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Wings in the void
Wings in the Void gives the reader a peep into the Delhi of the 1960's, a city suffering the bitter after-taste of the sweet victory of Independence. The Mahatma's ideals have been finally burried; corruption, venality and platitudes rule, not only the capital's corridors of power, but also the lives of the individuals who live in it.
224 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2007
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About the author
Indira Parthasarathy
37 books74 followersIndira Parthasarathy (commonly known as Ee. Paa.) is the pen name of R. Parthasarathy. Born on July 10, 1930 in Chennai in a traditional Iyengar family. He has received Indian government's Padma Shri award for the year 2010. He has written several short stories, plays and novels in Tamil that have been translated in several Indian and world languages.
He has carved a special niche for himself in Tamil literature - his characters, mostly urban intellectuals, speak very openly and analyze deeply what others say. Most of his novels are set in Delhi, where he lived during his working years, or in the Srirangam area of Tamil Nadu, where he spent his childhood. Some of his novels, such as "Kuruthi Punal" intermingle these two milieus.
He has won several awards including the Sangeeth Natak Academy, Sahitya Academy and Saraswathi Samman Award. He is the only Tamil writer to have won both the Sangeeth Natak and Sahitya Academy Award.
He has carved a special niche for himself in Tamil literature - his characters, mostly urban intellectuals, speak very openly and analyze deeply what others say. Most of his novels are set in Delhi, where he lived during his working years, or in the Srirangam area of Tamil Nadu, where he spent his childhood. Some of his novels, such as "Kuruthi Punal" intermingle these two milieus.
He has won several awards including the Sangeeth Natak Academy, Sahitya Academy and Saraswathi Samman Award. He is the only Tamil writer to have won both the Sangeeth Natak and Sahitya Academy Award.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
July 15, 2014
A critical view of Delhi power politics combined with a self-introspection of a confused intellectual after his lover marries another guy. The whirlpool of thoughts in the mind of the protagonist is powerfully expressed.
February 17, 2017
"நீங்கள் பாதுகாப்பை நாடும் கொள்கைப்பிடிப்பில்லாத சந்தர்பவாதி."
க்ளாஸ்
க்ளாஸ்
October 17, 2020
A meaningless, directionless story of a South Indian's materialistic adventure in Delhi. Poorly written.
August 14, 2016
I am curious about Tamil writing, especially because my parents and my grandmother are Tamil book hoarders. I made some feeble attempts to read Devan and found that Tamil writing is a world in itself - the puns, the metaphors, the humdrum, are all rooted in Tamil; the jokes change from what English speaking Tamils make to witty repartee that's only possible in Tamil - in all it's a vastly different world from a translation.
Yet, when I found this beautiful copy, old but new, in Select Bookstore, I bought it simply because it was a written by a Tamil author and was a translation, even though there is no mention of the translator. It is quite a good translation, as compared to the translations of Tagore's works by Rupa books.
The book has Kasturi, a perceptive and contemplative small-town chap, who has all the street smartness to take on the babus of Delhi. Somewhere along the way he starts to wonder about the point of life, and the direction he's subconsciously moving in. As a victim of rationalising, what I really enjoyed in the book was Kasturi's soliloquies - his endless debate on the pointlessness of things vs the importance of a career, particularly the confusion that spirituality brings to his debates. I relate to his choice in the end, as someone who saw the value in that very same choice after dismissing it in my late adolescence.
Yet, when I found this beautiful copy, old but new, in Select Bookstore, I bought it simply because it was a written by a Tamil author and was a translation, even though there is no mention of the translator. It is quite a good translation, as compared to the translations of Tagore's works by Rupa books.
The book has Kasturi, a perceptive and contemplative small-town chap, who has all the street smartness to take on the babus of Delhi. Somewhere along the way he starts to wonder about the point of life, and the direction he's subconsciously moving in. As a victim of rationalising, what I really enjoyed in the book was Kasturi's soliloquies - his endless debate on the pointlessness of things vs the importance of a career, particularly the confusion that spirituality brings to his debates. I relate to his choice in the end, as someone who saw the value in that very same choice after dismissing it in my late adolescence.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews