“Awards, honours, and wealth knocked on my door. But the world I dreamed of through my writings is yet to be born” - Jayakanthan in Coimbatore.
Coimbatore: In a meeting to felicitate famed Tamil writer Jayakanthan, an academician said that it was almost a ‘tradition’ in universities to carry out research on the works of a writer, but only after fifty years from his death! But, Jayakanthan was blessed that many academic scholars were researching his literary pieces while he was alive.
But, Jayakanthan, the chief guest in the programme, paid the speaker back in the same coin.
“You see, frogs are not born to be dissected in laboratories. Can researchers know who ‘Jayakanthan’ is by ‘dissecting’ his short stories and novels? Academic research degrees may be a professor’s proud wealth, but for me, the only credit is my name ‘Jayakanthan’ the writer “
It is interesting to remember such anecdotes from the writer’s life just on his death anniversary on April 8.
Pointing out the bold character of Jayakanthan, writer Danushkodi Ramasamy recalls this scene from the book Jayakanthanin Irubathaaam Noootraandu Ilakkiya Saasanangal (Jayakanthan’s 20th-century literary documents), which has been compiled by Sethupathi, a well-known Tamil professor and writer.
The voluminous book, which is a document of speeches by eminent Tamil scholars on Jayakanthan, contains the acceptance speeches of the writer himself, which he delivered at the functions of his book launch in various cities across Tamil Nadu including Coimbatore.
Presiding over one such literary gathering in Coimbatore, poet Sirpi Balasubramaniam, a two-time recipient of the Sahitya Akademi award, admired J.K, (as Jayakanthan is called) thus:
“The genre novel was born in Tamil literature only in the 19th century. But it gradually reached perfection in its form and content only during the age of Jayakanthan. However, the legendary writer did not begin writing novels at once, but experimented with his literary skills for years in short stories.”
Sirpi informs that Jayakanthan even feared to pen a novel after reading War and Peace, the majestic masterly work of the greatest Russian author Lev Tolstoy.
Nevertheless, J.K later scaled heights of fame through his plenty of novels including Sila Nerangalil Sila Manitharkal, Oru Manithan Oru Veedu Oru Ulagam, and Unnaipol Oruvan.
Jayakanthan, a school dropout, came to Madras in 1946 and became a full-time worker in the Communist Party of India. With his creations infusing new blood into Tamil fiction, he was conferred with the prestigious Jnanpith and Padma Bhushan awards.
“I did not have the wish of becoming a writer. I feel it was just my destiny. Awards, honours, and wealth knocked on my door. But the world I dreamed of through my writings is yet to be born” once said Jayakanthan, in his book launch at Coimbatore.
The book includes poet Sirpi’s translation of the felicitation address delivered by A.P.J Abdul Kalam, the then president of India as he conferred on the Jnanpith award to Jayakanthan in 2002.
“In 1968, when I was back home on holiday, we met in our home that had a pyol facing the sea. There, I presented Jayakanthan the Deepavali special issue of the Tamil magazine Ananda Vikadan. His short story Agrakarathu Poonai is still indelible in my mind - it is an inspiring piece of literature” recalls Kalam.