The Malayalam Write, Mr Pillai

On my way back from Kerala this time, I bought two books - PRAWNS (translated from Malayalam ‘Chemmeen’) by Thakazhi Sivasankaran Pillai, and MY STORY by Kamala Das.

I started reading MY STORY first. It could not attract my attention much. Its all about what went wrong in ‘my’ life. So silly & so contemptous writing. Its as if the writer is the only one who had faced all the problems in human relations. Most of us have gone through the problems of similar degree, but its not worth-while talking about it public. It was very silly.

So I took a break & started reading ‘PRAWNS’. Wow !!! I could not put down the book. I had been to Lakshwadeep once & seen fishermen & their folks. I could relate myself more that way. This story written so long ago, is a tribute to all honourable fisherfolk in India. I am glad Malayalam is one language that can express all the feelings in the world.  Now this book was made into a movie - it was the first color movie in Malayalam. They say it was a big hit then & received several awards. The book itself received President’s Award then. It was then translated into so many national & international languages. The writer is just so brilliant.

I believe good things will last for ever.