way. Born in 1931,
she started writing in 1954. A drop-out from school, she is a self-taught
individual with an identity of here own. A Tamil writer mainly,
she has also written in English. Her fictional output has been significant,
which includes about 600 Tamil short stories contained in 19 anthologies
published between the years 1969 & 1996.
Antha Neram (அந்த
நேரம்), Ilantha Magudam (இழந்த
மகுடம்), Oru Inthiyan Irukkiran (ஒரு
இந்தியன் இறக்கிறான்), Cuvarotti (சுவரொட்டி),
Amma (அம்மா), Kinaru (கிணறு),
Kasthaman Kolangal (ஹஸ்தமன கோலங்கள்),
Kaavalai Meeri (காவலை மீறி) are
titles of some of the collections. Apart from her own writing in
English, she has been widely translated into English and in a number
of Indian Languages by others.
Chudamani’s stories can be broadly
classified into two categories. There are idea-centered stories
and stories in which the emotive content becomes a dominating factor.
A selective bunch of stories have been briefly; summarized in this
lesson for your understanding of the themes and their execution.
The flower-selling little girl in Poopen (பூப்பெண்)
who in her innocence longs for love and affection from her buyers
is one of the child characters, which Chudamani delineates with
a psychological insight. The stories Mananillai (மனநிலை),
Ulunarvu (உள் உணர்வு), Ul uruthal
(உள் உறுத்தல்) belongs to this
kind of stories. The author has also penned stories which deal with
of historical themes. The moving depiction of Devaki, Lord Krishna’s
mother, as a mother, who sobs out her heart having had to sacrifice
the lives of her six children born before Krishna and the portrayal
of Sanguthalai (சகுந்தலை), a self-respecting
woman of tremendous moral courage, are instances that bare testimony
to Chudamani’s artistic sensibility as a woman writer. A Kaleidoscopic
variety of human characters-children, women, men, old and young
- figure in her stories.
Her language is simple and her syntax
is concise and straight. She is an adept at making her message and
reach any reader. Highly innovative in organizing he material, She
gives her stories titles, which are immediately indicative of the
themes and her style and diction command a rare verbal dignity and
intelligibility.
Chudamani is a widely published author
whose career spans a period of 5 decades. Her superior craftsmanship
and her portrayal of day-to-day life have give her a fine niche
in the citadel of short fiction in Tamil.
