A whole day with Ambai

'Ambai 80' event celebrates Tamil feminist writer Ambai with discussions, book release, and insights from fellow writers.

‘Ambai 80,’ an event to honour award winning Tamil feminist writer C.S.Lakshmi, popularly known as Ambai, was held in Madurai on Thursday.

The day-long event saw discussions centred around the various facets of Ambai’s works. Each session was moderated by a leading writer. A collection of short stories written by her was also released at the event organised by Kalachuvadu Trust and Tamil Higher Research Centre of The American College, the venue.

The day ended with Sahitya Akademi award-winning writer Perumal Murugan speaking about his friendship with Ambai, another Sahitya Akademi awardee. He said how she would schedule her writing. Elaborating on her working style, he said she dedicated time and did meticulous research.

Recollecting an incident, he said that she was interested in translating his Tamil book ‘Saathiyum Naanum’ in English. The book was an anthology of essays written by people who belonged to different castes. He said that after reading the book, she had noted down the doubts she had and met the people who wrote the essays. She spoke to them and clarified doubts regarding the usage of particular dialect and the context in which they were used. The book was translated in English as ‘Caste and I’.

Mr. Murugan said that her stories were wide-ranging. They were not restricted to the households. It focused on working women and often the premise was a public space or a working space. The premise of her work was so strong and layered with different angles, he said.

In her acceptance speech, Ms. Ambai recalled her writing career. “I started writing in 1960 when I was 16. I took part in writing competitions. I spent much time at the library those days, she said.

Recollecting her time as a teacher and her interaction with colleagues and students, she said that she had raised concerns over lack of basic infrastructure in the school for which she faced criticism for trying to bring in change.