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misspalah 's review for:
Kalki: Selected Stories
by Kalki
Love and Passion are but three days’ madness! Of what use is it to give up your life? At least dying for your country makes some sense.
- The Ruined Fort, Kalki.
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I was blown away by this book. I have no other words to describe Kalki’s short stories except it is witty and playful. The way Ramaswamy Krishnamurthy (Kalki’s real name) wrote his characters in each story pull you into it within a second. You wanted to know more and more by the end of each story. The fact that his stories did not shy away from making a social commentary in it but at the same time still maintain the focus on the story is highly appreciated. One can go on and on rambling how this value or that change is needed and important but you didnt see this kind of ‘preachy tone’ in his stories. Kalki let the readers to reflect on it once they finished it. You will find literacy, women empowerment, education, caste, nationalism, tamil language, pre-independence india, the concept of ‘Satyagraha’ and Gandhi to be among the major common themes across the book.
Translated to English from Tamil language by his own grand daughter, Gowri Ramnarayan whom i have to say million thanks because without her, i will never read this precious gem. However, i do feel that if readers have a limited knowledge about India and could not differentiate North and South India, have not watched any Indian Films especially Tamil films, you might not catch the cultural nuances / symbolism in Kalki’s stories and ultimately it might hinder youself to enjoy this book. Regardless of that, I would still recommend it for those who have heard of Kalki but never read this book or who have never heard of Kalki but decided to travel to Tamil Nadu, the southern part of India in the literary form. This ultimately deserved 5 stars because most of his stories is surely ahead of his time especially when it was published of 1920s - 1940s.
.
.
5 stories in this book definitely deserved a shoutout because i was in awe with the whole premise of the story.
1. Kaditamum Kanneerum / The letter (1937)
2. Tiruvazhundur Sivakozhundu / Sivakozhundu of Tiruvazhundur (1939)
3. Kanaiyazhiyin Kanavu / Rural Fantasy (1934)
4. Vishamandiram / The poison Cure (1925)
5. S.S Menaka / The S.S Menaka
Netflix India, if by any chance you see this - Can we have another anthology drama based on Kalki’s stories like ‘Paava Kadhaigal’ or a feature film like Super Deluxe?
- The Ruined Fort, Kalki.
.
.
I was blown away by this book. I have no other words to describe Kalki’s short stories except it is witty and playful. The way Ramaswamy Krishnamurthy (Kalki’s real name) wrote his characters in each story pull you into it within a second. You wanted to know more and more by the end of each story. The fact that his stories did not shy away from making a social commentary in it but at the same time still maintain the focus on the story is highly appreciated. One can go on and on rambling how this value or that change is needed and important but you didnt see this kind of ‘preachy tone’ in his stories. Kalki let the readers to reflect on it once they finished it. You will find literacy, women empowerment, education, caste, nationalism, tamil language, pre-independence india, the concept of ‘Satyagraha’ and Gandhi to be among the major common themes across the book.
Translated to English from Tamil language by his own grand daughter, Gowri Ramnarayan whom i have to say million thanks because without her, i will never read this precious gem. However, i do feel that if readers have a limited knowledge about India and could not differentiate North and South India, have not watched any Indian Films especially Tamil films, you might not catch the cultural nuances / symbolism in Kalki’s stories and ultimately it might hinder youself to enjoy this book. Regardless of that, I would still recommend it for those who have heard of Kalki but never read this book or who have never heard of Kalki but decided to travel to Tamil Nadu, the southern part of India in the literary form. This ultimately deserved 5 stars because most of his stories is surely ahead of his time especially when it was published of 1920s - 1940s.
.
.
5 stories in this book definitely deserved a shoutout because i was in awe with the whole premise of the story.
1. Kaditamum Kanneerum / The letter (1937)
2. Tiruvazhundur Sivakozhundu / Sivakozhundu of Tiruvazhundur (1939)
3. Kanaiyazhiyin Kanavu / Rural Fantasy (1934)
4. Vishamandiram / The poison Cure (1925)
5. S.S Menaka / The S.S Menaka
Netflix India, if by any chance you see this - Can we have another anthology drama based on Kalki’s stories like ‘Paava Kadhaigal’ or a feature film like Super Deluxe?