MEENA KANDASAMY CHALLENGES TRADITIONAL NARRATIVES IN `THE BOOK OF DESIRE`

"I don`t think a typical Tamilian man would approve of my actions," said Meena Kandasamy.
Meena Kandasamy stated that people have been addressing her as someone who is trying to upturn the pride of ancient Tamil literature, but in reality, she believes that no typical Tamilian, especially a man, can approve of her thoughts and actions, while conversing with Chinki Sinha on the 7th edition of Kerala Literature Fest.The session mainly focused on her latest book, `The Book of Desire`, which is the translation of `Kamatthupal`, the third part of the epic literature `Thirukkural` by Thiruvalluvar.In the book of Desire, she mainly portrays the essence of love, desire, and sexuality from a feminine perspective rather than objectifying women stereotypically, as is the case with other translations of `Thirukkural`. She also stated that it expresses a powerful perspective on sexuality where it remarks on the beauty, wildness, strength, lust, and desire of a Tamil woman. Meena conversed in a mesmerizing way throughout the session by reciting several `Kurals` and also opined on socially relevant issues regarding the way society continues to treat women. After giving accounts of the difficulties she faced while picking appropriate terms in English for the broad terms in her mother tongue, Tamil, as well as the bitter experiences she had to endure while expressing sexuality and feminism aloud, the session concluded with an interactive session.