'Appadurai Muttulingam's short stories, translated from Tamil to English, are little jewels packed with many riches. Appadurai's characters take us into the heart of the human condition where love guides them, for better or for worse. One can't help but be moved.'
DOLLY REISMAN, Writer, Canada
'With each Appadurai Muttulingam story, you enter what feels like an intimate circle of seekers seated around a fire. These tales have a fable-like quality: timeless and richly imaginative. And yet, Muttulingam's wicked humor grounds his work in modernity, while the poignant notes he strikes deliver urgency. Rarely is so much wisdom delivered in so sly and entertaining a manner. The stories have a way of transporting you from your dull, mundane existence. It is a journey worth taking.'
GERI MODELL, Writer, USA
APPADURAI MUTTULINGAM is from Sri Lanka and has worked in many countries for the World Bank and the United Nations. He is a citizen of Canada and has published 28 books in Tamil including two novels, short story collections, essays and interviews. Two collections of short stories have been translated into English. He has won many awards including the highest literary award (1996) in Tamil Nadu, India and the Sri Lankan Government Sahitya Academy Award (1998). In 2014, he received the Markham City Council (Canada) Literary Award. He is also the recipient of the Vikatan (Tamil magazine with the largest circulation in India) literary award (2012) and the prestigious S.R.M. University (India) literary award (2013). He is the founder-director of Tamil Literary Garden, a charitable organization in Canada that promotes literary excellence. He is also the founder-director of Tamil Chair Inc., a charitable organization registered in the USA for the establishment of Tamil Studies at Harvard University and the University of Toronto. His stories in English translation have appeared in anthologies by Penguin Books, 2014 (Many Roads Through Paradise) and Oxford University Press, 2016 (Uprooting the Pumpkin). Recently his translated short story 'Goat Milk Puttu' appeared in the Narrative Magazine, USA and another by the name 'Ekolu' appeared in Spillwords.com, USA. He lives with his wife Ranji in Canada, and his son Dr M. Sanjayan and daughter Vaithehi live in the USA.
S. THILLAINAYAGAM retired from M.S. University, Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu as Professor of English. His doctoral dissertation was on Q.D. Leavis's Fiction and the Reading Public. His papers presented in national and international literary conferences were published as Feminist Literary Essays. He has edited Sundara Ramasamyin Thernthetutha Katturaigal for the Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi and a textbook in Tamil ('The Status of Women in India') for the undergraduate students of M.S. University. His translations from Tamil to English are: A.K. Chettiar's Annal Adichuvattil, Kalaignar Karunanithi's Ponnar-Sankar, A.K. Perumal's A History of South Kumari, and Pichamurtyin Selected Short Stories. The last one was a Sahitya Akademi publication and won for him the Nalli-Thisai Ettum Award for the best translation of the year 2019. His forthcoming publication is a simple, precise meaning for the 1330 Thirukkural couplets of Thiruvalluvar and their translation in simple English.
