Jayakanthan chosen for Jnanpith award for 2002 - 19 March 2005

From Life of Jeyakanthan, - Swaminathan Sankaran, 25 November 1995

"jeyakAn^than was born in 1934 in a well-to-do family of agriculturalists, or vELALars, in Cuddalore, in the North Arcot district of thamizh n^Adu. His father mu. dhaNdapANip piLLAi (1908-1954) had no formal education. He was too unrestrained in his habits and was a spendthrift who lost all his wealth early in life. Around 1935 he abandoned his wife and children and went away and joined the Government of Madras Fire(fighting) Department. He married another woman and lived with her and had two other children by her.

JK reports that he knew astrology and had an excellent aesthetic sense and sound knowledge of the arts. Thus JK grew up in a one-parent family but as in most Indian/thamizh families had other adult males who filled in; in his case it was his maternal grandfather and two uncles. The garndfather was first a nationalist but later became a su(ya) ma(riyAdhaik) ka(zhakam) and later still d(hirAvidak) k(azhakam) supporter and follower of  I. vE. rA. The two uncles were Communist) Party of India (CPI) members.

Their party connections shaped JK to a much larger extent than his grandfather's DK leanings. The example of a third, probably older, uncle (pa. maNGgaLam piLLai) is understated, but might have been a much longer-lasting influence. This uncle was a Gandhian through and through, offered individual satyAgraha and was a bhArathi bhakthA. JK first became familiar with bhArathi's works when, even as a child, he heard this uncle recite and sing bharathi's poems and songs. He married a harijan/dalit woman and went to live with her in her chEri. He might have served as the prototype for the character "Adhi" in the \bt "jaya jaya SaNGkara ..." muzhu nAval. \et

JK spent his first 12 years in Cuddalore. His family lived in the aggirahAram. The present day DK leader(!) ki, vIramaNI (whose given name was sAraNGgapANi) also lived in the same town and was JK's classmate in school. Formal schooling does not seem to have agreed well with JK, nor he with it. He quit school after completing Grade 5 education and was considerea a"problem" child. Unable to bear the harsh treatment routinely meted out to such children, he ran away from home at 12. But he seems to have played it safe by "running" away by train to vizzzzhuppuram where his maternal uncle purushOththaman happened to be at that time. This gentleman, once a Gandhia, then a Congress socialist, had become a communist and was in 1946 a full time CPI member and labour organizer at the vizhuppuram railway colony. It is there that JK first imbibed his communist teachings. However as a child he would start asking for his "home: and crying. Finally he went back to his mother in Cuddalore.

But after six months he was again bundled out and sent to Madras with a letter to another uncle rAdhAkrishNan. (purushOththaman was probably in jail by this time as a participant in the Quit India movement.) Previously in his periodic "running away from home exploits" JK had been to Madras a couple of times. Thus he was familiar with the location of CPI's "janaSakthi" office where this uncle could be found. ( I am mntioning this because it gives us a clue to the importance of the train \bt rayil \et in his writings.) rAdha krishNan was away on some party work. But comrade san^thAnam who read his mother's message out loud which said " You (meaning rAdhaK) went away to reform and improve the world. Now please take the responsibility to reform and improve thsis useless son of mine also." The child JK started crying on hearing these words. Immediately the CPI comrades quietened himdown and asked him not to worry. From then on he stayed in the janaSakthi office building and became part of the commune. He lived there eating and sleeping just like other commune members. he made many lasting friendships and acquaintances.

JK was treated very well and with much kindness. He noticed that many of the comrades in th cell spoke in English which he didn't understand very well. He worked in the janaaKthi press (child labour!) and it was decided that he would be trained to become a letter press compositor. But since he was the youngest of the lot he was often the butt of jokes and friendly kidding. As a hot-blooded young kid he couldn't take it and often got into fights. In one of those fights he broke another boy's nose and it was decided that he should be taken off the press room and used for other chores in th office. Here, he came into contact with some of the best leaders that the TN CPI had to offer - jIvA, Mohan kumAramaNggalam, pi. rAmamUrthy, A.S.K. iyeNGgAr, M.R. veNgkatarAman, ismath pAshA, and above all bAlAn - the famous and charismatic bAladhaNdAyutham. In the evenings he was selling janasakthi in street corners . It was the glory days of the TN CPI. But he was not admitted as a full time member since he was not yet 18.

In 1949 the CPI condemned P.C. Joshi as a reformist and B.T Ranadive replaced him. Soon Patel decided to try to wipe out the CPI. CPI leaders went underground. JK went back to his uncle's house in perambUr. He was somewhat involved in acting secretly for the CPI members who were in hiding and had some interesting experiences. In 1950 Patel died and the restrictions on the CPI were removed. The leaders came out of prison or came out of hiding. At that time JK was working in a shoe shop in thaNYchavUr. At S. Ramakrishnan's behest he came back to the party office in Madras.

During this period two things happened. JK had plenty of time to reflect and to think and to read. His ideas matured and he with them. Secondly, the DMK using the temporary eclipse of the CPI showed the first signs of coming up. From close observations of this phenomenon and from discussions in the party JK's views on the kazhakams - DK and DMK, were formed. He concluded then that these were nascent fascists, irresponsible and maybe even, uncivilized. And he hasn't changed those views much since then.

The CPI-sponsored United Front won half the seats in the Nadras Legislative Assembly. RajAji became the Congress Chief Minister. He injected into Indian politics for the first time the party hopping which later became quite a popular sport in Indian politics. He enticed mANikkalvEl nAyakkar and rAmaswAmy padayAchchi ( yes the same of PMK, but at that time vanniyar kula ksaththiriyar saNGgam) to switch and support his government. He openly announced that the "communists were enemy number 1," and went on to arrest leading party members and bring legal cases against them and to break the party. (rAjAji was a pretty viscious fellow, maybe something his admirers gloss over, but should not.) bAlan bore the brunt of the government's venom. With the leaders in hiding or in prison much inner party squabbles and recrimination set in. rAjAji succeeded in breaking the CPI and the kazhakams did the rest in burying the only decent political party which may ever have had any chance of educating and uplifting TN's toiling masses, as happened in kEraLA and to a lesser extent in benGgAl and maharAshtrA. Soon with the help of I. vE. rA. and a sycophantic D.M.K, rAjAji or "AchchAriyAr" as he was derisively addressed by I. vE. rA and the kazhakamites, was ousted and kAmarAj nAdAr took over. He was addressed as "maNALA guNALA" etc by karuNAnidhi!

Inner party squabbles and the failure to evaluate the evils of the kazhakams and confront them brought about additional rifts in the CPI. JK slowly found himself in the periphery. He went away to Madhurai, and later kumbakONam, there to work with ismath pAshA the founder-editor of samaran. pAsha who showed gumption and intelligence in exposing the kazhakams however fell foul of the party hierarchy and was denounced as a deviant. By sabotaging his distribution network for samaran the CPI broke him. JK returned to Madras. He was still affiliated with the CPI. But he had learnt a valuable lesson - that the CPI did not value individual opinion and independent thinking and would crush anyone who disagreed with the party line. Pretty astute for someone not yet 20 and who had no more than grade 5 formal education. But the party had educated him far better than a Ph. D. program could and he developed his personality and opinions and philosophy as an independent Marxist thinker.

And then jeyakAn^than started writing. From around 1953 he began writing in saraswathi and then thAmarai and girAma Uzhiyan and later still Anan^dha vikatan. He has said somewhere that he was probably the first thamizh writer to make a living from his writings. His wants were few. He retained his independence. He never lost his zest for life, nor his critical, but sympathetic, views of the downtrodden and the powerless, nor his contempt for the phonies in any and all walks of life, nor his dislike for the fascist kazhakams. For a while he tried to strengthen the hands of kAmarAj and kakkan against their enemies within and without the TN Congress. But he remined an independent, outside parties.

He also married his uncle's daughter while he was still young. Had his run-ins with the movie moguls of kOdambAkkam. I have earlier recounted his encounters with the hypocritical Venus Pictures Krishnamurthy and his making of "unnaippOl oruvan" and a few other choice movies with bImsiNG. He also got to know ms. jeyajjanani a stage actress and now she lives with him, his first wife and the latter's kids by JK.

This chapter in his life, or at least the early part of it, is fictionalised in JK's novel "oru nadikai nAdakam pArkkiRAL" (and the movie of the same title.) His views on celibacy, marital fidelity, man-woman relationships etcetera are drawn from life. As he grew older, JK has had time to reflect inwards and indulge in philosophical inquiries and to give expression to them in his novels and short stories. He has not written much since he turned 50.

JK is probably one of the greatest post-independence Indian intellectuals and creative writers in ANY Indian language, and, in my opinion, ranks among the best in the world. He has affirmed through his life and writings a broad and noble humanism, deep spirituality, nobility and courage, true patriotism and a fearless pursuit of intellectual values and truth wherever these may lead him."

Jayakanthan chosen for Jnanpith award for 2002 - 19 March 2005

Noted Tamil writer with leftist leanings D Jayakanthan was today chosen for the prestigious Jnanpith award for 2002.

71 year old Jayakanthan, who has to his credit about 40 novels, two hundred short stories and fifteen collection of essays besides some translations including that of Romain Rollan's biography of Mahatma Gandhi, is the second Tamil author after P V Akhilondam to get this award, said a press release issued by Bharatiya Jnanpith.

The award carries a citation plaque, a bronze statue of Vagdevi, Rs 500,000 in cash.

Announcing the award, L M Singhvi, Chairman of the Jnanpith Selection Board, said Jayakanthan had not not only enriched the high literary tradition of the Tamil language, but has also made an outstanding contribution towards the shaping up of the Indian literature.

The works of Jayakanthan delicately unveils every depths of human emotions and equations, he said adding it was a moment of great pride for the Bharatiya Jnanpith to choose him for the award.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the Board in which eminent writers, Ms Mahashweta Devi, Vishnukant Shastri, C T Indira, Sitangshu Yashaschandra, U R Ananthamurthy, Ramakanta Rath, Gopichand Narang, Ashok Vajpai and Prabhakar Shrotriya were present.

Born in a middle class family in Cuddalore in 1934, Jayakanthan had narrated his experience in the area of politics and arts in two autobiographical volumes and stormed Popular magazines with his unconventional short stories and novels. PTI

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கோவை, Tamil Nadu - Contributed by V.Thangavelu

சர்ச்சைப் புகழ் மாஜி எழுத்தாளரான ஜெயகாந்தன் கோவையில் நடந்த பாராட்டு விழாவில் தமிழில் பேசியபோது, அவரைத் தடுத்த தமிழ் ஆர்வலர்கள் சமஸ்கிருதத்தில் பேசுமாறு கோஷமிட்டதால் பரபரப்பு ஏற்பட்டது.

சமீபத்தில் சமஸ்கிருத சபா ஒன்றில் பேசிய ஜெயகாந்தன், தமிழை மிகக் கடுமையாக விமர்சித்தார் தமிழ் தமிழ் என்று பேசுபவர்கள் நாய்கள் என்ற ரீதியில் பேசினார் அக் கூட்டத்தில் சமஸ்கிருதத்தை மிக உயர்வாகப் புகழ்ந்து பேசினார்.

இதையடுத்து நடந்த ஒரு கூட்டத்தில் தனது முந்தைய பேச்சுக்கு வருத்தம் தெரிவித்தார்.

இந் நிலையில் நேற்று கோவை காந்திபுரத்தில் ஞான பீட விருது பெற்றதற்காக ஜெயகாந்தனுக்கு பாராட்டு விழா நடந்தது. காந்திபுரத்தில் ஒரு உணவகத்தில் இந்த விழா நடந்து கொண்டிருந்தபோது, பெரியார் திராவிடர் கழகத்தினர், சட்டக் கல்லூரி மாணவர்கள், மற்றும் தமிழ் ஆர்வலர்கள் கூட்டமாக உள்ளே புகுந்தனர்.

தமிழை விட சமஸ்கிருதமே உயர்ந்தது என புளகாங்கிதப்பட்ட ஜெயகாந்தன் ஏன் தமிழில் பேசுகிறார் அவர் சமஸ்கிருதத்தில் தான் பேச வேண்டும் தமிழில் பேச அவருக்கு அருகதை இல்லை என முழக்கமிட்டனர்.

மேலும் ஜெயகாந்தனின் முந்தைய 'நாய்ப் பேச்சு' குறித்த பிரசுரங்களையும் கூட்டத்தில் வழங்கினர். இதை சிலர் தடுக்க முயன்றபோது கூட்டத்தில் அடிதடி ஏற்படும் சூழல் உருவானது இதையடுத்து கூட்டத்தில் இருந்த பெரியவர்கள் இரு தரப்பினரையும் சமாதானப்படுத்தினர் போலீசாரும் விரைந்து வந்து அமைதி ஏற்படுத்தினர்.

பின்னர் கூட்டத்தில் பேசிய ஜெயகாந்தன்

‘எனக்கு தமிழ் தான் தெரியும் வேறு மொழி தெரியாது. தொட்டிலில் குழந்தையாக தவழ்ந்தபோதே எனக்குத் தமிழ் தெரிந்தது. எனது தாய் தமிழில் தாலாட்டியதால் தமிழ் அறிந்தேன். இந்தியாவைச் சேர்ந்த தமிழன் என்று கூறிக் கொள்ளவே ஆசைப்படுகிறேன் நான்.

இந்தி, ஆங்கிலமும் நாம் படிக்க வேண்டும் அப்போது தான் அகண்ட பாரத்தில் தமிழின் பெருமையை நாம் உணர்த்த முடியும். அரசியலுக்காக இந்தி, சமஸ்கிருதம் படிக்காதே என்று எதிர்த்துவிட்டு பின்னர் பதவிக்காக மண்டியிடுபவன் அல்ல நான். இமயத்தின் உச்சியில் நின்று தமிழின் புகழை கொக்கரிப்பவன்.

பாரதி, அண்ணா போன்ற தமிழ் அறிஞர்களையே எதிர்த்தவர்கள் தமிழர்கள் அதுபோல என்னையும் எதிர்க்கிறார்கள். தமிழனுக்கு என்று தனிக் குணம் உண்டு என்று பாடி வைத்துள்ளார் பட்டுக்கோட்டையார்.

நான் கூறிய கருத்து மற்றவர்களின் மனதை புண்படுத்தியிருந்தால் மன்னிப்பு கேட்கிறேன் ஆனால் எனது கருத்தில் எந்த மாற்றமும் கிடையாது என்றார்.