ANNA’S SHORT STORIES

We are now going to do the lesson which acquaint us with the short stories of C.N.Anadurai (endearingly called அறிஞர் அண்ணா by the Tamils). Anna’s contribution to the Tamil short story is singularly a unique one and on the political scene he had the honour of being the Chief Minister of Tamilnadu from March 1967 to February 1969. He had been able to pen a total of 108 short stories most of which were published in his journal திராவிட நாடு and in other Dravidian journals. The edition of these 108 stories includes his mini short stories too.

Anna the great orator, thinker and reformer was born into a low middle class family in Kancheepuram. He took his M.A. in economics from Pachayapp’s College. Madras. The future reformer-thinker-writer-politician was already in the making. Drawn by the ideal of Self-respect/ Movement under the leadership of ஈ.வே.ரா.பெரியார், he thundered on the party platforms and at other cultural literary forums, and always pulled large crowds. He was the most powerful speaker of the times. He took to public speaking as a duck to water. His alliterative, rhythmic organization of his rhetoric won the applause of one and all. He had a rare sense of humour, punching with and the ability to have poignant digs at his opponents without wounding their feelings.

He edited the journals திராவிட நாடு, நம் நாடு, காஞ்சி and his epistolary writing bore a fine literary touch.

He made an indelible mark as a playwright in Tamil

Anna published his first novel என் வாழ்வு in 1940 and the last one இன்ப ஒளி in 1968.

Anna has authored on the whole about 89 short stories plus mini short stories. The first one கொக்கரக்கோ appeared in ஆனந்த விகடன் in 1934. His stories were powerful exposition of the evils that had been long eating into the very vitals of the society. புலிநகம், தஞ்சை வீழ்ச்சி deserve special mention. His stories focus attention on the socio-economic disparities, privations of widow-hood. He was opposed to all meaningless and outdated rituals and traditions. He was not for the religions which created inequality and nurtured superstitions among people. ஜெப மாலை, கடைசி கனவு, are stories which deal with these issues.

Emancipation of women, Women’s right to property, Widow-remarriage are subjects dear to his heart. The story இரும்பாரம் based on an historical event depicts very movingly the agonies Columbus the discoverer, as a victim or royal prejudice under-went/

His characters are real-life characters representing the then varied levels of social standards.

Anna’s style is uniquely self-evolved with its rhetorical nuances of alliteration and rhyme. It’s a style which caught the fancy of the reader irrespective of his level of understanding, which Justify its inescapable dent on the mind.

In sum, Anna is unquestionable one of the makers of post-மணிக்கொடி சிறுகதை in Tamil.