Alamelu Janaki

       There was a time when I attended Hindu literary Festival at Chennai that was when Perumal Murugan’s Poonachi was out. So, people associated the significance of the black goat with multiple meanings- an allegory of state surveillance, metaphor for caste hierarchy, gendered oppression, poverty and the vulnerability of marginal lives. When the crowd questioned about the actuality of its representation, Perumal Murugan refused to offer a definitive answer. He said it is the reader’s discretion to associate, confront and relate to the text in their own convincing ways.      Similarly, in the preface of the English translated version of Pethavan as The Begetter , Imayam argues that once the story is written, it is no longer in his authority to offer interpretations and meanings.      This idea resonates in the long-standing debate in literary theory.   In the essay Death of The Author , Roland Barthes argues that on the death...

  Over years, my exposure to feminist literature and theories taught me to associate confinement as a major source of women’s unhappiness. I have likely believed that the pressing need of the society -to marry and to raise a family- as a major obstacle for a woman’s fulfilment. The domestic labour, absence of finances, familial restrictions are some of the prominent hindrances. In Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales , there is a popular fable that answers the most sought question- “ what makes a women happy?”, the answer was the freedom to choose , the freedom of making a choice and executing it in free will. However, the clear solutions of education, financial independence and greater freedom of choice did not make the dissatisfaction in women disappear (or I think so).   The modern predicament has merely changed shape.   Reading Hooked by Asako Yuzuki , I was bothered by a different question- Why do so many of us continue to imagine that happiness exists somewhere else, in...

  While reading More Days at the Morisaki Bookshop , I realised that perhaps we all are in search of Morisaki shop kind of space in all our lives- a place that asks for nothing except our presence. For Takako in the novel, it was a secondhand bookstore tucked inside Jimbocho. For me, it was a reading room in our community, where time softened, responsibilities loosened, and I slowly returned to myself. ikr, there is too much of me in the picture. However, i believe my friend managed to click a good one. 😜       Virginia Woolf in A Room of One’s Own wanted every woman to have a room of her own and some financial support for them to write fiction. The demand for a private space is indeed an ask for autonomy – that marked freedom and economic independence. However, in the current scenario, for contemporary mothers the Woolfian space can be interpreted in a different way-women might want a space away from home – which lets them be by themselves, having no demand...

  Days at the Morisaki Bookshop – Satoshi Yasgisawa A warm, fast paced single sitting type of read, an absolute game for beginners! And Yes, the book gives you a bear hug- familiar and comforting!       Takako, a young girl who is often at odds in explaining herself suffers a heart break and later rediscovers her purpose by staying at her uncle Satoru’s rundown Morisaki bookshop. To stay among thousands of books is indeed a delight, as Takako explores the place and the bookshop her passion for life is rekindled.      The cozy novel is divided into two parts. The first part is about Takako’s self-discovery at the bookshop and the second part deals with her aunt Momoko’s return and how her presence and perspective of life alter Takako’s presumptions. Yet another fascinating thread is that of Wada – a customer at the shop who later becomes the love interest of Takako.        This book was lighter and warmer since my last ...

    The 2024 Butter   written by a Japanese writer Asako Yuzuki, translated into English by Polly Barton, is a crime narrative revealing how the society determines “what women can desire for?”      The Book, l ike the actual Butter, on consumption - slowly melts filling the whole of the self. It is unputdownable and offers an individually distinct experience to its readers.        Based on the real-life Japanese incident concerning “Konkatsu Killer,” the book delves into the psychological triggers and emotional rationale behind the convicted killer of three elderly men and the determined journalist aiming for an exclusive interview from the convict.      The case has spurred lot of curiosity from the  people in Japan, because Kaji, the convict is not beautiful but obese, there is no evident attractive quality about her. This makes people wonder what did the men/victims actually see in her as they mysteriously ...

   “April is the cruelest month” T.S. Eliot said, I can’t agree more.          It has been a decade since your demise. And life refused to be the same way since then.         Mother is absolutely the dominant force in all our lives, the strongest connection ever. Because they gave us life and laid the foundation of life and knowledge. I have always thought, you unknowingly raised us to be independent and self-assured. I often feel things would have been much different if you were around.       I had   questions like “why it had to be you?” “what next happens to you?” “where did we fail you?” “we abandoned you or you chose it?.” over the years, I understood that’s the course of life. What has to happen will happen and over time, we get used to the pain and navigate the absence in each different ways.       People say my daughter looks more like ...

                                       TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE  by Mitch Albom.                 I have been someone who is haunted by the thoughts of death, the aftermath, the situation of our loved ones, the fear of not knowing what happens next, the purpose of our existence, the things that might possibly go unsaid and lot more. This complicated streak of thoughts and inability to understand the reason behind it has always put me in despair. This book somehow erased the anxiety that surrounds such thoughts. It offered me solidarity, support and comfort around such abandoned areas.  The book concerns an aging, dying professor and his beloved student discussing life, love, death. Questions like 1.                                  ...

  Nobel winning South Korean writer Han Kang’s The Vegetarian (International Booker prize, 2016) rationalizes the inscrutable nature of the black hole kind of thing in every individual, iterating the idea that each one has their own bag of shit to deal with. The book addresses the question of ‘what it takes to be a human?’   and the fragility of the components with which humans are made of.   A woman wants to become a plant, shedding all the human attributes that surround her. Developing from the 1997 short story, ‘The Fruit of My Woman’ this novel is written in three parts narrated by her husband, sister and brother-in-law whose lives are irrevocably altered since the protagonist’ decision to relinquish meat. In the first part of the book, Yeong-hye appears as a normal, insignificant woman marrying a cold and indifferent person; everything about their life follows a monotonous rhythm until she being disturbed by a series of dreams that propel her to become a vegetari...

                    How do you punish or reclaim someone in a wronged relationship?  “A devastated woman’s grief-stricken sigh had the potential to burn down a house.”                                                                                                    (The Poison of love) Love the most debated, celebrated notion has incredible power to replenish, destroy an individual's life, irrevocably. The plot concerns the love of Tulsi, an IIT...

 Pondicherry now feels totally different through Imayam's eyes.  The book Aarumugam  is about the  coming of age of the titular character, born into a oppressed family. The presence/absence of his family has greatly shaped his adulthood, robbing off his innocence. Set in Pondicherry, the book traces the protected boyhood of Aarumugam, his straying away from studies rather life itself by consistently running away from bothersome situations.  The downtrodden people in his society represent the vicious cycle of poverty and the never ending struggle to meet the basic needs. The surrounding he engages in is a microcosm of the real world itself where the fittest and richest survive and the poor, oppressed people run a rat race that sees no light.  Dhanabakiyam, Aarumugam's mother survives him post his father's demise while working at Auroville. she treats her son's wellbeing as the utmost priority and aspires to give him education and all the  opportunities ...

The Birth of a Leader is quite a process.  I wasn't a fan of Vijay as an actor but he got me fascinating since his decision to enter politics. It is obvious that Vijay as a leader will be highly charismatic, hugely popular. Considering the recent stampede, the significant question that lingers around his political future is how will he organize the collective energy of his fans and further navigate the passion of the mob to suit his career, as the recent horror proved that unchecked collective passion is dangerous.      This reminds me of Shakespeare's depiction of Roman crowd during the assassination of Julius Caesar. The play presents the roman crowd as fickle, emotional and easily swayed.  In the opening of Shakespeareian play Julius Caesar, the crowd jubilantly celebrates the victory of Caesar. Ironically, the same crowd accepts Brutus rationale for Caesar's death.  After the talk of Brutus, the crowd believes that Caesar was ambitious and he de...