Tiruchi-based writer wins Sahitya Akademi Translation Award
Kannaiyan Daksnamurthy won the award for Karungunram, his Tamil translation of Arunachal Pradeshbased author Mamang Dai’s The Black Hill
constituency, Tiruvarur and Nagapattinam districts have a total of six MLA seats and only two are with AIADMK. Both Communist parties have MLAs here CPI in Thiruthuraipoondi in Tiruvarur district and CPI(M) in Kilvelur in Nagapattinam district and the rest are with the alliance parties. This will help us win easily.”
V. Selvaraj, Tiruvarur district secretary, said the party’s history of movements with the Dalits and working class section was unparalleled. “Our struggle against untouchability practice of Sanipal Savukkadi [an untouchability practice that was prevalent in the region], land reforms for the oppressed, movements for basic infrastructural needs and martyrs from our party for the people’s cause would tell tales of the party’s strength here. The Communist parties are committed to the people’s cause in this region. A natural appreciation for us is quite common” he said.
A party meeting of both districts headed by State president R. Mutharasan will be held in Tiruvarur to finalise the candidate on Thursday.
Tiruchibased retiree Kannaiyan Daksnamurthy, 62, is still living down the news of winning the Sahitya Akademi Award for Translation this week, for Karungunram, his Tamil version of The Black Hill, a gripping story of tribal communities interwoven with the turbulent journey of a French Jesuit priest in Northeast India, written in English by Arunachal Pradeshbased author Mamang Dai.
“I began my career in 1987 as a juniorgrade officer in the Indian Information Service of the Press Information Bureau. My earliest duties were related to translating documents for local media outlets. When I served at All India Radio (AIR) from 1991 to 2022, I started translating nonfiction works for the National Book Trust (NBT) in 1995. Last year, I won the Tamil Nadu State Government Award for Translation. The Sahitya Akademi’s recognition this year is a big honour for me,” Mr. Daksnamurthy told The Hindu on Wednesday, March 13, 2023.
Mr. Daksnamurthy was also congratulated by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister
Tamil writer Kannaiyan Daksnamurthy and the book Karungunram that won the Sahitya Akademi’s award for translation this year
M.K. Stalin for his ment.
Originally from the town of Thirumarugal, Nagapattinam district, Mr. Daksnamurthy holds postgraduate degrees in Tamil Literature and Economics, alongside a law degree. He retired as station director from AIR in 2022, after serving in Tiruchi, Madurai, Kodaikanal, Tirunelveli, Delhi and Puducherry.
The Black Hill’s appeal as a translation project lay in its unusual subject, and the description of life in mid19th century Aruna
achieve
chal Pradesh. The original had won the Sahitya Akademi Award in 2017, and its Tamil translation was published by the body in 2021.
“The mysterious disappearance of a French missionary on his way to Tibet, intertribal politics and the impending arrival of British colonialists are described in great detail. The mix of fact and fiction makes for an interesting read,” said Mr. Daksnamurthy.
In his repertoire of close to 30 translations commis
sioned by NBT, Sahitya Akademi and the Tamil Nadu Textbook Corporation, Mr. Daksnamurthy has covered authors Jerry Pinto, Sharad Pawar, Fali S. Nariman, PC Joshi, Amit Bhaduri, Subash C Kashyap, and Abid Hussain, among others.
Postretirement, he is looking forward to exploring a career in law. “I did not have the courage to become an advocate in my youth. Now, perhaps the time is right to help the public with my legal advice,” Mr. Daksnamurthy said.