Poet and lyricist Vairamuthu’s popular novel ‘Kallikaattu Idhigaasam’ won him the prestigious Sahitya Akademi Award. The Akademi is translating the book in 23 Indian languages. The Hindi translation of the same, done by H.Balasubramaniyam and titled Nagaphani Van Ka Itihaas, was launched last year. The book has now won Best Book of the Year: Hindi from FICCI. In addition to Hindi, the translation of ‘Kallikaattu Idhigaasam’ has been completed in Malayalam, Kannada and Telugu and is expected to be out soon.
“Mr. Srinivasa Rao, Secretary of Sahitya Akademi, called me to inform me of this esteemed award. I thank members of FICCI for selecting my book for this award. This is not a direct award to me. This is an award for Sahitya Akademi. Usually, it is Sahitya Akademi that gives away awards for literary works. In contrast, the fact that Sahitya Akademi is getting this award for its Hindi translation of my work, it feels special.”
The lyricist conveys his love for Tamil, “Owing to its distinction, I see Tamil transcending language boundaries. I feel that this award has made every Tamil speaking Indian stand tall with heartfelt pride”.
As the award comes at a time when PM Narendra Modi has stated that India takes pride in Tamil being the most ancient language in the world, the author added, “It was a great coincidence.”
