Charu Nivedita
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Charu Nivedita | |
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Born | K.Arivazhagan 18 December 1953 Nagore, Tamil Nadu, India |
Pen name | Charu Nivedita |
Occupation | Writer, Novelist |
Nationality | Indian |
Genre | Autofiction, Transgressive Fiction, Metafiction, Postmodernism |
Notable works | Zero Degree, Marginal Man, Morgue Keeper |
Spouse | Avanthika |
Website | |
charunivedita | |
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Charu Nivedita (born 18 December 1953) is a postmodern, transgressive Tamil writer, based in Chennai, India. There is an invisible ban on his writings in the Tamil literary milieu, whereas he is widely translated into Malayalam in nearby Kerala. Since his writings are transgressive in nature, he is branded as a pornographic writer and disliked by many. For a longtime he was writing clandestinely under the pseudonym ‘Muniyandi’. He was born and raised in a slum until the age of eighteen, worked in the government services and survived as a wanderer. His novel Zero Degree was longlisted for the 2013 edition of Jan Michalski Prize for Literature.[1] Zero Degree was inducted into the prestigious '50 Writers, 50 Books - The Best of Indian Fiction', published by HarperCollins.[2][3] Vahni Capildeo places Charu Nivedita on par with Vladimir Nabokov, James Joyce and Jean Genet, in her article in the Caribbean Review of Books.[4] He was selected as one among 'Top Ten Indians of the Decade 2001 - 2010' by The Economic Times. He is inspired by Marquis de Sade and Andal.[5] His columns appear in magazines such as Art Review Asia, The Asian Age and [6] Deccan Chronicle.[7]
Bibliography
Works available in English
- Zero Degree (Novel)
- Marginal Man (Novel)
- To Byzantium: A Turkey Travelogue
- Unfaithfully Yours (Collection of articles)
- Morgue Keeper (Selected short stories)
- Towards a Third Cinema (Articles on Latin American Cinema)
Novels
- Existentialism and Fancy Baniyan (எக்ஸிஸ்டென்ஷியலிஸமும் ஃபேன்ஸி பனியனும்) - Tamil / Malayalam
- Zero Degree (ஸீரோ டிகிரி) - Tamil / English / Malayalam
- Rasa leela (ராஸ லீலா)
- Kaamarooba Kathaigal (காமரூப கதைகள்)
- Thegam (தேகம்)
- Marginal Man (Tamil title was named 'Exile') (எக்ஸைல்)- Tamil / English
Short stories
- Carnataka Murasum Naveena Tamil Ilakiyathin Meethana Oru Amaipiyal Aayvum (கர்னாடக முரசும் நவீன தமிழ் இலக்கியத்தின் மீதான ஓர் அமைப்பியல் ஆய்வும்) - Collection of short stories, published along with Nagaarchunan and Sylvia aka M.D.Muthukumarasamy
- Nano (நேநோ)
- Madumitha Sonna Pambu Kathaigal (மதுமிதா சொன்ன பாம்புக் கதைகள்)
- Shakespeare-in Minnanjal Mugavari (Shakespeare's e-mail address)
- Kadal Kanni (கடல் கன்னி) - Translated short stories from world Literature
- Oorin miga azhagaana Pen – Translated short stories from world Literature (ஊரின் மிக அழகான பெண்)
- Muthukkal Pathu (முத்துக்கள் பத்து) - Selected short stories
- Morgue Keeper - Selected short stories in English in Kindle
- Diabolically Yours in Exotic Gothic 5, Vol. II
Collection of articles
- Konal Pakkangal (கோணல் பக்கங்கள்)
- Konal Pakkankal II (கோணல் பக்கங்கள் II)
- Konal Pakkangal III (கோணல் பக்கங்கள் III)
- Dhisai Ariyum Paravaigal (திசை அறியும் பறவைகள்)
- Moodupani Saalai (மூடுபனிச் சாலை)
- Varambu Meeriya Pradhigal (வரம்பு மீறிய பிரதிகள்)
- Thappu Thalangal (தப்புத் தாளங்கள்)
- Kalagam Kaadhal Isai (கலகம் காதல் இசை)
- Dante-yin Siruththai (தாந்தேயின் சிறுத்தை)
- Yenakku Kuzhandhaigalai Pidikadhu (எனக்குக் குழந்தைகளைப் பிடிக்காது)
- Kadavulum Nanum (கடவுளும் நானும்)
- Kalaiyum Kaamamum (கலையும் காமமும்)
- Kadavulum Saithaanum (கடவுளும் சைத்தானும்)
- Sarasam Sallabam Saamiyar (சரசம் சல்லாபம் சாமியார்)
- Vaazhvadhu eppadi (வாழ்வது எப்படி?)
- Ketta vaarththai (கெட்ட வார்த்தை)
- Malawi endroru Desam (மலாவி என்றொரு தேசம்)
- Azaadhi Azaadhi Azaadhi (அஸாதி அஸாதி அஸாதி)
- Adhigaaram Amaidhi Sudhanthiram (அதிகாரம் அமைதி சுதந்திரம்)
- Kanavugalin mozhipeyarppaalan (கனவுகளின் மொழிபெயர்ப்பாளன்)
- Manamkoththi paravai (மனம் கொத்திப் பறவை)
- Enge Un Kadavul? (எங்கே உன் கடவுள்?)
- Kadaisip Pakkangal (கடைசிப் பக்கங்கள்)
- Vetrulagavaasiyin Diarykkuripugal (வேற்றுலகவாசியின் டயரிக்குறிப்புகள்)
- Pazhuppu Nirap Pakkangal - 1 (பழுப்பு நிறப் பக்கங்கள் - 1)
- To Byzantium - A Turkey Travelogue (Tamil title was named 'Nilavu Theyatha Thesam) (நிலவு தேயாத தேசம்) - Tamil/English
- Unfaithfully Yours - Collection of articles
Play
- Rendaam aattam (ரெண்டாம் ஆட்டம்)
Cinema review
- Latin American Cinema (லத்தீன் அமெரிக்க சினிமா: ஓர் அறிமுகம்)
- Cinema: Alainthuthiribavanin Azhagiyal (சினிமா: அலைந்து திரிபவனின் அழகியல்)
- Theeraakaadhali (தீராக்காதலி)
- Cinema Cinema (சினிமா சினிமா)
- Naragaththilirundhu oru kural (நரகத்திலிருந்து ஒரு குரல்)
- Kanavugalin Nadanam (கனவுகளின் நடனம்)
Collection of interviews
- Ozhunginmaiyin Veriyaattam (ஒழுங்கின்மையின் வெறியாட்டம்)
- Ichchaigalin Irulveli (இச்சைகளின் இருள்வெளி) (Second edition of the erstwhile Paaliyal - Oru Urayaadal (பாலியல் - ஒரு உரையாடல்) that comes with the new title)
Question and Answers
- Arugil Varaadhey (அருகில் வராதே)
- Aram Porul Inbam (அறம் பொருள் இன்பம்)
Awards and accolades
- Zero Degree was inducted into the prestigious '50 Writers, 50 Books - The Best of Indian Fiction', edited by Chandra Siddan and Pradeep Sebastian, published by HarperCollins.[2][3]
- He was selected as one among 'Top Ten Indians of the Decade 2001 - 2010' by The Economic Times.
- Zero Degree was long-listed for the 2013 edition of Jan Michalski Prize.[1]
- Zero Degree was selected as one of the fifteen incredible Indian novels.[8]
- The Hindu included him in its list of 'Manathil Pathintha Mugangal 25' (Twenty Five Eminent Personalities of Tamil Nadu) in its Diwali Malar 2014.
Literary contemporaries on Charu Nivedita
- Vahni Capildeo places Charu Nivedita on par with Vladimir Nabokov, James Joyce and Jean Genet, in her article in the Caribbean Review of Books.[4]
- In his foreword to the Malayalam translation of Zero Degree, Paul Zacharia wrote, "It is like an open experimental laboratory. Amidst the smoke, noxious vapors, and beautiful imagery, I experienced a wondrous journey."[9]
- Tarun Tejpal wrote that Zero Degree is remarkable for its experimental voice and its varying and shifting tonalities.[10]
- Anil Menon considers Zero Degree bold and ambitious.[11]
- Translator Jason Grunebaum considers Zero Degree "wildly exciting".[12]
Public events
Literary festivals
- Charu Nivedita was one of the invitees for the 2010[13] and 2011[14] editions of Almost Island Dialogues, New Delhi.
- He was one of the invitees for the Hay Festival 2010, Thiruvananthapuram.[15][16]
- Hay Festival 2011, Thiruvananthapuram was inaugurated at the British Deputy High Commission, Chennai by Mike Nithavrianakis, the then Deputy High Commissioner, followed by a reading of an excerpt from Charu Nivedita’s works.[17]
- He was one of the invitees for the 2012 edition of Jaipur Literary Festival.[18][19][20]
- He was felicitated at the Twenty Sixth Anniversary Celebration of Katha, a monthly literary magazine of Sambad (an Odia daily) at Bhubaneswar on 10 February 2013.[21]
- He was one of the invitees for the Brahmaputra Literary Festival 2017.[22][23]
- He was one of the panelists in Kerala Literature Festival 2017.[24][25]
- He was one of the speakers the Manipal International Literature and Arts Platform 2018 [26] [27]
Film festivals
- Charu Nivedita was invited as the Guest of Honour on 10 March 2002 at the National Folklore Support Centre Folk Festival, Chennai.[28]
- He inaugurated the Third SIO Samvedana Vedhi International Film Festival, 2010, organised by the Students Islamic Organisation of India wing of the University of Calicut.[29]
- He inaugurated the International Film Festival of Tamil Nadu 2010, Chennai, organised by the International Tamil Film Academy and Seventh Channel Communications.[30]
- He ianugurated the Fourth Panchajanyam International Film Festival 2011 at Chittur, Kerala.[31]
- He inaugurated the valedictory session of the Third International Film Festival 2011, Kochi, which was jointly organised by the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy, Heart Light Association and the Ernakulam District Information Office.[32]
- At the 2013 Chennai Rainbow Film Festival(LGBT Film Festival), presented by Alliance Française de Madras, he participated in the 'Panel Discussion on Media Portrayal of LGBT issues.'[33][34]
Lectures and meets
- Charu Nivedita delivered the 2009 Paul Chirakkarode Memorial Lecture at Kottayam.[35]
- He was invited to speak at the valedictory function of ‘Thattakaperuma,' a series of programmes to observe the second death anniversary of Kovilan, Malayalam writer at Thrissur on 3 June 2012.[36]
- He delivered the commemoration speech at the 'Bob Marley Cultural Fest' on 11 May 2010 at Kochi.[37][38]
- He was one of the panelists at the Outlook Speak Out debate 2010, Chennai on the subject 'Moral Policing in a Democracy'.[39]
Social activism
-
Charu Nivedita at Velichikala - Anti-clay mining protest, May 12, 2008
-
Charu Nivedita at Velichikala
-
Charu Nivedita at Plachimada Anti-Coca-Cola Relay Hunger Strike, 77th day, May 13, 2008
- He was invited as the chief guest of Sambavas' annual celebrations (a Dalit caste) at Chalakudy in Kerala on 11 May 2008.[40]
- He inaugurated a meeting and spoke among the adivasis protesting against wanton clay mining at Velichikala, near Kollam.[41]
- He addressed a gathering of Plachimada villagers who were on a relay hunger strike against Coca-Cola's wanton over-drawing of groundwater and polluting water bodies.[42]
- He marched with villagers protesting against Coca-Cola and Pepsi's wanton overdrawing of groundwater at Kanjikode, near Palakkad on 29 August 2008.[43]
- He inaugurated a symposium on Mullaiperiyar Dam issue organized by 'Uyiru', a joint cultural forum of Tamil and Malayalam writers and social activists on 7 July 2012 at Kottayam.[44]
'Zero Degree' in Academics
- Zero Degree was on the curriculum in Spring 2010 in a Comparative World Literature course, taught by Jordan Smith, at California State University, Long Beach (CSULB).[45]
- University of Rochester has included Zero Degree in its translation program.[46][47]
- The Malayalam translation of Zero Degree is in the curriculum for postgraduate students at the Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam.
Quotations
- "I convert my schizoid (state) into an art."[48]
- "There is nothing like planning in my literature, at any point of time. It's something which gets written between the schizoid state and dreams. Hence, with this same reason, I cannot comment on my writing. Like how I don't accept the roles of a father, a son, a lover, a friend – I despise the role of a writer too. My writing is nothing but the brush strokes of a person trying to escape from hell."
- "Hatred is a disease."
References
- ^ a b "Edition 2013". Fondation-janmichalski.com. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
- ^ a b "The best of Indian fiction". 7 July 2013. Retrieved 7 October 2017 – via www.thehindu.com.
- ^ a b "Print Pick". 2 September 2013. Retrieved 7 October 2017 – via www.thehindu.com.
- ^ a b "CRB • Questions of approach, part 3 • Vahni Capildeo". caribbeanreviewofbooks.com. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
- ^ "Hot between the lines". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
- ^ "Charu Nivedita". The Asian Age. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
- ^ "Poor writers, naked rajas". Archives.deccanchronicle.com. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
- ^ "15 Lesser Known Yet Incredible Indian Authors You Should Read Instead Of Chetan Bhagat & Durjoy Dutta". Retrieved 7 October 2017.
- ^ "My novel was treated like a song of freedom: Charunivedita". The Economic Times. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
- ^ "JAN MICHALSKI PRIZE FOR LITERATURE" (PDF). Fondation-janmichalski.com. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
- ^ "EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: Anil Menon". SF Signal. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
- ^ "The Jason Grunebaum Interview". Quarterly Conversation. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
- ^ "Indian International Centre : Annual report 2010-2011" (PDF). Iicdelhi.nic.in. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
- ^ "EVENTS IN THE CITY, MARCH 7 TO MARCH 14". Delhiexpatclub.com. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
- ^ "Schedule for Hay Festival in Kerala (November 12 to November 14)". The Hindu. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
- ^ "Hay Session: 'A Song of Celebration, A Song of Freedom' - Trivandrum News - Yentha.com". Yentha.com. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
- ^ "Run-up to Hay Festival on in full swing in city". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
- ^ "21 Jan: Day 2 - Jaipur Literature Festival 2012". Jaipurliteraturefestival.org. Archived from the original on 30 January 2015. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
{{cite web}}
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suggested) (help) - ^ "22 Jan: Day 3 - Jaipur Literature Festival 2012". Jaipurliteraturefestival.org. Archived from the original on 30 January 2015. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
{{cite web}}
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suggested) (help) - ^ "I'm a fan of William Dalrymple: Charu Nivedita". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
- ^ "Welcome to my web address". Soumyapatnaik.in. Archived from the original on 6 November 2014. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
{{cite web}}
: Unknown parameter|deadurl=
ignored (|url-status=
suggested) (help) - ^ "Charu Nivedita – Brahmaputra Literary Festival". brahmaputraliteraryfestival.com. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
- ^ "Brahmaputra lit-fest starts today". www.merinews.com. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
- ^ http://www.keralaliteraturefestival.com/program-2017/
- ^ "KLF 2017 » CHARU NIVEDITA". www.keralaliteraturefestival.com. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
- ^ http://themanipaljournal.com/2018/09/07/tamil-threats-and-transgression-charu-nivedita-on-symbols-of-diversity-in-writing/
- ^ https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-karnataka/lively-talks-on-day-2-of-manipal-lit-fest/article24898470.ece
- ^ "Embroidery: The Universal Thread". Indianfolklore.org. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
- ^ "Inaguration by Charu nivedita - Examined Life - International Film Festival". Web.archive.org. Archived from the original on 4 August 2010. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
- ^ "Mysskin goes candid - Mysskin - Charu Nivedita - Anjathey - Chithiram Pesithadi - Tamil Movie News". Behindwoods.com. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
- ^ "Film fete to begin tomorrow". The Hindu. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
- ^ "Film festival concludes". The Hindu. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
- ^ "Rainbow fest ends on a colourful note". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
- ^ "Chennai Rainbow Film Festival (Press Release)". Gaysi. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
- ^ "Google Groups". Groups.google.com. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
- ^ "Quality of literature down: Charu Nivedita". The Hindu. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
- ^ "Socialistplatform". Socialistplatform.blogspot.in. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
- ^ "Google Groups". Groups.google.com. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
- ^ "'Moral policing' at the fore of debate". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
- ^ ":: CHARUNIVEDITA ::". Charuonline.com. Archived from the original on 24 December 2008. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
- ^ "Clay-mining: convention to mark third anniversary of stir". The Hindu. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
- ^ ":: CHARUNIVEDITA ::". Charuonline.com. Archived from the original on 24 December 2008. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
- ^ "കുടിവെള്ളം ചോര്ത്തുന്ന കോളക്കമ്പനികളെ ജനകീയ ശക്തികൊണ്ട് നേരിടണം -ചാരുനിവേദിത". Charuonline.com. Archived from the original on 19 December 2008. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
- ^ "Discussion on Mullaperiyar dam to be held in Kottayam". The Hindu. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
- ^ "On Charu Nivedita's 'Zero Degree' (Trans. by Pritham K. Chakravarthy & Rakesh Khanna) - In a Brown Study". In a Brown Study. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
- ^ "Three Percent: Blaft Publications and Zero Degree". Rochester.edu. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
- ^ "Three Percent: Interview with Rakesh Kumar of Blaft". Rochester.edu. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
- ^ "Video recording". F.vimeocdn.com. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
External links
- 1953 births
- Living people
- Tamil-language writers
- Writers from Chennai
- Indian postmodern writers
- Metafiction
- Surrealist dramatists and playwrights
- Indian surrealist writers
- 20th-century Indian dramatists and playwrights
- Dramatists and playwrights from Tamil Nadu
- Novelists from Tamil Nadu
- People from Nagapattinam district