The Hindu Lit for Life| Nirmala Lakshman on a journey of discovery while working on The Tamils— A Portrait of a Community

Nirmala Lakshman on her latest book, The Tamils: A Portrait Of A Community, and gaining insights from ordinary people and simple relationships through the process

When I was asked to work on my latest book, The Tamils: A Portrait Of A Community, I was overwhelmed at the thought of delving into such an expansive and complex subject. My publisher David Davidar at Aleph Book Company however suggested that I use chronology as a structure and this made my journey easier. I was asked to make this subject my own, and there was a lot of freedom to explore Tamil culture, history, and literature. 

The conversations I had with a myriad of people while working on the book were integral in helping me navigate this expansive subject. People like distinguished epigraphist and archaeologist V. Vedachalam and so many others, who I knew, had many fascinating insights into Tamil history through their own hard work, and I learnt a lot. While researching the subject, I gained profound insights from ordinary people and simple relationships I encountered on the field. For instance, I speak about a Muslim couple I met worshipping Vandimaricha swamy, in the book,  who opened my eyes to religious amity.  

I know that beneath the surface there are difficulties and complexities, but I learnt along the way that there are many sides to the Tamil people which I found fascinating and absorbing to delve into. 

In 2025, I hope to go back to more reading and writing. We are unfortunately caught up in so many other things that I want to consciously make more time for this. Reading in particular gives me great joy and to be able to completely drown oneself in a book, whether fiction or nonfiction, is something I cherish. Poetry is crucial and the centre of my soul since I was probably nine-years-old. I am somebody who loves poetry through the ages and I hope to read more of this as well. 

What are you currently reading: The heartbreaking, yet poignant book Brotherless Night by Sri Lankan author V V Ganeshanathan, and I am looking forward to reading Peter Frankopan’s latest work. There are so many older books in my bookshelves I would like to go back to and read again, which includes The Leopard by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa. 

One book that you recommend everybody reads: The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese. This is tragic, beautifully moving and richly textured novel that moved me when I read it. 

(As told to S Poorvaja)