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'Make regional literature platform for voice of masses'
Indo-Asian News Service

Tiruvannamalai (Tamil Nadu), Oct 1 (IANS) Over 600 writers and artistes from the four south Indian states have gathered here in this temple town for a three-day convention that concludes Sunday.

The conclave "hopes to make literature from South India and Tamil literature a platform for the voices of the toiling masses rather than be the domain of the forward castes," according to its organiser, the Tamil Nadu Progressive Writers' Association (TPWA).

TPWA president Velanmai Ponnusamy declared the meet open Friday with the launch of a photo exhibition. Tributes were pad to the two giants who passed away recently -- O.V. Vijayan, the cartoonist and satirist, and M.S. Subbulakshmi, the legendary singer.

Tamil writers Jayakanthan and Ashokamitran were lauded for their work.

Participants included 300 TPWA members as well as noted writers from the neighbouring states like Malayalam poet K. Sachidanandan, Kannada writers U.R. Ananthamurthy and Siddalingaiah, Tamil writers Nandalala, S.A. Perumal, N. Nanmaran, Venila and poet Gayatri Camus.

Filmmakers Bharatidasan and Cheran and cinematographer K.V. Anand also rubbed shoulders with authors and poets.

Feminist writer from Andhra Pradesh Olga (nee P. Lalitha Kumari), whose 1987 novel "Sweccha" sold more than 50,000 copies and who is now a popular writer for Telugu TV and cinema, in her address talked about the rise of women poets in the Telugu literary arena in the 20th century.

"It is important for women to identify their enemies and friends," she said.

Calling for a fight against patriarchy, fundamentalism and globalisation, she said, "World Bank-driven policies have taken Andhra Pradesh to the brink of an agricultural disaster."

Former TPWA president and a senior advocate Senthil Nathan said, "It is because of us (TPWA) that popular magazines like Kumudam and Ananda Vikatan today are forced to accommodate quality literature, or at least pretend that they are keen to promote Tamil."