Perumal Murugan

Perumal Murugan Biography

Perumal Murugan is an Indian author, scholar and literary chronicler who writes in Tamil. He has six novels, four collections of short stories and four anthologies of poetry to his credit. Two of his novels have been translated into English: Seasons of the Palm, which was shortlisted for the Kiriyama Prize in  2005, and current shows. He has received awards from the Tamil Nadu government as well as from Katha Books. He is a Tamil Professor at the Government Arts College in Namakkal.

In January 2015, he announced that he is giving up writing after he came under attack for blasphemy from Hindutva for his novel Madhurobhagan which was first published in 2010. Madhorubhagan has been translated and published in English as ‘One Part Woman’. It  is a fictional account of a poor, childless couple, and how the wife, who wants to conceive, takes part in an ancient Hindu chariot festival where, on one night, consensual sex between any man and woman is allowed. Murugan explores the tyranny of caste and pathologies of a community in tearing the couple apart and destroying their marriage. In his fictional account, Murugan alludes to actual places and communities, thereby leading to aspersions being cast on the parentage of many generations of the community.

The protests by Hindu and caste-based outfits have focused on the portrayal of historical traditions related to the noted Ardhanareeswarar Temple in Tiruchengode, where the eponymous presiding deity is part-Shiva and part-Parvati, in one idol. The Tamil title of the book, 'Madhorubagan', is translation of the name of the deity (Ardha-naree-eswarar), just as the English title, 'One Part Woman', is an allusion to the deity's form. The protest by some outfits were continued by the local units, even after they lost steam at the state-level. Following the protest Perumal Murugan, has decided not to write any more, and has withdrawn all his books. His decision comes on the back of raging protests against his latest book, 'Madhorubagan', In his Facebook page post, Murugan said: "Perumal Murugan the writer is dead. As he is no God, he is not going to resurrect himself. He also has no faith in rebirth. An ordinary teacher, he will live as P. Murugan. Leave him alone.

Madhorubhagan (One Part  woman)

One Part Woman is a novel based on an ancient and supposed cultural practice among Tamil Hindus, called Niyoga. It is the story of a childless couple with a strong desire of having a child, depicted with sensitivity, anguish and gentleness. However in this work of fiction, Murugan used actual names of places and communities, thereby casting aspersions on the parentage of many generations of the community. This invited a backlash from the community and from other organizations in support.

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Updated: November 05, 2015