Generations: Talaimuraikal (Translated from Tamil by Ka Naa Subramanyam)

Generations is an intricate tale, simply told by a master of fiction about a community of Tamil speakers who live on the borders of modern-day Kerala. Set in the 1940s, it is a novel of generational change and conflict, and how the boy Diravi grows up to take charge of his family, which embodies a distinct culture. Diravi’s sister, Nagu’s marriage to Perumal is wrecked when the latter, enraged at his own failings, rejects his young wife. Unnacceptable in her own family, Nagu continues to endure Perumal’s cruelty till her brother, Diravi decides on an alternative course of action slashing through outdated social customs that discourage any constructive solutions. Amidst the background of language, myth, and ethnic consciousness, we are offered a sensitively drawn profile of the passing of a traditional way of life into modernity and the nostalgia that comes with change.