KANGANAM IS A NOVEL BY TAMIL WRITER PERUMAL MURUGAN THAT EXPLORES THE SOCIAL CONSEQUENCES OF A SKEWED SEX RATIO CAUSED BY SEX-SELECTIVE ABORTIONS AND FEMALE FOETICIDE IN RURAL TAMIL SOCIETY. THE STORY FOCUSES ON THE LIFE OF MARIMUTHU, A MAN WHO REMAINS UNMARRIED BECAUSE THERE ARE TOO FEW WOMEN WITHIN HIS CASTE AND COMMUNITY, AND SHOWS HOW THIS IMBALANCE AFFECTS HIS EMOTIONAL WORLD AND SOCIAL IDENTITY. THROUGH MARIMUTHU’S STRUGGLES AND LONELINESS, THE NOVEL HIGHLIGHTS BROADER CULTURAL AND GENDER ISSUES IN CONTEMPORARY INDIAN SOCIETY.
PERUMAL MURUGAN IS THE STAR OF CONTEMPORARY TAMIL LITERATURE. AN AWARD-WINNING WRITER, POET AND SCHOLAR, HE HAS GARNERED BOTH CRITICAL ACCLAIM AND COMMERCIAL SUCCESS FOR HIS VAST ARRAY OF WORK. HIS NOVELS HAVE BEEN TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH TO IMMENSE ACCLAIM, INCLUDING CURRENT SHOW, PYRE, SEASONS OF THE PALM, WHICH WAS SHORTLISTED FOR THE KIRIYAMA PRIZE IN 2005, AND ONE PART WOMAN, HIS BEST-KNOWN WORK, WHICH WAS SHORTLISTED FOR THE CROSSWORD AWARD, LONGLISTED FOR THE INAUGURAL NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FOR TRANSLATION AND WON THE PRESTIGIOUS ILF SAMANVAY BHASHA SAMMAN. A LONELY HARVEST AND TRIAL BY SILENCE-HIS TWO INGENIOUS PARALLEL SEQUELS TO ONE PART WOMAN-WERE SHORTLISTED FOR THE JCB PRIZE FOR FICTION 2019. A LONELY HARVEST WAS ALSO LONGLISTED FOR THE DSC PRIZE FOR SOUTH ASIAN LITERATURE 2019.
SUNITA KATTI IS A TEACHER, WRITER AND TRANSLATOR . SHE WORKED AS A HINDI-SANSKRIT TEACHER FOR TWENTY-EIGHT YEARS IN BANGALORE . SHE WAS FASCINATED BY THE MAGIC OF LANGUAGES AND READING SINCE HER CHILDHOOD . HENCE SHE DID HER M.A. IN HINDI- SANSKRIT , B.ED. IN HINDI AND CERTIFICATE COURSE OF JOURNALISM IN MARATHI . SHE HAS WRITTEN A NUMBER OF STORIES IN HINDI AND MARATHI FOR CHILDREN WHICH WERE PUBLISHED IN NANDAN, PARAG , BALABHARATEE , MELA MAGAZINES IN HINDI AND KUMAR , KISHOR MAGAZINES IN MARATHI . SHE HAS TRANSLATED MANY MARATHI BOOKS IN HINDI AND ENGLISH BOOKS IN MARATHI AND HINDI .