Thirudan Maniyanpillai (Autobiography)

by GR Indugopan, Colachel M. Yoosuf (Translator)

செய்யாத குற்றத்திற்காகச் சிறைத் தண்டனை அனுபவித்ததிலிருந்து இவரது குற்றவாசனை வெளிப்பட ஆரம்பிக்கிறது. திருட்டுகளில் ஈடுபடுகிறார். இதற்காக இவர் கையாள்கிற நுட்பங்கள் பிரமிக்க வைப்பவை; சாகசத் தன்மை கொண்டவை. போலீசில் பிடிபட்டதுமே உண்மைகளை ஒப்புக்கொண்டுவிடுகிற இவர், தன் மீதான வழக்குகளுக்கு வழக்கறிஞர்களை நியமித்துக்கொள்ளாமல் தானாகவே வாதாடுவார். இவரது குறுக்கு விசாரணைகள், போலீஸ் அதிகாரிகளும் நீதிபதிகளும் பயப்படுமளவுக்கு அமைந்திருக்கும். ஒருபுறம் மனிதத்தன்மை யற்றதாக இருக்கும் இவரது செயல்பாடுகளினுள் ஏழைகள் மீதான உள்ளார்ந்த பரிவும் இடைகலந்திருக்கும்.திருவனந்தபுரத்திலிருந்து ஒரு முஸ்லிம் பெண்ணை வாழ்க்கைத் துணையாகச் சேர்த்துக்Ĩ

144 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 5, 2019

Reviews

[Surendhar · Rating 5 out of 5]

More than the author, a million thanks to the translator, Kulachal Yousuf, for making this happen. Many translated books fail because the translated ideas deviate from the original version.

Since this book is an autobiography, part of the story moves through the narrator’s reflections on society, law, money, people, and the morality surrounding the incident — all of which have been conveyed with greater accuracy in the translated Tamil version.
Otherwise, this book wouldn’t have earned a five-star rating from me! I’m truly overwhelmed by it.

There’s a saying: Be either black or white; don’t be gray. But in reality, almost all of us live in the gray area — driven by insecurity and fear of being judged by others. However, a criminal with conscience need not stay in the gray.

Take the life of an average person — they might meet and converse with, at most, around 10,000 people in their lifetime. But being a thief, he must have met 10x times that number, mostly from the darker side of society — people an ordinary person would never even get a chance to encounter.
Because of which a thief like him gains more experience and knowledge than the rest. How is that possible? Simple. Unlike those stuck in routine 9-to-5 jobs that gradually kill their passion over time, he is a nocturnal being who stays idle throughout the day — giving him plenty of time to think. All those experiences eventually turn into wisdom, new thoughts, opportunities — and who knows what else!

For a moment, forget that he was a criminal, and let’s be real — let’s talk about the blacks and whites.

The Blacks:
Imagine a man who spends most of his money on booze and sex, living as he pleases. He chases thrill between life and death with every operation — uncovering the wildest secrets and harsh realities of people, politics, and power.
He gets to know about extramarital affairs of the people, darker side of actresses, black money, criminal networks from prison, and the struggle of surviving behind bars. He has witnessed deaths, endured the brutality of the police, been a victim of minor sexual abuse, and later found himself longing for the same — searching for the women responsible for it.
He’s lived through polygamy, ganja oil, betrayal by employers and dealers — and the list goes on.

The Whites:
Imagine a criminal who gets countless opportunities to stand for what he believes is right, with a nothing-to-lose mindset. He developed the habit of reading while in jail, which later led him to appear in person and conduct his own defense at the court trials.
He often helped the poor using the items he had stolen, upheld the morality of never abusing the women in the houses he robbed, and never took a life. He tried several jobs and businesses during his prime years and practiced three different religions before turning fifty. He ran a tobacco estate at Mysore and treated his employees better than other estates. At the height of it all, he was on the verge of becoming a minister before being arrested and losing all his property.

My point is, keeping his criminal face aside, he truly got to live life more fully than many of us — by trying out different things and testing the limits of people and the law, all of which are unimaginable and fascinating to me.
It also makes me question what life really is — and reflect on the disagreements and doubts I have about society, religion, and the law.

Like most criminals, he probably wouldn’t have become a thief if his father hadn’t been a drunkard and hadn’t been killed; if his relatives hadn’t cheated his family out of their property; and if the townsfolk had given him a chance at redemption instead of handing him over to the police after his first theft.


Once upon a time, there was a thief — and I’m a fan of his work and ideology.

[Abiram Kumar · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read one