‘The Mozhi Prize Anthology 1': Short stories with wide appeal are grounded in Tamil cultural milieu

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The Mozhi Prize Anthology 1 begins with a short introductory note on Mozhi, an initiative that aspires to bring to the table literature from various Indian languages for critical analysis and appreciation of cultural nuances and aesthetics. Founded by translators Priyamvada Ramkumar and Suchitra Ramachandran, in its inaugural edition in the year 2022, the Mozhi Prize focused on Tamil-English translators. From a total of 91 submissions received for the prize, a shortlist of nine entries was finalised by a panel of judges – Tamil writer A Muttulingam, Tamil-English translator N Kalyan Raman, and Kannada-English translator Deepa Bhasthi. This shortlist (along with the three prize-winning entries, three special mention stories and three others) makes up The Mozhi Prize anthology 1: A House without Cats and Other Stories, published by South Side Books, an imprint of Hyderabad Book Trust.
The stories and themes
The titular story, written by Chandra, translated by Padmaja Anant (and also the winner of the 2022 Mozhi Prize), showcases a family's journey from testing times to brighter days. Here is a father who thinks that his children's education alone can restore the family's lost glory, a mother, a playmate and storyteller to her children, whose timely act and foresight secure the family's future, and there's a cat with her kittens who are almost like a part of the family.
Jeyamohan's 'Filfilee', translated by Amruth Varshan, the first runner-up, takes us back in time to King Herod's regime when thousands of innocents were massacred. Set in a town called Ein Sheva, a stopover en route to Turkey from the East, dotted with taverns selling acrid yayin drink, has stories within a story. 'And what is poetry but history…', claims Thomas, a bard as he, a lady tavern-keeper, an ugly man with a swollen leg and an easterner nomad witness history unfold before their eyes.
What happens when the cause of a serious affliction is prescribed as a source of alleviating it? 'Cotton Fever' by Senthil Jagannathan, translated by Anjana Sekhar, the second runner-up, is marked by astringent irony.
The special mention entries and other stories in the collection are as engrossing as the prize winners. A crazy carpenter (kirukkan asari), known to ruin every piece of wood he touches, carves the most exquisite sculpture for a child on a sandalwood plank in 'Ammaiyappam' by Jeyamohan (translated by V Iswarya). Untold stories quietly tucked away in things in a trunk box tumble out gently in Vannadasan's 'A Brief Strain of Music', translated by Mayuravarshini M. The melancholy and nostalgia in this story reminded me of Ambai's 'In a Forest, a Deer' (translated by Lakshmi Holmstrom). The question 'Can man turn into an animal with rigorous meditation?' is answered by blending the real with surreal and magical with rational in Jeyamohan's story 'Beast', translated by Megana Kumar.
There couldn't have been a better beginning to the collection than Jeyamohan's story 'Maadan's Deliverance', translated by Sherwin Rodriguez. The man's obsession with religion and caste supremacy, his dogmatic adherence to rituals, can even trounce gods themselves – a playful mockery and satire of current times. Both Senthil Jagannathan's 'Clarinet', translated by Darun Subramanian, and 'Resurrection' by Su Venugopal, translated by Vignesh Hariharan, are heartrending stories of relationships that aren't defined by blood.
A melange of translation styles
One of the standout aspects of this collection is how it offers readers a variety of translation styles. Each translator fashions the conduit between Tamil and English differently. Sherwin Rodriguez uses the pronoun 'it' to refer to the deity Sudalai Maadasamy in the story 'Maadan's Deliverance', probably to emphasise that he is the god of the lower castes. Though the Tamil title means 'Maadan's Salvation', the translator's choice of English title befits the irony in the climax. Anjana Sekhar resorts to using 'ter' and 'ma' respectively for 'to' and 'my' in the story 'Cotton Fever', making us wonder what aspects in the original led to this choice. ('We have got ter think about our boy's college admission; Ma hands won't harm ma own children').
While Mayuravarshini highlights Tamil words like 'ratchasan', 'komban' in italics, she leaves an entire line in Tamil describing the appearance of a deceased person in the story 'A Brief Strain of Music' as it is, without using italics, and Darun Subramanian carefully shares the meaning of many popular Tamil songs that feature in the story 'Clarinet'. This assortment of styles is a source of both delight and intrigue to readers. Sample these lines from 'Clarinet': 'With the clarinet supported on the right thumb, the remaining fingers danced on top of it like a flock of sparrows pecking at grain, while the little fingers bobbed up and down like their tails. The music sounded rich.'
Meanwhile, in 'Ammaiyappam', the opening of a wooden trunk box with a waxy surface and handles embellished with floral craftwork is compared to handling a harmonium (in A Brief Strain of Music) and idlis slowly peeled off the warm cloth covering are compared to fluffy white chicks, newly hatched from their shells by a child.
From a farmer's joy upon seeing a mature crop, a man's unconditional love for his cow, an idli with the dent left by the mother to check if it's cooked just right, a tape recorder or a shirt as caches of memories, the themes here though universal are grounded in Tamil cultural milieu. These stories are pen portraits of Tamil 'lived' experiences. Even when a reader can appreciate the meaning of Tamil songs like 'Veedu varai uravu', 'Nee illa deivam illai,' thanks to translation, their cultural significance goes beyond explanations in footnotes / glossaries.
It is here that readers aware of the Tamil way of life/fluent in the language play a vital role. Discussing these stories with fellow readers who don't know Tamil paves the way for a deeper appreciation of the stories. After all, reading is an activity that is as solitary as it is social. And in this respect, the Mozhi Prize Anthology 1 is a wholesome collection, which is in tune with Mozhi's vision to 'talk about Indian literature in all its various manifestations.'