From: rags@casbah.acns.nwu.edu (Raghavan Jayaraman)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.tamil
Subject: An interview on Modern Literature :- Part 3
Date: 6 Oct 92 14:22:44 GMT
Article-I.D.: news.1992Oct6.142244.18092
Organization: Northwestern University, Evanston Illinois.


Sujata:-
	This is a very good observation. Rani's readership is different. It
targets  those who can just read alphabet by alphabet.He  too has to be
'elevated'.  Similar to your observation on commercial magazines, there are
two groups in litarary magazines too.  One group which starts a magazine to
satiate their 'vanity' and withdraws after few issues - this variety would
write page after page that only theirs are the 'literature'. The other group
-like you who are serious about doing something in tamil. Balakumaran told
me recently that many small magazine writers were happy to write stories
for 'Kumkumum', when asked for. So it is a human tendency that given a
chance many small magazine writers wouldn't   reject obstinately, the
commercial ones. It seems after getting a request, a writer brought a story
from home in 15 minutes.  So it is wrong to conclude that small magazines
are against popular ones.  Asokamitran is writers' writer. But his stories
are beyond comprehension for ordinary people. What we consider to be a
remarkable story may be rejected by the editor as the latter maynot
him/her-self  understand. An example: 'Appavum Pillaiyum' The story goes to
a mystic level [came in Kumkumum]. Normally such stories would be rejected
in popular magazines. Fortunately since that issue was edited by
Balakumaran and Raju that the story got published. So we need to educate
the editors too. I can sense when talking to popular magazine editors that
they can't go beyond a certain level. They know whom they are catering.
Readers are like that. Serious variety would be around 2000-may be 4000 in
kannada. 

Padigal:-
	How can the 'literary awarness' be increased - by writing in such
popular magazines or by changing the socio-economic conditions? Increasing
the membership from 2000 to 4 or 5 thousand may not be a problem.

Sujata:-
	Yes! It depends on promoting the  socio-economic conditions.

Padigal:-
	If so, previously you mentioned that propaganda shouldn't be there
in stories. So propaganda for the furtherance of socio-economic conditions
may in the long run be useful for increasing   the literary awarness too.

Sujata:-
	Yes! But I feel  that explicit propaganda  shouldn't be there- this
is how the question can be answered!

Padigal:-
	This is how we see you: You were not pushed to popular magazines by
the quality of your writing. Your penchant for Sundara Ramaswamy,
Ionnesco's Rhinoceras, Vaiyapuri Pillai's scientific analysis indicate that
you are different. You aren't a 'Kurumbur Kuppuswami' or some third rate
writer.You are a well informed person with a very good artistic outlook.
.......[some portions on praises for Sujata are deleted here for brevity]

Sujata:-
	.............. 90% of readers are perfunctory without any
inclination to literature. So they have to be given such sugar coated
stuff. You may ask :why don't I stop stop writing in such magazines. That
is defeatism. My goal is to increase the literary readership from mere 10%.

----[To Be Continued]---

raghavan
Newsgroups: soc.culture.tamil