Writer Imayam: Translators Bring Fresh Life to Literary Works

Speedy Summary

• Sahitya Akademi award-winning Tamil writer imayam participated in a conversation with Justice (retired) Prabha Sridevan at The Hindu office in Chennai as part of the “Out of Print” series on July 24, 2025.
• Justice Sridevan has translated three of Mr. Imayam’s works into english, including the book Ippodhu Uyirodirukkiren (I’m alive… for now), which is narrated by a 15-year-old boy.
• Justice Sridevan highlighted the unique challenges of translating regional dialects and keeping translations age-appropriate and true to context without using overly complex words.
• Mr. Imayam revealed that his stories are guided by their characters rather than conscious decisions, emphasizing that humor and other elements emerge naturally during writing.
• The author stated love is the foundation for all his stories and emphasized a writer’s role in documenting societal changes while reshaping language creatively to keep it relevant.
• He stressed that storytelling serves secondary importance to reviving language, citing historical examples like Tholkappiyar, Thiruvalluvar, and Kambar whose works have endured.

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