Udayampalayam’s nights were meant for stories. Neervazhi Padooum is that story — of the people of Udayampalayam in Tiruppur district near Coimbatore, of Kaaru mama, of Devibharathi’s mother and father. “A writer’s job is to find out about lives he knows nothing of,” he says, stating examples of his political novel Natraj Maharaj and the deeply-researched Noyyal, which spans 100 …
Tamil writer Devibharathi’s novel Neervazhi Padooum, depicting the life of the Kudi Navithar, the community barbers in the Kongu region of Tamil Nadu, has won the Sahitya Akademi award for 2023. The lines Neervazhi Padooum “punaipol aaruyir muraivazhi padoom” translates to a float that sails on the way of the water, indicating that life travels on the path chalked out …
