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Unfazed by flak
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Is Jayakanthan happy about the Jnanpeeth this year, especially as it comes to a Tamil writer after 30 years?
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Bundle of contradictions Jayakanthan
Ask him about significant contemporary Tamil writers and Jayakanthan stays mute. Repeat your question, you get a louder silence. Finally, the man breaks into words, "You didn't mention me," he complains. "Significant writers? I'm the only one." Later, talking about awards, he implies that missing awards is no great loss, what can he do if the judges don't have the acumen to recognise literature of value? You persist: is he happy about the Jnanpeeth this year? "I'm happy that others are happy," Jayakanthan smiles blandly.
Just how happy are these `others'? The world of Tamil literature is riven by factions. Jayakanthan has been accused of sacrificing subtlety for loudness, turning characters into mouthpieces for his own views, and getting trapped in topical issues. "Intellectuals are bound to debate. But the approach should be analytic," Jayakanthan remarks. Does he find such criticism useful? Raising a quizzical eyebrow he drawls, "Yes, I get to understand the critics by what they write. No use for writing, but maybe for readers...?" Ever come across sensitive readers drawing new meanings from his works that the author had not thought of? "No," is the bald answer.
Prolific
Starting with poetry, Jayakanthan wrote novels (Oru Nadikai Nadakam Parkiral, Parisukku Po, Jayajaya Sankara), novellas (Vizhudugal), short stories (Agraharattil Poonai, Dampatyam, Vandiyil), plays (Balaveenangal), film scripts (Sila Nerangalil Sila Manidarkal) and essays. He even wrote a few film songs. His range amazes — from village to city, field to factory, tenement to mansion — nothing escapes him. How did he acquire so intimate a knowledge of different classes, creeds, thought processes, even dialects and subcultures? "I have lived in cheri (slum) and agraharam (Brahmin colony). But a writer need not depend on direct, personal experiences alone. What he reads, hears from others, his own and his ancestors' dreams — everything goes into creation. Writing is not reporting, it's to move from the real, factual and the imagined, to reach truth."
Jayakanthan has no time for questions about Tamil writers and their position vis-à-vis the internationally known Indian writer in English. It is obvious that he has no thought to spare for the Vikram Seths and Arundhati Roys. All he vouchsafes finally is, "I'm interested in doing quality work in my mother tongue. Anyway, acquiring lasting fame does not depend on a writer's choice of language." Translation? "Not my concern. It is the concern of people who want to read books from languages they don't know."
Leftist ideologies
Left ideologies are strong in Jayakanthan's writings. "Communism will always attract intellectuals the world over. The break up of the U.S.S.R has not spelt the end of Communism, any more than it has rid us of the consequences of the Cold War — we have to still contend with terrorism, don't we? Bush may have thrown Saddam Hussain into prison, but he has to placate old man Castro in Cuba, hasn't he?"
The man has as many contradictions as he finds in the world around him. Left leaning does not obscure spiritual interests, lighting up his writings at unexpected moments. His room — the terrace converted by a thatched roof into a study — overflows with books. But he reads few. "I'm a writer, not a reader," he explains. Poetry? "Don't read anything after Subrahmanya Bharati. I go backwards from Bharati, as my fancy prompts, not in chronological order!"
His affinity to Bhakti poetry is obvious. But Jayakanthan will not admit to bhakti in real life. So what is that `atmaartham' or spiritual meaning he finds in the Alwars and Nayanmars? "Nothing to do with God. I find them deeply connected to humanity, including all the negative aspects — falsehood, deceit, cruelty, weakness."
Is Jayakanthan difficult, temperamental, arrogant? But his writings reveal a genuine fellow feeling for the most deprived, oppressed and marginalised people in his society. So who is the real Jayakanthan? "Don't expect easy answers. Don't you know that life is the co-existence of contradictions? My truth is in my writings."
GOWRI RAMNARAYAN
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