SI. SU. CHELLAPPA (1912-1998)
Si. Su. Chellappa was a versatile literary personality of his time. His was a varied and wide contribution to different branches of literature, including the novel, short story, poetry, literary criticism and translation, spread over a period of more than five decades.
Chellappa’s singular achievement was Ezhuthu, a literary magazine that he founded in 1959. In the ten years of its existence, Ezhuthuemerged as a seminal force in Tamil literature and has continued to influence literary initiatives in Tamil for the last half a century. With practically no funding from external sources, Chellappa managed to bring out the magazine for over a decade despite severe economic hardships, marking a rare, selfless commitment to the cause of modernizing Tamil literature.
The author was posthumously awarded by the Sahitya Akademi in 2001.
ARENA (Novella)
Tamil title: Vaadivaasal
Number of Pages: 88
‘Vaadivaasal’, a masterful account of power relations, describes the traditional rituals of bull-taming and captures the life-and- death struggle between animal and man. A celebrated work of short fiction by Chellappa, Vaadivaasal is perhaps the first fictional account in Tamil of Jallikattu, the indigenous bull-fighting sport of Tamil Nadu with a history of two thousand years. Jallikattu is both a heroic drama and a sport. The taming of a bull trained to gore its human adversary in the ring is the crux of this still-popular sport. Chellappa, who grew up in a region of southern Tamil Nadu where bull-fighting is a hallowed tradition, depicts the dangerous and absorbing struggle between man and animal. Rich in ethnographic detail, this is a work marked by brevity and conciseness. Vaadivaasal is the narrow gate through which bulls are released during Jallikkattu, whereupon young men pounce upon the bulls and try to overpower them. Besides the bravado attached to it, the material attraction is the prize money and gold tied to the horns of the animals. The translation has been done by the renowned translator Kalyan Raman.
Rights:
Published in English (Simon & Schuster India), Malayalam (V.C. Thomas Editions), Telugu(HBT) and Kannada (Chanda Pustaka). Published in Azerbaijan (Gadim Gala LLC).Marathi rights sold to Popular Prakashan Pvt Ltd.Odia rights sold to Anubad Sahitya Parishad Trust. *Movie rights (Tamil) sold.
English rights other than Indian sub-continent open.
All other territories and languages open.
Vaadivasal (The Graphic Novel)
Script: Perumal Murugan
Visualisation& Art: Appupen
Number of Pages: 112
A gripping graphic adaptation of the modern literary classic by International Booker Prize-nominated author Perumal Murugan and critically acclaimed graphic novelist Appupen. Chellayipuram-famed for hosting the most exhilarating jallikattu contests of strength between man and bull. This Year, Pichi, both menacing in appearance and undefeated in the bull taming contest. It’s been two years since Pichi’s father Ambuli, had been gored to death by this same beast. In the billowing dust of the arena, as Pichi grabs hold of the Kaari’s horn in an attempt to make it bow its head, watching in silence is the zamindar. Will his prize animal-and, by association, the zamindar himself-finally be humbled by this ordinary young man?
Rights:
Published in English (Simon & Schuster). Published in Bangla (Jadavpur University Press). Marathi Rights sold to Mehta publishing house. Malayalam rights sold to DC Books. Telugu rights sold to Elami Publications.
All other territories and languages open.