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Perumal Murugan
Perumal Murugan is an Indian author, scholar and literary
Perumal Murugan
chronicler who writes novels in Tamil. He has written six novels,
four collections of short stories and four anthologies of poetry to
his credit. Three of his novels have been translated into English:
Seasons of the Palm, which was shortlisted for the Kiriyama Prize
in 2005, Current Show and One Part Woman.[2] He was a
professor of Tamil at the Government Arts College in
Namakkal.[3]

Contents
Life and education
Early life
Education
Scholarly career
Born 1966[1]
Literary Career and Works
Occupation Author
Controversy surrounding Madhorubhagan ('One Part
Woman') Nationality Indian
Notable Madhorubagan
Awards and Prizes works (novel) Saathiyum
References Naanum (novel)
Further reading

Life and education

Early life
Perumal Murugan was born in 1966 to a family of farmers who had small land holdings near
Thiruchengodu, a town in northern Kongunadu. His father, a farmer, supplemented the family's
income by running a soda shop in a cinema theatre in Thiruchengode.[4] Murugan began writing from
an early age, and some of his early lyrics for children's songs were featured on programmes broadcast
by the All India Radio.[4]

Education
Murugan initially studied Tamil literature both as an undergraduate, in Erode and as a postgraduate
in Coimbatore. He went on to obtain an M. Phil. from Madras University in Tamil studies, and
followed by a Ph.D.[4] His doctoral thesis focused on the works of Kongu author R.
Shanmugasundaram.[4]

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Scholarly career
As a professor of Tamil literature, Murugan has made several contributions to research and academic
study of Tamil literature specific to the Kongunadu region, including building a lexicon of words,
idioms and phrases special to Kongunadu.[4] He has also extensively researched and documented
Kongu folklore, especially the ballads on Annamar Sami, a pair of folk deities. In addition, Murugan
has worked on publishing authoritative editions of classical Tamil texts.[4] He has also republished
works of literature relating to the Kongu region. One commentator notes that "In sum, his over 35
books provide a veritable cultural map of the Kongu region."[5] Murugan taught as professor of Tamil
at the Government Arts College in Namakkal.[3] but was forced to leave Namakkal following assaults
and protests by right-wing Hindu and caste groups,[6] and now heads the department of Tamil
literature at a government college in Attur, Tamil Nadu.[7] In between, he briefly taught at the
Presidency College in Chennai.[8]

Literary Career and Works

Murugan is the author of ten novels, and five collections each of short stories and poems, as well as
ten books of non-fiction relating to language and literature, in addition to editing several fiction and
non-fiction anthologies.[4] Several of his novels have been translated into English, including Seasons
of the Palm and Current Show. He has also written a memoir, Nizhal Mutrattu Ninaivugal (2013).[4]

Murugan began his writing career by publishing several short stories in the Tamil journal, Manavosai
between 1988 and 1991. These stories were later collected and published in a book titled
Thiruchengodu (1994).[4] His first novel, Eru Veyyil ('Rising Heat') was published in 1991, and dealt
with the problems that a family faced when their land was acquired for the construction of a housing
colony, engaging with themes of family, greed, and corruption.[4] His second novel, Nizhal Mutram
(1993), translated into English by V Geetha as Current Show (Tara Books, 2004), drew from his
personal experience of helping his father run a soda stall in a cinema theatre.[4]

Murugan's third novel, described by the translator and critic N. Kalyan Raman as a 'tour de force' was
titled Koolamadari (2000), and was translated by V Geetha as Seasons of the Palm (Tara Books,
2004).[4] The book dealt with the life and travails of its protagonist, Koolaiyan, a young goatherd of
the Chakkili caste, who was bonded to work in a Gounder caste family to repay his father's debts.[4]
The book dealt with themes of childhood, autonomy, and freedom.

His next novel, Kanganam (Resolve, 2008) dealt with the consequences of sex-selective abortions
and female foeticide that caused a skewed sex ratio in the Kongunadu region. It focuses on the
protagonist, Marimuthu, unmarried because of the scarcity of women within his caste and society.[4]
His novel, Madhurobhagan (2010) translated by Aniruddhan Vasudevan as One Part Woman
(Penguin, 2013) dealt with a young childless couple struggling within their marriage, drawing
specifically from the community and culture of the Kongunadu region.

One Part Woman is a novel based on a possible ancient cultural practice among people living around
Tiruchengode, written by Perumal Murugan. According to historian Romila Thapar, it is the story of a
childless couple with a strong desire of having a child, "depicted with admirable sensitivity, anguish
and gentleness".[9] Published by Penguin Books,[10] the novel was originally written in Tamil under
the name Madhorubagan and then later translated in English by Aniruddhan Vasudevan as One Part

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Woman.[11] Aniruddhan Vasudevan was awarded Sahitya Akademi Translation Award (2016) for this
book.[11] The book was also included in the longlist for the 2018 National Book Award in the
"Translated Literature" category.[12]

His latest novel, Aalandap Patchi (The Misanthropic Bird, 2013) again engages with the themes of
land, family, and caste in the Kongunadu region, focusing on a young man cast out by his family who
struggles with migration, exile, and livelihood.[4] Recently, his novel Pookkuzhi (Pyre) has been
translated to English by Aniruddhan Vasudevan, as well.

In 2017, an anthology of Perumal Murugan’s poems, Mayanathil Nitkum Maram (A Tree that Stands
in the Crematorium) was published, containing his four previous collections of poetry: Nigazh Uravu,
Gomuki Nadhikarai Koozhaangal, Neer Midakkum Kanngal and Velli Shani Bhudhan Nyayaru
Vzhyayan Chevvai.[13]

Controversy surrounding Madhorubhagan ('One

Part Woman')
Murugan's fifth novel Madhorubhagan (translated as 'One Part
Woman') was set in his native town of Thiruchengode, and dealt
with a couple, Kali and Ponna, who were the subject of social
stigma and humiliation for their inability to have a child. The
novel portrays their eventual participation in a chariot festival to At KLF in 2018
honour the god Ardhanareeshwara, during which, for one night
every year, the local community in the novel relaxed taboos and
allowed free relations between men and women.[14] The novel was published in 2010 and was well-
received, but began to attract controversy in 2014 after local caste-based and religious Hindu groups
objected to the fictional portrayal of traditions at the Ardhanareeswarar Temple in Tiruchengode,
where the eponymous presiding deity is part-Shiva and part-Parvati in one idol. The Tamil title of the
book, Madhorubagan, is a translation of the name of the deity (Ardha-naree-eswarar), just as the
English title, One Part Woman, is an allusion to the deity's form. The protest by some outfits were
continued by the local units even after they lost momentum at the state level.[15]

Protests were eventually called off after the local police summoned the protesters and Murugan for a
'peace talk' and compelled him to sign an " “unconditional apology” and withdraw all copies of the
novel.[14] Murugan in January 2015 announced that he was giving up writing, and said on his
Facebook page that "Perumal Murugan the writer is dead. As he is no God, he is not going to resurrect
himself. He also has no faith in rebirth. An ordinary teacher, he will live as P. Murugan. Leave him
alone."[15]

A series of litigation and suits concerning One Part Woman were instituted before the Madras High
Court, and on 5 July 2016 the Madras High Court dismissed the case under citing Article 19(1)(a) of
the Constitution of India, ruled that there was no binding force or obligation in the previous state
intervention that forced him to apologise and withdraw the books. The court further directed the state
to provide appropriate protection when artistic or literary people come under attack, and to form an
expert body to help guide the police and local administration to develop sensitivity to the issues
involved.[16] Following this judgment, Murugan returned to his literary career with a collection of
poetry.
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Awards and Prizes

In 2005, Perumal Murugan's novel Seasons of the Palm was shortlisted for the Kiriyama Prize.[17]
In 2017, the English translation of Murugan's novel Madhorubhagan, or One Part Woman, by
Aniruddhan Vasudevan, won the Sahitya Akademi's Translation Prize.

References
1. Raman, N. Kalyan (1 December 2013). "Boats Against The Current: The Kongunadu novels of
Perumal Murugan" (http://caravanmagazine.in/books/boats-against-current). Caravan Magazine.
Retrieved 18 October 2015.
2. "Perumal Murugan" (http://www.penguinbooksindia.com/en/content/perumal-murugan). Penguin
Books of India.
3. Rajendran, S. P. (10 July 2016). "Tamilnadu: Writers Condemn Burning of Tamil Novel by
Hindutva Outfits" (http://peoplesdemocracy.in/2015/0104_pd/tamilnadu-writers-condemn-burning-t
amil-novel-hindutva-outfits). Peoples Democracy. 40 (28).
4. "Boats Against the Current" (http://www.caravanmagazine.in/reviews-essays/boats-against-curren
t). The Caravan. 29 December 2013. Retrieved 23 May 2017.
5. Venkatachalapathy, A. R. "In defence of the chronicler of Kongu" (http://www.thehindu.com/opinio
n/op-ed/in-defence-of-the-chronicler-of-kongu/article6778031.ece). The Hindu. Retrieved 23 May
2017.
6. " 'Perumal Murugan was asked to exile himself by police' " (http://www.thehindu.com/news/nationa
l/tamil-nadu/perumal-murugan-was-asked-to-exile-himself-by-police/article6792161.ece). The
Hindu. Retrieved 23 May 2017.
7. "Tamil writer Perumal Murugan breaks his silence, will return with 200 poems" (http://indianexpres
s.com/article/india/india-news-india/perumal-murugan-interview-criminal-case-tamil-writer-298951
8/). The Indian Express. 22 August 2016. Retrieved 23 May 2017.
8. "Hounded Tamil Author Perumal Murugan Set to Join New College Posting Away From Home" (htt
p://www.ndtv.com/south/hounded-tamil-author-perumal-murugan-set-to-join-new-college-posting-a
way-from-home-740175). NDTV.com. Retrieved 23 May 2017.
9. Thapar, Romila (13 March 2015). "The real reasons for hurt sentiments" (http://www.thehindu.co
m/todays-paper/tp-opinion/the-real-reasons-for-hurt-sentiments/article6988107.ece). The Hindu.
Retrieved 20 April 2017.
10. Kolappan, B (19 April 2017). "One Part Woman bags Sahitya Akademi award" (http://www.thehind
u.com/books/books-authors/one-part-woman-bags-sahitya-akademi-award/article18147328.ece).
The Hindu. Retrieved 20 April 2017.
11. "Akademi award for translation of Perumal book" (http://indianexpress.com/article/india/akademi-a
ward-for-translation-of-perumal-book/). The Indian Express. 19 April 2017. Retrieved 20 April
2017.
12. "The 2018 National Book Awards Longlist: Translated Literature" (https://www.newyorker.com/boo
ks/page-turner/the-2018-national-book-awards-longlist-translated-literature). The New Yorker. 12
September 2018. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
13. Srilata, K. "Perumal Murugan: The Before and the After" (https://thewire.in/87592/perumal-muruga
n/). thewire.in. Retrieved 23 May 2017.
14. Bhatia, Gautam. "The fault in our speech" (http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/perumal-muruga
n-book-controversy-and-madras-high-court/article14476037.ece). The Hindu. Retrieved 23 May
2017.
15. "Perumal Murugan quits writing" (http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/perumal-murugan-
quits-writing/article6786990.ece). The Hindu. 14 January 2015. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
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16. "HC relief for Tamil writer Perumal Murugan, court pulls up state govt" (http://www.deccanchronicl
e.com/nation/current-affairs/050716/hc-relief-for-tamil-writer-perumal-murugan-court-pulls-up-stat
e-govt.html). The Deccan Chronicle. 5 July 2016. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
17. "Perumal MuruganSangam House | Sangam House" (http://www.sangamhouse.org/perumal-muru
gan/). www.sangamhouse.org. Retrieved 23 May 2017.

Further reading
People are looking to settle scores with me: Perumal Murugan (http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/i
nterview/people-are-looking-to-settle-scores-with-me-perumal-murugan/article6778030.ece), The
Hindu, 12 January 2015

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