Making his debut appearance at the ZeeJLF, his second appearance at a literature festival (the Hindu Literature Festival in Chennai earlier this month being the first), Murugan says he is feeling more confident, even though he isn't back to normal as yet.
His announcement on social media in January 2015 that "Perumal Murugan, the writer, is dead" had sent shock waves through the world of Indian letters. Fans of Murugan's writing can take heart. On Friday, at the Zee Jaipur Literature Festival (ZeeJLF), he promised a reader: "I won't stop writing again". Murugan was signing copies of his books when a reader insisted that he pen the line before signing the copy. The genial Tamil writer smiled as he recounted the incident.
Making his debut appearance at the ZeeJLF, his second appearance at a literature festival (the Hindu Literature Festival in Chennai earlier this month being the first), Murugan says he is feeling more confident, even though he isn't back to normal as yet. "The opportunity to discuss Tamil writing in a place like Jaipur is very important. It's an opportunity for me to reach out to my readers," says the author, who has a reputation for being shy and a loner.
Speaking to DNA, Murugan even spoke on Jallikattu. Supporting the festival, he said: "It is very important. So many people across Tamil Nadu are in favour of Jallikattu. Even in the pro-Eelam movement, the crowds had never got as big as this. I am very happy that the movement has spread so far and wide."
Murugan, it may be remembered, had made his famous social media announcement after being hounded and threatened by right-wing mobs over his novel Madhorobagan. In February last year, the Madras High Court dismissed all petitions against him, ending its order with the line: "Let the author be resurrected to what he is best at. Write."
And Murugan has done just that. "I have begun writing a few months back. For the Chennai book fair in January, I published a new novel, a short work of fiction. That was received well. The process of writing has given me a lot of confidence that I can write again," he says.
But it is still difficult, painful. "I am still alert to any possible danger," Murugan says, responding to a question on whether he finds his writing has changed in any way, on whether he has become more careful now. "But instead of censoring my own writing, I am now trying to adopt new forms to write what I wish to write. Yes, I have turned to poetry ... Instead of the earlier more realistic mode, it has a more metaphorical style."
Ironically, the controversy has sparked huge interest in Murugan's books. Leading publisher Penguin Random House has signed him up for a nine-book deal, Murugan says, all baring the last of the 10 novels he has written. Four of these have already been translated into English, while five are in the process of being rendered into English. Translations of Murugan's novels in Malayalam, Telugu and Kannada have been published, and a Hindi one is due soon. "There is even a pirated edition in Telugu," Murugan says, laughing.
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