Literary festival brings books and bibliophiles together in Tiruchi

Literature lovers in the city sampled different genres of writing and listened to authors sharing insights into their work at the Tiruchi Literary Festival that was launched by women’s organisation The Aura on Saturday

Literature lovers in the city sampled different genres of writing and listened to authors sharing insights into their work at the Tiruchi Literary Festival that was launched by women’s organisation The Aura on Saturday.

The day-long programme was inaugurated by retired Madras High Court judge Prabha Sridevan, in the presence of festival curator Rugmani Prabhakar, and The Aura’s executive committee members Vrinda Ramanan and Mythily Ramanan.

Ms. Sridevan, who is a translator of several notable Tamil works into English, said that creative writing made it possible to see that the world of women was not monolithic. “We know where the shoe pinches us. The world we create speaks of what we know,” she said.

Quoting passages from Tamil writer R. Chudamani’s short stories, Ms. Sridevan said that some aspects of feminine identity and desire were universal, even if confined to the pages of a book.

The event featured the introduction of the book Lords of the Earth and Sea: A History of the Chola Empire by Anirudh Kanisetti, who joined the function virtually from Delhi.

At a session on “Scent of the Earth”, celebrated author Perumal Murugan and his translator Janani Kannan delved into the scope of his narratives rooted in Tamil culture, moderated by local academic and poet Jayanthi Manoj.

In the session on “Examining Historical Narratives, Fact, Fiction, Myth”, Gowri Ramnayaran, granddaughter of author Kalki Ramakrishnan and a translator of his books, spoke on the role of history in shaping storytelling, along with authors Anirudh Kanisetti and Arshia Sattar. The panel was moderated by author Ashwin Prabhu.