thedalum , veedum

To those who are not conversant with the tamil language, the title may be split into two parts Viz 1) Thedal(Which means self analysis among other meanings ) and 2)Veedu means home.

Now the reference i have made emanates from the reading of collection of short stories of one of the famous writers of the yester years by name Thi.Janagiraman.He belongs to the same district in TAMIL nadu to which i also belong to..Viz Tanjore district.And the comparison ends there between him and me , so you can continue to read this post with out fear /anxiety of my trumpeting further!!!

Thi.Ja.Ra as he is popularly known in literary circles had quite a number of novels and short stories to his credit.Some of his famous novels include 'Marappasu"(Wooden cow),Amma vandhal(Mother had arrived),Sembaruthi(name of a flower),etc.I have read almost all his novels and my literary criticism of his novel marappasu, won me an award in an essay competition, in late seventies, from the hands of the great poet(kaviarasu kannadasan) during the silver jubilee celebrations of TAMIL MANDRAM at KOLKATA.There will be a seperate post in due courseon"MARAPPASU".

His novels are known for its langauage, nativity, characterisation and the final climax, which in most of the cases is least expected.His writings never sit in judgement as to whether some thing is good or bad, the writings rather point out to
the existence of two view points for any issue and that is all.If my approach to life, its events and to those around me have ever shown an improvement, it is partly because of reading his books.

The two short stories , i have referred to , Thedal and Veedu, have one thing in common.Both of them deal with adultery.The similarity ends there.

In veedu, the reader is taken through the changing moods of its hero(a fifty plus man and a doctor by profession) who by his own ways and means, keep the potential buyers of his house property at bay. When the novel unfurls itself, it is observed that his wife at one point of time wants to seperate from him (because of an intimacy she develops with a person whom he believed and who became his compounder)and suggests to him to sell the house and pay her so that she can part ways.But then the compounder with whom she developed an intimacy dies due to heart attack and she has to continue to be with him for the rest of his/her life.Her anxiety to get rid of the house, so that she can overcome her feelings of guilt and his persistence to continue in the same house, by way of extending her the penalty for her past...These are never spelt out. but the reader is able to appreciate the nuances.And at the end the reader starts having sympathy for both,the victor aswell as the vanquished.AND THAT IS THE SUCCESS OF THI.JA.RA.

Coming to the other short story 'thedal", a seperation between a husband and a wife has taken place after their wedding has resulted in the birth of a girl child.Here it is mutual consent,(again the cause is the wife falling for charms of another man) and the hero when enquired about the level of hurt on seperation, says "what is the point in insistence on living to gether when she has already decided to part ways...and the real freedom that i can give her is to act at her will and to own it".The girl child who grew in to her teens is introduced later to the hero by a common friend, in the house of a female lecturer. The tie between the father and daughter strengthens and towards the end, the father and the lady lecturer gets married to each other;the reader is kept guessing as to whether the 'thedal' is for his daughter or for his partner.MANY A TIME WE FEEL THAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR A PARTICULAR THING, WHEREAS IN THE HEART OF HEARTS WE ARE LONGING FOR SOME THING ELSE.

Not withstanding the end of the story or the questions which it poses to its readers, the important thing is how the strain in a relationship can be tackled.In one of the stories, the hero chooses to persist with the same relationship and perish with it while in the later there is a parting, but each memebr of the relationship,is allowed to enjoy and choose their own paths...MAY BE A BIT TOO HIGH FOR AN INDIAN READER, BASED ON THE WAY HE/she HAS BEEN BROUGHT UP.BUt that is what life is about.
Keep it close, u face the sting, keep it aside, you have the freedom to breath...