My juvenile writing (in the sixties in my teens)

Common man

The din demanded by democracy to be its follower is so much that it is almost and already a rich man’s game. A man can withstand this din only if he is uncommon. There is no place for the common man. Uncommon ones are not necessarily rich but they necessarily have the qualities which will help them grow rich. The uncommonness can either be innate or created. Thus democracy is a farce. The common man has no place in it; but yet the system is appealing. This is because the common people are very common. They do not have even a little uncommonness to be able to distinguish between a hawk and a handsaw. The prize of their being uncommon is the loss of their right to be happy. They suffer; they are yet common to believe it is the will of the Providence that makes them suffer.

(P.S. I hope that if you read it, you did not look for meaning!)

Mullum Malarum (முள்ளும் மலரும்)

(Thorn and flower)

By Uma Chandran

(about 1968)

 

Intense stomach pain was almost forgot when I read that novel in one breath. The story runs thus:

Valli, Kaliannan (sister and brother) and Vellathalammal, Manga (mother and daughter) live in excellent terms. The latter were grateful to the frmer for their benevolence and kind elp rendered at proper time. Kaliannan was working as an operator of the trolly in the Kannimalai poer project.

The hatred of Kaliannan for his .. and everyone’s appreciation for his divine qualities. Valli attracts him so well that he dares no to imagine anybody else to beautify his house. Kaliannan is angry at this right from the outset and tries to marry Valli to Muniyandi, a shopkeeper. Muniyandi elopes with the dominating wife of Mayandi, a sincere admirer of Kali’s valour and working in the same project as him. This is utterly necessary to bring a comic end to the tragic depressions of the story.

Kali happens to lose his hand consequent on the brave fight with a cheetah-tiger. He marries Manga an unforgettable and outspoken with immaculate attachment to Valli. It will not be untruth that Manga’s frankness is responsible for many things in the story, including Valli’s happy settling with Kumaran. Kali’s plot to send his obstinate sister with her newly married husband to the next world bravely and selflessly interfered with Manga brings a happy ending to the pair. Manga’s end checks considerably the mirth in reading te well-ended and deserved fate of Valli.

 

Viramani who meets a brave death, Kanaka, a supercilious girl married to duteous Sabesan, Akila attracted to Kumaran and devoting her life to the service of the wounded jawans, Polo, the Kurkha, and Dr Arulanandam, make their own impact.

Valli dominates; Kumaran’s part is equally thrilling. Manga for a moment brings to our memory the character of Sydney Carton. Love is certainly not the theme. Affection, detached service, sacrifice and devotion to a cause or task are described in eversomany ways. Pathos is the predominant emotion aroused in the reader. Abounding in witty, frank, heart-moving curt-right and other forms of conversations and in many reflections of harsh realities, the story is not devoid of improbabilities.