'Work important, not awards'

In the Tamil literary sphere, Sahitya Akademi Award winner Imayam's work Koveru Kazhuthaigal landed as a tsunami, bringing him fame and criticism in equal measure.

- M C Rajan of The Statesman

In the Tamil literary sphere, Sahitya Akademi Award winner Imayam's work Koveru Kazhuthaigal landed as a tsunami, bringing him fame and criticism in equal measure. It was his first novel and he was just 27 years old then. V. Annamalai, whose pen name is Imayam, was conferred the Sahitya Akademi Award in 2021 for his work 'Sellatha Panam' (worthless money).

Published in 1994, Koveru Kazhuthaigal, on the plight of Dalit 'dhobis' (washermen), was hailed as a work which has no parallel in Tamil in the last 100 years by acclaimed author and critic Sundara Ramasamy. It has been translated into English as Beasts of Burden and into German, French and Malayalam.

Born on 10 March 1964 in Kazhudur village, Imayam is the brother of Tamil Nadu Labour Minister C.V. Ganesan. But he finds no contradiction in this and asserts that he has never compromised his writing for political affiliation.

Excerpts from his interview with M.C. Rajan of The Statesman:

Q: Is there not a contradiction in remaining a card holder of the ruling DMK in Tamil Nadu and being a writer?

A: Not at all. There is no writing or art sans politics. Writing itself is a political act. I consider myself as one who bears the legacy of the Justice Party, the precursor of the Dravidian movement and DMK. In my opinion, all Tamil writers are Dravidian writers. For, it was the Dravidian movement which opened up education and temples to all and provided them the space to write.