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தனிமைத் தளிர்
தனிமைத் தளிர்
பெருமழை வந்து பெரிய ஆல மரம் விழுந்துவிடும். பழங்களும், காய்களும், குச்சிக் கொம்புகளும், நீள் விழுதுகளும், திறந்த பொந்துகளும், கலைந்த கூடுகளும், அவற்றிலிருந்து பறக்கும் பறவைகளுமாய், வேர்கள் வானத்தைப் பார்த்தபடி கிடக்கும். உடன் எல்லோரும் பழங்களையும், காய்களையும், குச்சிகளையும் பொறுக்க வருவார்கள். சூடாமணியும் ஓர் ஆலமரமாய் இருந்தவர். காயாய், பழமாய், பூவாய், கனத்த விழுதுகளாய், ஆழமான வேர்களாய், கலைந்த கூடுகளிலிருந்து பறக்கும் கிளிகளாய், பொந்துகளிலிருந்து வெளிப்படும் அணில்களாய் சிதறிக்கிடக்கும் அவருடைய கதைகளை அவருடைய நண்பர்கள் பலர் இன்னும் பொறுக்கிக்கொண்டிருக்கிறோம். அந்த முயற்சியில் அமைந்த தொகுப்பு இது. ஓர் ஆலமரமாய் விழுதுகளை பூமிமேல் தழையவிட்டவர் சூடாமணி. பலருக்கு நிழல் தந்தவர். தன் கிளைகளில் கூடு கட்டிக்கொள்ள இடம் தந்தவர். அந்த ஆழ்ந்த வாஞ்சையும், மனித நேயமும் எல்லாக் கதைகளிலும் பொதிந்திருக்கும். எந்தக் கதையை யார் திறந்தாலும் அந்த உணர்வுகள் அவர்களை எட்டும். இக்கதைகளில் உள்ள அவருக்கே உரித்தான அந்த உணர்வுகள் அனைவரையும் தொடட்டும். தொட்டு வளர்த்தட்டும். இருத்தட்டும்.
Soodamani lived and flourished like a huge banyan tree. Her stories are like its flowers, roots and branches where parrots and squirrels live. Many have sheltered in her shadow. This love and affection and humanity find place in every one of her stories.
பெருமழை வந்து பெரிய ஆல மரம் விழுந்துவிடும். பழங்களும், காய்களும், குச்சிக் கொம்புகளும், நீள் விழுதுகளும், திறந்த பொந்துகளும், கலைந்த கூடுகளும், அவற்றிலிருந்து பறக்கும் பறவைகளுமாய், வேர்கள் வானத்தைப் பார்த்தபடி கிடக்கும். உடன் எல்லோரும் பழங்களையும், காய்களையும், குச்சிகளையும் பொறுக்க வருவார்கள். சூடாமணியும் ஓர் ஆலமரமாய் இருந்தவர். காயாய், பழமாய், பூவாய், கனத்த விழுதுகளாய், ஆழமான வேர்களாய், கலைந்த கூடுகளிலிருந்து பறக்கும் கிளிகளாய், பொந்துகளிலிருந்து வெளிப்படும் அணில்களாய் சிதறிக்கிடக்கும் அவருடைய கதைகளை அவருடைய நண்பர்கள் பலர் இன்னும் பொறுக்கிக்கொண்டிருக்கிறோம். அந்த முயற்சியில் அமைந்த தொகுப்பு இது. ஓர் ஆலமரமாய் விழுதுகளை பூமிமேல் தழையவிட்டவர் சூடாமணி. பலருக்கு நிழல் தந்தவர். தன் கிளைகளில் கூடு கட்டிக்கொள்ள இடம் தந்தவர். அந்த ஆழ்ந்த வாஞ்சையும், மனித நேயமும் எல்லாக் கதைகளிலும் பொதிந்திருக்கும். எந்தக் கதையை யார் திறந்தாலும் அந்த உணர்வுகள் அவர்களை எட்டும். இக்கதைகளில் உள்ள அவருக்கே உரித்தான அந்த உணர்வுகள் அனைவரையும் தொடட்டும். தொட்டு வளர்த்தட்டும். இருத்தட்டும்.
Soodamani lived and flourished like a huge banyan tree. Her stories are like its flowers, roots and branches where parrots and squirrels live. Many have sheltered in her shadow. This love and affection and humanity find place in every one of her stories.
647 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 2014
4 people are currently reading
39 people want to read
About the author
R. Chudamani
7 books5 followersRaghavan Chudamani (January 10, 1931 – September 13, 2010) was an Indian writer writing in Tamil. She also wrote short stories in English as Chudamani Raghavan. Her name also appears as Choodamani.
She was born in Chennai and grew up there. Because of a physical disability, she was schooled at home. She published her first story "Kaveri" in 1957. In 1960, she published her first novel Manathukku Iniyaval (Beloved woman). Her 1961 play Iruvar Kandanar (Two persons witnessed), which has been performed many times, received the Ananda Vikatan award. Her stories have been translated into other Indian languages. She also translated stories from other Indian languages into Tamil.
She received the Tamil Nadu Government Award in 1966, the Lilly Devasigamani Award in 1992 and the Kalagnar Mu Karunanidhi Award at the Chennai Book Fair in 2009.
She was born in Chennai and grew up there. Because of a physical disability, she was schooled at home. She published her first story "Kaveri" in 1957. In 1960, she published her first novel Manathukku Iniyaval (Beloved woman). Her 1961 play Iruvar Kandanar (Two persons witnessed), which has been performed many times, received the Ananda Vikatan award. Her stories have been translated into other Indian languages. She also translated stories from other Indian languages into Tamil.
She received the Tamil Nadu Government Award in 1966, the Lilly Devasigamani Award in 1992 and the Kalagnar Mu Karunanidhi Award at the Chennai Book Fair in 2009.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
March 20, 2022
I recently read and loved reviews of a couple of collections of R.Chudamani's short stories. I realized that I had one collection of her stories at home and so decided to read that. R.Chudamani was one of my mom's favourite writers. Everytime I went to the library, my mom used to ask me to get a book by her. But, inspite of this, I've never read a story by her. So I was very excited to read these stories by her.
This collection that I read had 63 short stories. Most of them were around 10 pages long. The stories were written in a period spanning 50 years, starting from the early 1950s to the early 2000s.
Many of the stories in the book depict the delicate, infinite states of the human heart, including love in its different forms. There are also many stories about women who fight in gentle ways against the restraints imposed by society and the patriarchy, and who sometimes win their freedom and independence. One of my favourite stories on this theme was about a woman who suffers her whole life. When she dies, a secret about her is revealed. We discover that there came a point in time when she was presented with two alternatives. She could have surrendered her freedom and lived a comfortable life, or she could have been free and would have suffered. She chose to be free and was defiant till the end, in her gentle soft way. There is also one interesting story in which the husband supports his wife when she pursues her interests and her dreams while their daughter is upset that her mom is independent and doing her own thing. In one of my favourite stories about love and attraction, a single mom encourages a young man who is courting her daughter, but the young man starts turning up when the daughter is not around and the mom discovers to her surprise that the young man is courting her. In another of my favourite stories a man is grieving the loss of his wife, and he is just ignored at the funeral, and the person who understands him and comforts him is his lover. In a couple of stories a young man's heart opens up to love and desire for the first time, and the way Chudamani narrates the story is incredibly beautiful. There are also stories about the relationship between parents and children, about people who try bridging socio-economic barriers through love and friendship which sometimes doesn't work. There is even a story in which God is the narrator. That story was fascinating.
I loved the whole collection. I knew that it would be good, but I didn't know that it would be this good. Chudamani's short stories didn't read like short stories which came in popular magazines, which mostly had surprises with happy endings, but were complex, subtle and sophisticated. The editors say in their introduction that Chudamani's art as a short story writer reached its heights in the 1970s, and when I read the book, I realized that it was true, because many of my favourite stories were those which came out in that decade. But I liked her stories from the other decades too. There is a beautiful interview by Chudamani at the end of the book in which she shares her thoughts on short stories. In reply to one of the questions, Chudamani says that writers shouldn't use short stories as a training ground for writing their first novel, but should respect and love short stories as an independent art form. This is exactly what Alice Munro said years later when she won the Nobel Prize.
Chudamani was a prolific writer during her time. She has written around 574 short stories, but this collection which has around one-tenth of that, is the largest collection there is. Her stories have been translated into English during the past few years. There are atleast three translated editions in English, and they seem to be subsets of this Tamil collection.
Chudamani lived a simple life. She didn't go to school and get a formal education, because of a health condition. She was homeschooled in her younger years. This makes her achievements as a short story writer even more astounding. She never married and stayed single all her life. Before she passed, she made a will and gave everything she had to charity, to help poor kids. It is unthinkable in these materialistic days. She was an amazing writer and a beautiful soul.
Have you read Chudamani's short stories? What do you think about them?
This collection that I read had 63 short stories. Most of them were around 10 pages long. The stories were written in a period spanning 50 years, starting from the early 1950s to the early 2000s.
Many of the stories in the book depict the delicate, infinite states of the human heart, including love in its different forms. There are also many stories about women who fight in gentle ways against the restraints imposed by society and the patriarchy, and who sometimes win their freedom and independence. One of my favourite stories on this theme was about a woman who suffers her whole life. When she dies, a secret about her is revealed. We discover that there came a point in time when she was presented with two alternatives. She could have surrendered her freedom and lived a comfortable life, or she could have been free and would have suffered. She chose to be free and was defiant till the end, in her gentle soft way. There is also one interesting story in which the husband supports his wife when she pursues her interests and her dreams while their daughter is upset that her mom is independent and doing her own thing. In one of my favourite stories about love and attraction, a single mom encourages a young man who is courting her daughter, but the young man starts turning up when the daughter is not around and the mom discovers to her surprise that the young man is courting her. In another of my favourite stories a man is grieving the loss of his wife, and he is just ignored at the funeral, and the person who understands him and comforts him is his lover. In a couple of stories a young man's heart opens up to love and desire for the first time, and the way Chudamani narrates the story is incredibly beautiful. There are also stories about the relationship between parents and children, about people who try bridging socio-economic barriers through love and friendship which sometimes doesn't work. There is even a story in which God is the narrator. That story was fascinating.
I loved the whole collection. I knew that it would be good, but I didn't know that it would be this good. Chudamani's short stories didn't read like short stories which came in popular magazines, which mostly had surprises with happy endings, but were complex, subtle and sophisticated. The editors say in their introduction that Chudamani's art as a short story writer reached its heights in the 1970s, and when I read the book, I realized that it was true, because many of my favourite stories were those which came out in that decade. But I liked her stories from the other decades too. There is a beautiful interview by Chudamani at the end of the book in which she shares her thoughts on short stories. In reply to one of the questions, Chudamani says that writers shouldn't use short stories as a training ground for writing their first novel, but should respect and love short stories as an independent art form. This is exactly what Alice Munro said years later when she won the Nobel Prize.
Chudamani was a prolific writer during her time. She has written around 574 short stories, but this collection which has around one-tenth of that, is the largest collection there is. Her stories have been translated into English during the past few years. There are atleast three translated editions in English, and they seem to be subsets of this Tamil collection.
Chudamani lived a simple life. She didn't go to school and get a formal education, because of a health condition. She was homeschooled in her younger years. This makes her achievements as a short story writer even more astounding. She never married and stayed single all her life. Before she passed, she made a will and gave everything she had to charity, to help poor kids. It is unthinkable in these materialistic days. She was an amazing writer and a beautiful soul.
Have you read Chudamani's short stories? What do you think about them?
Displaying 1 of 1 review