Two Indian Writers in Sydney
I had the pleasure of meeting two remarkable writers from India – Anjum Hasan and Perumal Murugan, talking about recent books, one set in Delhi in northern India and the other entrenched in a village in Tamil Nadu, South India.
Both writers were invited speakers at the Adelaide Writer’s Festival. In Sydney they chatted about their books at the Esme Timbery Creative Practice Lab at University of New South Wales, chat hosted by leading South Asian Indian-Australian writer Roanna Gonsalves.
Anjum Hasan’s History’s Angel is the story of a simple minded history teacher Alif, who happens to be a Muslim, living and teaching history in a school in Delhi. Alif’ lives and breathes history. His wife wants to ace her MBA and his teenage son wants to be a tech wizard. A single event that could happen in any teacher’s life, changes his life and his job is on the line. The story unfolds with great tenderness and sensitivity.
This is a book that will make you look at the world around you with fresh eyes.
If someone like William Darlymple says of the book and the author : A remarkable novel for our times… one of our finest writers today , you have got to read it.
I felt privileged to chat with Anjuman and get her book autographed.
Perumal Murugan’s PYRE (English translation of his Tamil book) starts as a simple story of a young couple Saroja and Kumaresan, who love each other, get married and move to Kumaresan’s village in Tamil Nadu. Their cast difference, which could perhaps go unnoticed in a big city, becomes a festering tension that draws out the worst forms of fear and aggression in a a closed village community. Even the dry village is like a character, bringing its own set of aridness and heat to the situation that Saroja faces in the community.
The seemingly simple story smoulders with violence and fear and complicity. It presents a stark truth that leaves you stunned and sad. Yet it is a poignant story that presents voices from several perspectives. Perumal Murugan’s writing soars with incisive sensitivity of the human mind caught in an impossible trap.
Pyre was long-listed for the Booker Prize in 2023.
I had the privilege to get the book autographed in Tamil (Yes, I read and write Tamil.)
Two writers whose books are sure to soar across the literary world.
