May 21, 2006
Kamal Hassan's shortstory in
Kamal Hassan's shortstory in Vikatan[28 May 2006] named, Anayaa Neruppu, is a dazzling sample of his story-telling skills. I'm not hinting the story. But it's a class apart. No jokes. Tell me if you weren't amazed.
P.S - I read it for the second and third time. I'm still amazed. Much more than the first time. How could he ever think of this dimension, from a story that's so common. Every single sentence has been crafted after much thought. Brilliant. I'm not going ga-ga because it's Kamal. For a short story, this is one helluva trip.
P.P.S - Just came back after watching the Da Vinci Code. It did strike me that Kamal just explained, in this story, how Dan Brown managed a Da Vinci Code. This story is a sort of mini Da Vinci Code on Hinduism.


Comments (42)
I agree with you, Guru.
Excellent narration by Kamal..Even I had mentioned in my -log-,yesterday..
And the matter in it is a real class, no doubt.I am amazed by both the concept and the narration..
Maruthu's colourful art is also good...
East or West, Kamal is best...!!
Posted by: 3signs | May 21, 2006 5:21 AM
no wonder it's good. it's a copy..hehehe!!!
Posted by: poiyavilangi | May 21, 2006 8:19 AM
Well said, Lazy! I read it this morning and wondered if we will ever get to see another talented person like him in our generation.
Posted by: parupps | May 21, 2006 9:37 AM
Hey LG,
Agree 100% with you man. It was one brilliant work.
His writing just seems to improve with age. I always found his earlier writings very terse and felt there was an effort to showoff his vocabulary. But this one was of the top drawer. Simple but superb.
Check out my take on this in my blog(yes even i have one these days)
"http://inertrebel.blogspot.com/2006_05_01_inertrebel_archive.html"
Posted by: mutRupuLLi | May 21, 2006 1:24 PM
Excellent Guru !!!!
Posted by: sathisz | May 21, 2006 5:05 PM
Not impressed. Typical Kamal "pithartral".
Posted by: Ramesh | May 21, 2006 9:44 PM
"Kamal just explained, in this story, how Dan Brown managed a Da Vinci Code"
Lazy, how do you say that?? by kamal's words in the story that "Kalavaram Vara namma oorla kaaranam veumaa enna??"
Posted by: silicon sillu | May 22, 2006 10:44 AM
Lazy and others,
If u like kamal's intellectual\thouthful style of tamil, in writing,answering ect...below are some links, they are the Kamal's Coloumn from His non-active Mayyam Tamil magazine
http://tinyurl.com/nuyyf
http://tinyurl.com/j8ruz
http://tinyurl.com/ots9c
http://tinyurl.com/evjt9
Posted by: silicon sillu | May 22, 2006 10:48 AM
http://tinyurl.com/s687l
originally from http://universalherokamal.com/UniversalHeroKamal/thalaivar/Kadhaigal/ShowKadhai.aspx?Kadhai=AnaiyaaNeruppu
enjoy the full content here......
Posted by: silicon sillu | May 22, 2006 10:57 AM
Astonishing story!!!
I couldn't get the title initially. The story travels towards the end point and lightens up the justification for that. This story says why Kamal still exist in the film industry.
The fire that never sleeps... Still...
- Lakshman
Posted by: smruthi | May 22, 2006 3:03 PM
the sad thing in all this is that I cannot get the article!!! The register page doesnt work!@!!!!!aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa...anyone have a copy of it saved???
Posted by: Gp | May 22, 2006 5:39 PM
juz see 2 post before yours
Posted by: silicon sillu | May 22, 2006 6:01 PM
Wow!!! an amazing dimension Kamal had looked at !
It is just exciting reading this piece of his writing !! Great stuff ! I just love the way he had played with the words...
He will never b understood by our tamil philmu watchers! ... I'm just waiting for the day, he calls off his career , so that I won't hav to care watching tamil philms ... :)
Kamal rocks !!!
Posted by: alien | May 22, 2006 9:43 PM
//"Kamal just explained, in this story, how Dan Brown managed a Da Vinci Code"
Lazy, how do you say that??
//
Sakala, Doesn't Kamal's story perfectly fits in , in the great Saga ! .... Just like Dan brown's claims of Jesus married and his wife was Magdalene , the holy grail was Magdalene's tomb & etc., .... There are no strong evidences for his claims ... He might well be fitting a story in, around the factual incidents that had occured, just like what Kamal had done in this short story ..... :) .....
Posted by: Alien | May 22, 2006 9:57 PM
இவனே ஒரு நாலாந்தர பொறுக்கி. வேறென்ன எழுதுவான்.
Posted by: Kamal Hater | May 22, 2006 10:57 PM
not able to open, what was this story about?? I might have my opinion to offer!
Posted by: rums | May 23, 2006 12:39 AM
Some peepz here finding it hard to understand literature. Or is it because Kamal wrote it?? hmm... no wonder crap magazines with gossips sell better these days.
Posted by: Country Brute | May 23, 2006 1:47 AM
anayaa neruppu....
kamal'in sirappu.......
the man who bruises himself for the sake of indian cinema...
kamal rulz.....
Posted by: suthan | May 23, 2006 1:51 AM
rums & others who can't read it at vikatan, see it here
http://tinyurl.com/s687l
thanks to silicon sillu & Kamal web ...
Posted by: Alien | May 23, 2006 9:04 AM
Off topic:
Any news on ARR's new album "Pray for me brother"?
Posted by: My Name is Billa | May 23, 2006 10:47 AM
Thanks for the URL. Would you be aware of a tamil novel, about Draupadi's lust for Bheema? Short version, she spends nights with each of her husband, and eagerly awaits her turn with bheema everytime,because of his physique,strength and everything else.Need to know the name of the novel, and the author.
Posted by: Rums | May 23, 2006 11:07 AM
Thanks for the URL. Would you be aware of a tamil novel, about Draupadi's lust for Bheema? Short version, she spends nights with each of her husband, and eagerly awaits her turn with bheema everytime,because of his physique,strength and everything else.Need to know the name of the novel, and the author.
Posted by: Rums | May 23, 2006 11:07 AM
//Would you be aware of a tamil novel, about Draupadi's lust for Bheema? //
ramya, did you read the line where Kamal says, do we need an issue to create chaos in our place. :)
Posted by: lazygeek | May 23, 2006 11:30 AM
//"Kamal just explained, in this story, how Dan Brown managed a Da Vinci Code"
Lazy, how do you say that??//
Alien, I said this is how Da Vinci Code was also written. I think we both agree on the same points but you probably mis-understood what i had to say.
Posted by: lazygeek | May 23, 2006 11:32 AM
yes, its really not about his opinion on starting chaos, i have to find out about that book, and if there are regular tamil novel readers i'd need their help. Besides, draupadi is never going to be a reason for chaos in this country... if you do find out, i'd like to know what that book is.
Posted by: rums | May 23, 2006 8:17 PM
கற்பு..கற்புன்னு அதுல கமல் கற்பு நெறி பத்தி உயர்வா பேசுனதுதான் எனக்கு ஆச்சரியமா இருக்கு...அவர் கொஞ்சம் முற்போக்கானவர்...முற்போக்கான கருத்து ஏதாவது சொல்லுவாருன்னு பாத்தேன்..அந்த வகையில அது ஒரு dissapointment..தான்
Posted by: anoNy | May 23, 2006 11:41 PM
Certainly amazing because he has looked at our mythology in a completely different way. But i would differ in claiming it as a great story, since even for it's short length it doesn't make an interesting read at all!
Posted by: nivas | May 24, 2006 12:52 AM
Hi Lazy
Being an athiest, a rationalist and a self professed fan of Periyar, who the hell is he to comment on mythology? It's all well and good for this to be fiction, but all fiction in some way or other tries to manipulate the reader or listener or viewer. If I want my mythology explained to me, I'll just go to the near temple and ask the prohit, I don't need Kamal to inform, educate or even entertain me on such matters.
Posted by: Venkat | May 24, 2006 1:21 AM
Awesome thought process...Could never be explained
Posted by: anon | May 24, 2006 6:03 AM
Could somebody enlighten us non-tamilian mortals with what it is all about? It would be great to have a translation..i know the essence would probbly be lost..still...
Posted by: Pawan | May 24, 2006 9:39 AM
The translation can be found in Chenthil's blogsite.. http://chenthil.blogspot.com
Posted by: bart | May 24, 2006 11:43 AM
Core of the story......
--------------------
Its about Sita of Ramayanam. The story has the main character Agnidevan(Fire) The author gives Agni a male personality which has a one side love on Sita. In agni's words........." I was present in Lanka along with sita in all nights where Raavana met Sita. So iam the proof that Sita didn't agree or co-operate to Raavana, for his ill-instinctic needs .... during those nights sita will stare at me and that will increase my love feelings on her but alas, the next day morning, i was diminished(turned-off) with water and this process continueed...the day came when lord rama doubted on sita's virginity. she decided to enter into fire(myself) to destroy herself. at that time, i stopped her and expressed my love on her.. "
Agni: Sita i love you more than anything. you are so unique so u must not die.
sita: Oh Agni i havent seen such a divine love from any male in my life. so lets unite(tries to enter into fire again.......)
agni: (again stops her an continues) no sita, if you do that, then in the process of our love-making, i will burn and destroy you......bcos thats my nature, then i won't see such a lady like you in my life time. so we should never mingle....instead you should continue ur life with rama, taking along, my virginity with you. in that process you would give birth to a beautiful girl baby and shall name her as Paanjaali. grow her such a way that she doesn;t get into such a person like rama.......
----------------------
this is a worst translation, and the original has a very high calibre of literary and creative stuff. I haven't read any great litrary works(both old and new) but i ilke kamal's way of writing very much, which i see in his film,s which he had penned. This story is another masterpice, for me.
Posted by: silicon sillu | May 24, 2006 12:45 PM
Kamal's motto:
Make something which nobody understands. Whether its a movie or a poem or any other piece of art, it should be so boring, annoying and unintelligible that the so-called intellect would praise it to the core!
Does he not understand that baring a few, the others hate such 'adhiga prasangithanam'? Being a fan of Kamal I love to watch him deliver something which every common man can understand.
There are millions of his fans who are eagerly expecting him to give them another 'Aboorva Sagotharargal','Devar Magan' or 'Naayagan'.... As nivas & venkat pointed out, this article doesnt make an interesting read at all! Hope VV doesnt have any preachy dialogues.
Posted by: Deepak | May 24, 2006 4:02 PM
Chenthil's got a nice translation at http://chenthil.blogspot.com/2006/05/day-i-lost-my-chastity.html
In the Kambaramayanam, there's a part were Agni carries Seetha out of the fire, complaining to Rama that she is burning him up. I suspect that is where the idea started.
Posted by: Kingsley | May 24, 2006 4:03 PM
Why are people getting worked up about an imaginative piece of literature?As far as i am concerned, he has tried to find parallels running through sita's and draupadi's life and found a very unlikely unifying factor in Agni,who consumes Sita and from where draupadi arises.If i remember correctly, Draupadi was born as a result of a yagna where offerings are made to Agni.Well Draupadi's brother drishtadyumna also arises from the fire.In fact the yagna was performed as a result of begetting a son to take revenge against drona.So that makes him Agni's son.So where do we fit him now?Actually draupadi is supposed to be the shadow of sita in her previous birth. Kamal has just spun an interesting tale around it.It is to be read, appreciated and forgotten.
Posted by: Sivaramakrishnan | May 24, 2006 10:00 PM
Read it yesterday. Except for a sujatha-like start, I liked it. Especially his view of how things may have happenned was simply amazing. Just a perfect imagination and thinking dimension. After a LONG time, I read a short story in AV that impressed me. Recently, they have been resorting to cheap selvaraghavan movie like short stories where the underlying element is always physical relationship. I wonder if they think that sells better.
Anyhow, I have to congratulate KH.
Posted by: kajan | May 25, 2006 1:04 AM
Reverse Chronological comments. Should the comment posting box be not on the top then?
Posted by: bart | May 25, 2006 10:47 AM
once again Kamal proved that he is really genius one :-)
Posted by: 'Rajni' Ramki | May 25, 2006 11:32 AM
This and Dan Brown's stuff is simply religious fanfic. If they had made similar stories based on a contemporary work of fiction instead of an ancient one, no one would have even noticed.
The basic ideas behind the story are in the kambaramayaNam, but I might as well be talking about the Torah. Anyway, screw that, let's all get horny over how clever Kamal is.
Posted by: Kingsley | May 25, 2006 11:36 AM
There is a bug in movable type, since yesterday. Hence the comments are upside down. Ajis pannikonga !!
Posted by: Lazy Geek | May 25, 2006 12:20 PM
Idhu story telling illai... story weaving! indha maari filling in the gaps, tying the loose ends irukkaradhaala dhaan weaving apdindra art-oda indha term-a sambandha paduthirukaanganu puriyudhu.
i was touched by the linking to agni saatchi in the last 2 paras.. master class!
Posted by: Karthik | May 27, 2006 5:00 PM
Hi Guru,
I have sent you a mail with my translation of Kamal Hasan's work.
And I have started my own blog with the same piece.
http://rsprasanna.blogspot.com/
Posted by: R S Prasanna | May 29, 2006 10:25 AM