MALAYALAM
Essays on social issues
B.R.P.BHASKAR
KARUKKUNNA MAILANCHI: Kanimozhi in Tamil, P. K. Sreenivasan — Tr. in Malayalam; DC Books, DC Kizhakemuri Edam, Good Shepherd Street, Kottayam-686001. Rs. 38.
WHEN A collection of essays of the Member of Rajya Sabha, Kanimozhi, who is the daughter of the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, M. Karunanidhi, appears in translation it is easy to attach more importance to who she is than to what she has to say. That will be doing injustice to the writer as well as to the work.
In the 17 pieces in this volume, Kanimozhi addresses a variety of problems confronting Indian society. She has definite views on them, which she expresses with refreshing simplicity.
Issues of social justice are her major concern. Gender justice is a recurring theme. She deplores the Gujarat riots and rises in defence of poet H.G. Rasool, who has come under attack from a section of the Muslim community for questioning its patriarchal traditions. She exposes latent caste consciousness in urban communities and draws attention to the growing influence of sectarian organisations on young people.
Kanimozhi looks at issues in a wide social context. A discussion on the poor artistic quality of Tamil films leads her to observe that there is a general willingness to settle for the second best not only in cinema but also in literature, politics and even food.
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