From: ssankara@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu (Sornam Sankara)
Subject: valai malar 'a' - some comments
Organization: The Ohio State University
Date: Wed, 23 Dec 1992 06:54:53 GMT





Because of other discussions, I did not get time to read the second issue of
SCT magazine 'a' fully and give my comments earlier.


Already Gopals and Sundarapandian expressed their disappointment for not
getting  enough feedback from the general public in this net.

KUSHBOO's devaalayam (Cap letters to atract the audience here) did not surprise
^^^^^^^
me because this net is no different from the TN general mentality.  People
might call me as 'cynical' person looking at everything with a distorted
outlook.  But I am more and more becoming cynical (?) because a posting on
Khusboo or 'poo songs'  or '10 movies' or just politics can evoke so many
responses whereas the SCT magazine 'a' goes unnoticed.  We need not be experts
to comment on the contents nor we need to be writers to contribute.  Can't we
just go through atleast one article of it and comment a few lines.  Atleast
write some flames on the articles ?

No doubt we deserve Kushboo as our god or leader !

"entRu madiyum intha cinema moham"
----------------------------------


============================================================================
Now let me comment on the  articles.  As I have said on the first issue, I am
passing my comments purely as an enthusiastic supporter of literary interests
in this net.  I am just learning more and I learn to say something about what I
learn.


One positive aspect of this magazine 'a' is that I am getting to know more
about the Srilankan Tamil literature and literary figures.  So far I have known
about the literature which came during the last decade because of the intensity
of the ethnic strife in Srilanka.  I am very happy to know something about the
literature which has not centered around the ethnic problem.


Thanks to Vicki's introduction to Mahakavi.  The poems given as samples in his
profile are very simple and has an intersting  rhythm which we get in reading
'kuRRalak kuRavanchi'.  I tried to put down the Tamil text of 'siRu pul' on
paper but I could not understand the meaning of it.  May be Vicky can help me
more on this.   I feel that there are some  minor mistakes and also missing
punctuations whichs make the effort even harder.  I was lost after the
first stanza.


'iruppu' - Sundara Pandian's short story.  I like this better than his first
one in the previous issue.  This style of writing is very suitable for a 'good
short story'.  Though I like this theme better than his last one,  it still
reminds me somewhat-related themes in a few other short stories.  I wish him
keep this spirit.


Gopals' poem 'suvai' reflects the general 'manappokku' and 'muraNpadu' in our
people in very simple sentences.   This reminds me many of the 'Vaira muthu -
Meththa' verses and that is why I feel that we should come out of their
influence.  Because we will be writing so many like this and go in the same
wind.  When I happened to read thier collections, even if I talked to people on
ordinary issues, I felt like passing 'minnal varikaL' :-).  Unfortunately they
do not make literature.  I am not discouraging Gopals.  I expect more from him.
I liked his free verses he posted after the demolition of  Babri Masjid much
more than this.


Jeyakanthan -  I am personnaly biased against him in the last few years because
of his irrational political activities which made him a laughing stock like
'Sivaji' Ganesan.  So whenever I read any of his literature I start with a
partial and biased outlook recently.  But when I finish reading the novel or
short story, I feel I have lost.

     The story given in this issue is really very good.  It looks like, I feel
the same but he has already written when I am not able to even give a form
for my thinking.   He presents an ideal man which is not a reality.  But he has
created this character to talk thorugh him about the realities of our society.
I am sure this must have been written atleast 20 years back but will be
suitable for the realities for ever.  Why man has become corrupted in thinking
and why we always live with a falseness.


aindhu kavithaigaL - Abbas
------------------
     'ulagam', 'paRanthu mattum' and 'than pokkil'  are good.  I understand
what Sundaramoorthy wrote about the form and content of the poems and also his
opinion about vairamuthu-metha-kamarasan & his followers' poems.

     Still I am not able to appreciate these poems of Abbas much except that
they are different from the usual puthukkavidhaikaL.  Do I miss something here
?   I am really not very clear about the criticisms on poems given by the
critics.  As Sundaramoorthy said, it is very subjective.

     Does 'eppOdhum' have a few transilteration mistakes ?   Since reading the
poems (compared to prose or essay) in transliteration is very difficult it
should be better to make them completely free of typos or errors.  It is better
that it should be run and viewed in Tamil before publiishing it.  I am sure the
editors may be doing this already.


     Thanks to Asokan for introducing more of Srilankan literature and writers.




Finally, I commend the editors for doing such a very good job.  I understand
hom much effort and time they have to put in this.  We are really thankful to
the editors.



S. Sankarapandi