Chennai: Former Chief Minister M Karunanidhi was 29 in 1953, when he was confined to rigorous imprisonment in Trichy prison. It was at that time that he read with great passion, Ilangovadigal’s Silappadhikaram, one of the five great classics of Tamil literature, says Dr Avvai Arul, Director, Department of Translation, Government of Tamilnadu.
“He was so deeply impressed by the epic that he started quoting enthusiastically from it, which became a regular feature in his public discourses and speeches. Kalaignar’s interpretation of Silapathikaram in his own style, is the scholarly outcome of 15 long years of outstanding effort,” he says.
Arul adds: “‘He not only brought back Poompukaar, he also gave the epic his own twist with some innovative interpretations of the Kovalan – Kannaki – Madhavi relationship triangle.”