Dec/22/2011

Su. Venkatesan wins Sahitya Akademi award

Tamil writer Su. Venkatesan, who captured 600 years of history of Madurai between 1310 and 1920 in his debut novel Kaaval Kottam , has won the Sahitya Akademi award for the year 2011.

The 1048-page novel begins with the pillage of Madurai, known as Koodal Maanagar by Allauddin Khilji's general Malik Kafur, and the killing of Karuppu, a security guard. Subsequently, it fell into the hands of Vijayanagar kings and the descendants of Karuppu returned to Madurai as security guards, offering a unique security system till the British took over. All these have been dealt with in a gripping narrative.

Tamil film Aravaan , by director Vasantha Balan, is based on one of the sub-plots of the novel.

“The novel has its roots in the research I did on the compulsory settlement camp set up by the British in the Goodalur-Cumbum valley to lodge the security guards of Madurai after their defeat. It took 10 years to complete the novel and it was published in December 2008,” the 41-year-old Venkatesan, hailing from Tiruparankundram near Madurai, told The Hindu .

An active worker of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), he was fielded as the party candidate in Tiruparankundram in the 2006 Assembly election. He was elected the general secretary of the Tamil Nadu Progressive Writers and Artistes Association this year.

“My close association with the CPI(M) for the last 20 years and my activism could be said to have shaped my novel,” he said.

Asked whether the politician in him did not come in the way of his creativity, he asserted that politics and creative literature were inseparable for anyone who loved society deeply.

Kaaval Kottam is about the security system that prevailed in Madurai Fort. It was unique in the sense that the guards would repay the money or goods if they were not able to prevent the houses from being burgled.

“In every village there are kaavalans (guards) and k allans (burglars). The question was who was great: k aavalan or k allan . But the k allan would not enter into any territory which was under the control of k aavalan from his village,” Mr. Venkatesan explains.

Kannakol poduthal (breaking into a house or palace by making a hole in the wall) is an art perfected by these k allans and one of them could even enter the palace of Thirumalai Nayakar: he decamped with the ring of the king.

In the novel, the people of Thathanoor, a fictitious village, are responsible for the security of Madurai and resist the attempt of the British to demolish the fort for the purpose of expanding the city. After defeating them, the British settle them in camps and declare them as notified communities. They were de-notified only after the country gained independence.

Another interesting aspect of the novel is its strong women characters. Whether it is the wife of Karuppu, a pregnant woman leaving the city in the wake of its defeat to raise a generation of great warriors, or the queens of Vijayanagar or the wives of kallans and kaavalans, they possess in them an extraordinary streak of independence.

Mr. Venkatesan also deals elaborately with the construction of the Mullaperiyar dam in the wake of the Thathu Varucha Pancham (drought) between 1876 and 1877.

“Around 20 per cent of the Madurai population perished in the drought and the commission constituted by the government recommended construction of a dam,” says Mr. Venkatesan, who has published six poetry collections and seven research works.

He is writing another novel based on Tamil tradition.

Three from State selected for Sahitya Akademi awards

Noted historian Ramachandra Guha, Kannada novelist P. Gopalakrishna Pai and Konkani poet Melvyn Rodrigues have been selected for this year's prestigious Sahitya Akademi awards.

Mr. Guha gets the award for his much appreciated India After Gandhi , Mr. Pai for his monumental work Swapna Saraswata and Mr. Rodrigues for his poetry collection Prikriticho Paas .

India After Gandhi attempts to answer the mystifying question of why there is an India at all given its complex social and political diversity and covers over six decades of post-Partition Indian history.

Reacting to the award, Mr. Guha said, “I am delighted and honoured, particularly because it is a recognition of the discipline of history. Usually this award is given to novelists, playwrights and poets. The award given to this work indicates that history can also be a branch of literature.”

The awards — in the form of an engraved copper plaque, a shawl, and a cheque for Rs. 1 lakh — will be presented at a ceremony to be held on February 14.

Mr. Pai's novel has already bagged the Karnataka Sahitya Academy Award and the H. Shantaram Literary Award. The book has been translated into English, Marathi, Malayalam, Hindi, Bengali and Tamil.

Mr. Pai has written several short stores, and his screenplay for the filmKanasemba Kudureyaneri , directed by Girish Kasaravalli, brought him a national award.

The novel is the saga of the migration of the Gowd Saraswat community along the west coast of India from the early 16th century to the late 18th century.

It chronicles the journey of the community from Goa right up to Kerala. The novel involved years of research by the author, who delved into written history and oral narrations.

According to literary critic H.S. Raghavendra Rao, “The novel winds up with a poignant description of the agonies and ecstasies suffered by individual families while settling down and prospering in their chosen habitat. The novel covers a huge time span and delineates the social dynamics within the community in the perspective of historical events.”

Speaking to The Hindu , Mr. Pai said that the award was a reward for the effort he invested in writing the novel. “I have worked for nearly 20 years and sourced 4,000 books, manuscripts and documents. I travelled from Goa to Kochi to meet people who belonged to Gowd Saraswat community and studied their lifestyle.”

It is significant that Swapna Saraswata , which was published two years ago, has already seen four editions. “I would be happy if more people read the novel because of the Sahitya Akademi Award,” he said.

P.K. Iyengar passes away

Eminent nuclear physicist P.K. Iyengar, 80, who played a leading role in India's first peaceful nuclear explosion in 1974, passed away here on Wednesday.

Twin test of Prithvi-II postponed

A twin user trial of the nuclear-capable Prithvi-II missile by the Army was postponed on Wednesday because of a technical problem at the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur near here.

Salem airport emerging as a pilot training centre

With leading professional flight training academies, the Salem airport has emerged as a hub for private and commercial pilot training.

Despite the withdrawal of the lone domestic operation by Kingfisher Airlines, the Salem Airport has today become a preferred location for many private operators and leading training academies thanks to its strategic location, well-laid runway of 6,000 feet and a favourable weather condition as per visual flight rules.

On Thursday a two-seater Cessna 152, belonging to Chennai-based International Aviation Academy (IAA) Private Limited, took off with a student on a maiden training sortie thus signalling the inauguration of the second academy on the premises of the Salem Airport. The other academy is Southern Pilot Training Academy, Salem, in association with a Bhopal-based institute. “Many have expressed their willingness to pitch in here,” says an officer in airport.

IAA Chairman M.K. Raja Gopalan says the academy is run by aviation experts with a high degree of professionalism. “The main objective is to establish a highly competitive training programme as per international standards and norms of Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). The Chief Flying Instructor will be Capt O B K Singh who has two decades of experience and logged 5,000 hours,” says Mr. Raja Gopalan.

The academy boasts of 15,000 square feet hangar and another 15,000 square feet space for facilities such as Wi-Fi enabled classrooms, parking lots, runway of 1,800 metre length, a fleet of Cessna 152 and 172 aircraft, flight stimulator, multi-engine training crafts and workshop. “The courses include Private Pilot and Commercial Pilot licenses,” says Directors K C Samuel and Shaji Abraham John.

With the air traffic growing manifold and shortage of commercial pilots hitting the industry hard, the DGCA has decided to give licences to these training academies to make the unutilised airport infrastructure in Tier-II cities such as Salem, economically viable one. Though 28 airports have been identified by AAI, the institutions have preferred small and medium ones since they are relatively free from high density traffic.

City gets first dose of pentavalent vaccine

The first dose of pentavalent vaccine that offers protection against five diseases at one shot was administered to infants at the Annal Gandhi Memorial Government Hospital attached to the K.A.P.Viswanatham Medical College here on Wednesday.

The vaccine introduced under the universal immunisation programme was administered in the presence of Collector, Jayashree Muralidharan and A.Karthikeyan, Dean.

It was rolled out across Tamil Nadu, the second State after Kerala to introduce the vaccine.

Pentavalent vaccine offers protection against five diseases- diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, hepatitis B and Hib. The vaccine would be administered to infants in three doses at 6, 10 and 14 weeks of age.

Booster

A booster can be taken between 15- 18 months. Only infants eligible for the first dose of DPT would be administered the vaccine, while those initiated on previous immunisation schedules should complete the schedule. The pentavalent vaccine would replace existing triple antigen DPT and primary dose of hepatitis B.

The new addition to the immunisation programme is the heamophilus influenza type b (Hib).

According to Dr.Uma, head, Department of Paediatrics, Hib virus causes meningitis, pneumonia and ear infections leading to deafness. The pentavalent vaccine can reduce infant mortality arising out of complications of these diseases.

Reduction in number

of sittings, injections

The vaccine reduces the number of injections and sittings per child, said M.A.Aleem, vice-principal. As the vaccine combines five-in-one protection in a single shot, there are few chances of parents missing out on the schedule, health authorities opined.

The vaccine has been available for some time in the private market but was unaffordable to many segments of society.

Food Security Bill to be tabled today

The Government will introduce in the Lok Sabha on Thursday the National Food Security Bill which seeks to give legal rights to subsidised foodgrains to identified beneficiaries under the public distribution system. “The National Food Security Bill will be introduced in Lok Sabha tomorrow,” Minister of State (Independent) for Food K. V. Thomas told journalists here on the sidelines of the annual general meeting of the Indian Sugar Mills Association.

He said Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar had given the permission to introduce the Bill. The Bill would be referred to the Parliamentary Standing Committee, he added. It was approved by the Union Cabinet earlier this week.

Asked about the concerns expressed by the Tamil Nadu government, Mr. Thomas said the Bill had been prepared after wide consultations with all stakeholders in the last two-and-a-half years. Views of State governments had also been sought. “Tamil Nadu was a little late in giving their comments. We will consider their views also,” he added.

The proposed legislation seeks to provide legal right to foodgrains to up to 75 per cent, including at least 46 per cent ‘priority', rural population and up to 50 per cent, including 26 per cent ‘priority', urban population.

The Bill seeks to provide 7 kg of rice, wheat and coarse grains per person per month to priority households at Rs. 3, Rs. 2 and Re. 1 per kg, respectively.