VAZHGA VAZHGA AND OTHER STORIES BY IMAYAM (TRANSLATED FROM THE TAMIL BY PRABHA SRIDEVAN)

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BOOK NAME: VAZHGA VAZHGA AND OTHER STORIES

AUTHOR NAME: IMAYAM (TRANSLATED FROM THE TAMIL BY PRABHA SRIDEVAN)

GENRE: SHORT STORIES

PUBLISHER: PENGUIN INDIA




Nope, not the book I wished I had chosen for the Tamil translation. And definitely was not expecting this because I was looking forward to reading A Woman Burnt by the same author soon. I don’t even feel like writing a review but here it goes anyway.


It has three short stories, the first one being the longest which is the story behind the political tactics and agendas in Tamil Nadu. A political rally is being conducted before the elections, but the party leader absolutely has no idea about what’s happening behind the crowd gathering. This was a reasonably good one among the three and hence the two stars. But I would have liked it better if the author hadn’t tried making all the women in the story look bad, including those in power and those who gather for money.


The second story was about a couple whose spiritual and cultural ideas don’t match. Their love for their Gods surpassed the one that they held for each other, threatening to break their bond. I really could not understand the purpose behind this story. Was it social commentary, satire or metaphorical, I couldn’t guess. What was the author trying to say when he wrote a story about a husband who starts hitting his wife and hurls abuse at her to make her conform to his religious ambitions? Was it made to expose his blind faith or was it written to show it isn’t wrong to hit someone when they don’t agree with you? Even if the purpose of the story was the former, it wasn’t established clearly. 


The third story was more into caste dynamics, exploring how the stories of caste determination evolved over the years. It started very well but then I lost track of it towards the end. It had great potential until it suddenly deviated from track and became something else altogether. It failed to keep my attention. 


The translation of all these stories was lazy, too. Overall, I wouldn’t go back to this book again because there are plenty of better choices for a Tamil translated book. But if you are a fan of the author or would want to explore it out of curiosity, then go for it. Otherwise, you won’t be missing anything at all.



This is a part of BlogchatterA2Z2026 challenge 

#penbooksandscalpel

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