Suchitra
இந்தப் பக்கத்தை தமிழில் வாசிக்க: சுசித்ரா
Suchitra (Suchitra Ramachandran) (December 16, 1987) is a bilingual writer and translator. Suchitra writes short stories, essays, literary reviews in Tamil and English, and translates between the two languages. Through her stories, Suchitra raises fundamental questions of existentialism in artistic and scientific contexts. Her short story Oli (Light), which talks of life from the perspective of a European painter, was well received by readers and critics.
Birth, Education
Suchitra was born to Ramachandran and Janaki on December 16, 1987 at Mylapore, Chennai. She was named Kodhai when she was born. Suchitra attended schools in Coonoor, Chennai, Vijayawada, Hyderabad and Madurai, and completed her schooling from T.V.S. Lakshmi Higher Secondary School, Madurai. Afterwards, Suchitra completed her engineering course at Kamaraj College, Virudhunagar. Suchitra subsequently earned a doctorate in neuroscience. She studied the ability of brain to extract patterns from its environment (statistical learning) at Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, USA.
Private Life
Suchitra married Varun, a scientist, on June 1, 2014. They have a son, Rakendu. Suchitra works as a scientist in a research laboratory in Switzerland, where she currently lives with her family.
Books
Suchitra quotes pioneers Ki. Rajanarayanan, Jayakanthan, Jayamohan, Ursula Le Guin and Isak Dinesen as her inspirations in literature. Her first work Kudai (Umbrella), a short story, was presented and discussed at the readers meet organized by Vishnupuram Readers Circle in 2017. This story was not published anywhere. Suchitra also writes science fiction stories. Siragathirvu, the first of her stories to be published (Padhaakai magazine, 2017), also belonged to this genre.
Speaking about her stories in the foreword to the Oli collection, Suchitra mentions that 'I feel myself, not only in the tradition of my language but also in the great tradition that is man's quest to make sense of the universe, through stories. Morals and valour, fury, grace, kindness and humanity, penance, beauty and the almighty - all happened through the story'.[1]
Translation Work
- The Abyss, Suchitra's translation of Jeyamohan's novel Ezhaam Ulagam into English was published in April 2023 by Juggernaut Books
- Journal Publications
- Suchitra translated Jeyamohan's short story Periammavin Sorkal into English as Periyamma’s Words. It was published in Asymptote, a journal dedicated to translations, in 2017[2]
- She translated A. Muttulingam's Aattupal Puttu (Goatmilk Puttu) into English. It was published in the Narrative magazine[3]
- She has translated other stories of Jeyamohan's including, Devaki Chithiyin Diary (Devaki Chiti's Diary) and Padugai (A Riverbed of Butterflies) [4]
- Her essays and reviews on translation have been published in outlets such as Scroll.in
She was selected for the South Asia Speaks Mentorship Programme 2022, where she worked with Arunava Sinha, on her translation of The Abyss.
Along with Priyamvada, she co-founded Mozhi an initiative that aims to bring together literatures from various Indian languages and provide a platform for critical discourse.
Literary Significance
Among Suchitra's works, the stories that exhibit a sprit of fundamental philosophical enquiry, gained prominence. Suchitra uses scientific symbolisms to carry out such inquiries in science fiction. Suchitra is one of the prominent writers spearheading the revival of science fiction in Tamil. Speaking on today's science fiction, Suchitra says, "By shedding their rigidity, the science fiction stories of today attempt to transcend boundaries and stand as pure stories".[5]
While Suchitra's style has a 'storytelling' dimension to it, her stories do not stop at being playful and instead, go on to raise important questions, such as, the contradiction between art and science, the resulting conflict, what art gives to man, and how society and state instill a sense of fear into individuals, etc., says critic Priyamvada[6]
Awards
- 2017 - Asymptote Close Approximations translation fiction prize for her translation of the Tamil short story Periyamma’s Words by B. Jeyamohan
- 2020 - Young Writer Award from Vasaga Salai for her short story collection Oli
Publications
- Oli (2020, Yavarum Publishers)
- The Abyss (2023, Juggernaut Books)
References
- Akasamittai | Literature, art, philosophy | Bilingual – Tamil & English
- South Asia Speaks - CLASS OF 2022
Links
- ↑ Pottramaraiyin Kathaisolli - Foreword from Suchitra | Writer Jeyamohan
- ↑ Periyamma’s Words - Asymptote (asymptotejournal.com)
- ↑ Goat Milk Puttu by Appadurai Muttulingam (narrativemagazine.com)
- ↑ Aakasha Mittai | Literature, art, philosophy | Bilingual – Tamil & English
- ↑ Science Fictions - History, Form, Contemporary Happenings - Suchitra Ramachandran | Writer Jeyamohan
- ↑ Oli - A collection that defies labels - Priyamvada | Writer Jeyamohan
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