Chennai: Dr J Bhaskaran has made a rather exceptional name for himself in the literary circle as he has in neurology. His seventh book Kadaisi Pakkam was released by senior journalist Maalan Narayanan at a function held here 28 December.
Speaking on the occasion, Maalan praised the author and pointed out that he could become a full-time writer in the coming years.
By writing in his mother tongue Tamil, Dr Bhaskaran captures the attention of his readers with wit and instantaneous humour. The book Kadaisi Pakkam is a collection of the columns that he had written as the last page in Tamil e-magazine Kuvikam over the last three years.
Bhaskaran pointed out how R K Narayan classified it as a column that has no definite structure and talks about anything that comes spontaneously.
Bhaskaran’s book is a collection of various instances from his life, his experience of reading other authors, intermingled with subtle jocularity at the right places.
With 38 essays in total, the book covers different genres. There are a mix of travel stories, nostalgia, and author’s reverence towards senior writers like Ashoka Mithran and Charukesi. In an essay about suicide, the author quotes various anecdotes to imply that it is a sanctuary for cowardice.
Dr Bhaskaran has authored books including Saruma Noigal, Valippu Noigal, and Appavin Typewriter and many more.
Valippu Noigal won him the award for Best Medical book and Author.
The International Tamil University in the United States honoured him with the ‘Best Appreciation Award’ for his book Appavin Typewriter.
Dr Bhaskaran’s short stories have been published in Tamil magazines like Kalaimagal, Dhinamani Kadhir and Ladies Special.
Ladies Special editor Girija Raghavan, Kalki magazine editor SVS Ramanan, Kuvikam publisher Sundararajan and Alpha Rhythm Technologies director J Raghunandhan were present during the book release function.