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JJ

JJ

Some Jottings

Sundara Ramaswamy
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Joseph James-or JJ-is dead. A famously outspoken figure in Malayalam literature, his death is particularly mourned by Balu, a Tamil writer who endeavours to preserve the luminary’s legacy by penning a biography of JJ. For this, Balu must immerse himself in the politicized and divisive Malayalam literary world, where JJ has made quite a few enemies. Thus begins an enthralling novel of ideas, brimming with sharp wit and laced with satire, as Balu gathers his thoughts and experiences to pay homage to JJ-only to discover that he might have bitten off more than he can chew.

An undisputed classic of modern Tamil fiction, JJ: Some Jottings remains bitingly relevant and scathingly funny in its vision of a society where artistic integrity is besieged by personal agendas.

Imprint: India Penguin

Published: Aug/2016

ISBN: 9780143422617

Length : 208 Pages

MRP : ₹299.00

JJ

Some Jottings

Sundara Ramaswamy

Joseph James-or JJ-is dead. A famously outspoken figure in Malayalam literature, his death is particularly mourned by Balu, a Tamil writer who endeavours to preserve the luminary’s legacy by penning a biography of JJ. For this, Balu must immerse himself in the politicized and divisive Malayalam literary world, where JJ has made quite a few enemies. Thus begins an enthralling novel of ideas, brimming with sharp wit and laced with satire, as Balu gathers his thoughts and experiences to pay homage to JJ-only to discover that he might have bitten off more than he can chew.

An undisputed classic of modern Tamil fiction, JJ: Some Jottings remains bitingly relevant and scathingly funny in its vision of a society where artistic integrity is besieged by personal agendas.

Buying Options
Paperback / Hardback
Ebooks

Sundara Ramaswamy

Sundara Ramaswamy (1931-2005) was one of the most versatile and innovative of Tamil writers. A great modernist and a dazzling stylist, he wrote in many genres-poetry, novel, short story, play, personal essay and literary criticism-making real interventions in Tamil writing. Each of his three novels-Oru Puliamaratthin Kadhai (published in Penguin Classics as Tamarind History), JJ: Sila Kuripuggal (published in Penguin Classics as JJ: Some Jottings) and Kuzhandaigal, Pengal, Aangal (published in Penguin Classics as Children, Women, Men)-is recognized as path-breaking, and he also edited and published a notable literary magazine,Kalachuvadu, which has become a forum for new writing and literary debate.


A.R. Venkatachalapathy (b. 1967) studied in Chennai and took his PhD in history from the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. Now professor at the Madras Institute of Development Studies, Chennai, Chalapathy has taught at universities in Tirunelveli, Chennai and Chicago, and has held research assignments at Paris, Cambridge and Harvard. He has published widely on the social, cultural, and intellectual history of colonial Tamilnadu, both in Tamil and in English. His publications include In Those Days There Was No Coffee: Writings in Cultural History, The Province of the Book: Scholars, Scribes, and Scribblers in Colonial Tamilandu, a translation of Sundara Ramaswamy's JJ: Some Jottings, as well as the edited volumes Chennai, Not Madras, and In the Tracks of the Mahatma: The Making of a Documentary. He has also edited two anthologies of Tamil Sangam poetry, translated by M.L. Thangappa-Love Stands Alone: Selections from Tamil Sangam Poetry and Red Lilies and Frightened Birds: Muttollayiram.

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