Virgin voices: V Sanjay Kumar’s Virgin Gingelly

Chennai: While the art world was an abstract character in his earlier book, Artist Undone, the city of Madras makes its presence felt in his recently launched Virgin Gingelly, permeating through the chapters, circumstances and stories. It was not a conscious decision, points out the author, “In this book, the sense of place is strong and even the insider/outsider theme.”

Reading through Virgin Gingelly is much like taking a walk along with Sanjay, in the erstwhile Chennai of the author’s memory. “This book is about Chennai since I have lived here for many years and have grown up here. It is basically, characters on a street in a place called Rainbow Colony. But it is based on a real place called Cooperative Colony, which links Chamiers Road to Cenotaph Road. I used to walk down that road every day. If you stand at the Tamilians’ vassal (entrance), you can see through to the end of the house,” he says.

“A smoky medium. A viscous oil that marinates gunpowder, anoints heads and crisps appalams. An uptight Brahmin.” These lines, found in the book, give a glimpse of what lies ahead. Sanjay reveals that his family had always stayed in rented houses in the city, giving him the opportunity to observe the Brahmin households closely. “Most of the landlords in Madras were Brahmins. That is a community that I have been able to observe all my life,” says Sanjay.

For him, writing Virgin Gingelly was also about tackling the notions of ‘identity’ and ‘belonging’. “I have the view of an outsider because I am originally from a bania family, which, of course, has been in Tamil Nadu for over three generations. The ethos is north Indian but having grown up in Chennai and having studied here as well, I think I belong here in many ways,” he says.

His tryst with writing began after reading Arun Kolatkar’s poetry. “I just fell in love with the way he wrote, his ability to convey so much using so few words. It acted as a trigger,” he reminisces. So, any notes for young writers? “If you have stories to tell then trying to write is the only way to learning to write,” he signs off.