I often ask friends and scholars: what chance we have to make this century an opportunity for Tamil Nadu? Tamil literature? Answers vary. The genuine Dravidian culture and civilization can be promoted to world level only by transforming the Tamil society into a vibrant enlightened society.
I feel there is no other way except to promote through good, governance, a new vision for creating a modern Tamil society and political culture. There is much platform talk but no serious research on Bharati’s poetical evolution, for instance, we don’t have any body of critical writing on our poets as there are on English poets.
How Bharati got his nationalism? His ideas of freedom? How he evolved from a traditional poet into a propounder of freedom? Shelley was a source of inspiration? Or, other sources? When I read Shelley seriously recently such thoughts struck me. Hard questions; serious investigations need to be attempted. Even a full-fledged edition of his poetry with dates and years and circumstances of each poem is needed but not available.
I am not sure about the current trends in Tamil poetry, for I don’t closely follow all the writings, or debates; what I know for sure is what I gather from my own close poet-friends and what I read.