1st September 2001: Article from The Peninsula
 

KOTTAYAM: Raj Nair's maiden novel, 'Nishabdathayilae Theerthadakan' (Pilgrim of Silence) was formally released in Kottayam early this week before an august audience of literary persons, intellectuals, budding writers and readers.

The occasion was the anniversary of DC Books, the largest publishers in Malayalam, at the town hall where Assamese writer Dr. Indira Goswamy, Latin American Novelist Maria Ampara Escandon and Malayalam writer Dr. Kamala Suraiya were present.

Raj Nair, 34, a PhD in Oral Medicine and a fellow of the Harvard University, has been in Hong Kong for almost a decade. He is now on the faculty of Hong Kong University where he found his life's partner, Dr. Anut Itthagarun. They have a four-year old son, Ramil.

On a recent visit to his home town Alappuzha, Raj Nair told 'The Peninsula' that the seeds of literary interest in him was sown by none other than his maternal grandfather, the renowned, Thakazhi Sivasakara Pillai, who through his immortal works like 'Chemmeen', 'Randidangazhi' and 'Kayar' created a niche for himself among the Asian writers. Thakazhi's works have been translated into 30 languages worldwide.

In fact, Raj wrote his first literary piece, when he was just eleven. It was a poem inspired by the sad death of a few persons by poisonous gas when a tank burst in his neighbourhood. The first work was published in the school magazine. When he entered college, he had associated himself with a neighbourhood periodical, 'Mukha Mudra', from Ambalapuzha, near the village of Thakazhi, which his grandpa immortalized by his writings.

When he went into studying oral medicine and took his MDS and PhD from the Mangalore University, he could not pursue his literary interests very much. But after checking into Hong Kong, in spite of the fast pace, he found some solitude to work on the powerful emotions stored in his mind in tranquility. That was how he wrote over fifty poems and short stories before venturing into his first novel.

His is one of the seven universities in Hong Kong. With a working knowledge of Cantonese and Mandarin, Raj has made friends with a lot of the local population. Though there are a number of rich Indians like Hari Hariela, Malayalees are an endangered species.

'Nishabdathayilae Theerthadakan' was first serialised in a popular Malayalam journal and attracted much attention as a promising work from a novice. The story is unravelled thorough the protagonist, who is the writer himself. It is told in fantasy style. You hear most of the story and suddenly you realise that everything was a mere fantasy!

"The story is told by a 10-year old fifth grader. It unravels the experimentation and realization of a young boy. There is a 'guru' who is Kripa aka Kripacharyan. The boy studies much more from the guru than what he learns from the Sanathana Dharma Viidyalaya in Kuttandau.The first nine chapters consist of the lessons he gets from his guru. But in the 10th chapter everything takes a tumultuous turn. All that had foregone was the fantasy of a middle aged man, Krishna Panicker from Harippad," so says Dr. PP Ravindran who wrote the introduction.

According to Raj, the modern urban life, whether it is in Hong Kong, Harvard, Montreal or London, frequented by him for presentation to academic world, denies man the plaintive intervals which are necessary for man to realise the worth or relevance of man in the cosmic universe. You will have to work hard to find the real man in you.

Raj has completed another novel in English and is working on his third novel now. The English novel, 'Impermanence', tells the story of two Chinese women who arrive in Thailand illicitly by boat to eke out a living. He has named his next Malayalam novel, 'Bhoomiyilae Paravakal'.

"Everything comes from that great source of inspiration, my grandpa, Thakazhi. He used to take me whenever he goes to address literary meetings. He was very fond of me. "You will do if you change your language", the used to tell me after knowing that I had some literary interest," Raj said.

Raj, son of Dr. N. Gopinathan Nair of 'Cauvery' in Alappuzha town and Janamma, the third daughter of Thakazhi. "but I will never come anywhere near my grandpa. He in fact immortalised his birthplace, Kuttanad and thereby immortalised all Malayalees," Raj said.

-THE PENINSULA