The many subcultures that surround us make the colourful strands in the tapestry of Indian life. Hepsibah Jesudasan documented the Christian community around Cape Comorin in her Tamil novel Putham Veedu (the new house). Thopil Mohamadu Meeran recorded the life of Muslims in a fishing village of southern Tamil Nadu in his moving novel Oru Kadalora Giramathin Kathai (the tale of a coastal village). These are valuable recordings of a way of life disappearing fast. This English translation of a Tamil novel by poet Salma, The Hour Past Midnight, is set in the backdrop of Muslim community in central Tamil Nadu.
What is special about Salma's work is that it takes you by the hand as it were inside the unseen world of Tamil Muslim women and the problems encountered by them in that milieu. That includes the utter lack of space for women, child sexual abuse, and the persistence of caste prejudices among Tamil Muslim, malaise that could be traced in any Indian community.
Nearly a decade and a half ago, Salma attracted attention as a promising young poet through the pages of the literary magazines Kaalachuvadu and Puthia Paarvai. Patriarchical eyebrows went up when her poems echoing the voice of women, with explicit sexual imagery, appeared in print. The short film, She Write, by Anjali Montero and K.P. Jayashankar in which she featured along with three other Tamil women poets drew a lot of acclaim to her poetry. There are critics who see a close connection between her poetry and this novel. In fact, some of the characters can also be recognised.
http://newageislam.com/the-unseen-world-of-tamil-muslim-women/books-and-documents/d/1701
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2:52 AM
Moderate Islamist here
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