called
very nature-oriented or descriptive. For
him Nature was just a necessary backdrop
for subtle human interactions. He was very,
very people- centered. As he himself had
revealed in one of his forewords, he took
a conscious decision not to play upon the
conventions and attitudes of any one particular
community quite early in his writing career.
His desire was that his writing should reflect
the foibles, passions and aspirations of
all human kind. His characters are universal
in the sense that they constantly and effortlessly
highlight the very deeply embedded, age-old
chauvinistic tendencies of people we see
everywhere. His characters could be slotted
anywhere.
Surprisingly, his southern roots showed
up (at least in language) rather cutely
in two of his novels, if I remember right—Panangaattu
Annaachchi and Maya Nadhigal.The former
is a tragic-comic story of a village bigwig
Paandi Annaachchi, who taken in by the misleading
words of a soothsayer, marries again late
in life just for 'Vaarisu'! The subtle development
of rivalry between the two wives is traced
so humorously through the story. Stella
Bruce is quite unapologetic when he exposes
the frail male ego in its various shocking
colours repeatedly through the course of
this novel and in Aayiram Kadhavugal Thirakkattum.
There is an equally dispassionate projection
of the protagonist Ulaganadhan in his highly
acclaimed novel Maya Nadhigal. The agonies
and complexes that play havoc with the life
of an old man after he marries a young woman
just for the sake of pride and for parading
her as a trophy through the village are
so delightfully brought out in this novel
which, by his own admission, was very dear
to him!
He loved and respected women. Many of them
were a blend of tenderness and steeliness—be
it Anarkali (Adhu Veru Mazhiakkaalam) Parameswari
(Maya Nadhigal) or Sugandha (Meendum Andha
Nyaabagangal). When you read his novels,
you realize something---that he was intensely
aware that both man and woman were a complex
mix of the good and the bad and that he
longed for them to accept them each other
as they were, and to explore realms of harmony
from there.
Maybe he found his ideal mate in his wife
Hema. It seems such a pity that someone
who was so adept at analyzing layers of
interpersonal relationships in his stories
could not bring himself to co-exist with
the world after his wife's passing away.
When Ananda Vikatan carried an article about
his wife's illness sometime early last year,
it was clear to the reader that the man
was already depressed. Now his end leaves
you wondering why the literary fraternity
did not take the effort of reaching out
to him in time!
May this tortured soul rest in abundant
Peace now. |
