Holding a mirror up to nature, writer Imayam reflects the concerns of the society through his novels dealing with the existing social problems concerning gender, race, religious or class prejudice. His missionary zeal marks him as a humane and notable writer of contemporary relevance.Imayam’s characterization reveals his deep insight into human nature and his ability to give an identity to the neglected and deprived classes of people whose voice was suppressed for a long period of time. It also points out how women face the collective and public threat of rape, sexual assault, and physical violence.
The helplessness of the poor is openly
punctuated in Imayam’s short story collection Manbaram (2002); Video Mariyamman
(2008) focuses on Dalit’s struggle for
dignity, justice and equality in the
caste-ridden Hindu society. Kolaiseval (2013) and SaavuSoru (2014)define the
oppressions faced by women. Narumanam (2016) discusses the plight and predicament
of the poor due to modern development.
Pethavan:The Begetter, translated into
English, French and Telugu created a change in the state after it was found to
have foretold a real life tragedy in Dharmapuri in 2012. Pethavan throws light
on the ruthless ‘honour killings’ carried out by kattappanchayats to oppose
inter-caste marriages in Tamil Nadu.
Imayam’s Koveru
Kazhudaigal(1994) translated as Beasts
of Burden saw
its 25th anniversary special edition. It is about
the tragedy of the
poverty-striken PuthiraiVannaar dhobis
working for the Dalits. Arumugam
(1999) is about the relationship
between a mother and son, woven into a single fabric of love along with their
sufferings and the prevalence of prostitution.
Based on a ritual called Pottukattu, Sedal( 2006)
brings out the experiences of a real character Sedal and the Dalit community.
The women designated as oracles participate in village festivals, Koothu and
death rituals. The main focus is on the misfortune caused to the heroine due to
a religious custom that still prevails in many part of India. Imayam’s open
ended novel En Kadhai(2015) deals
with the trauma of love failure.
Imayam recently received Sahitya
Akademi award for Sellatha Panam
(2018), which
talks about the intercaste marriage, the struggles and the outpouring of
emotions. Money is rendered useless
in a family that rejects its daughter for marrying a man outside the
community.
Imayam’s stories, while dwelling on the maladies prevalent in the society
also
present the gleaming and brighter side. He has given possible solutions for the
eradication of the maladies, which consists of unity, good leadership and
education. He visited
Canada, Malaysia and Singapore to give lectures; his works find a place in the
syllabi of many colleges and universities in India and abroad. Many research
scholars evince a keen interest in exploring his works.
Mr. Imayam has received many awards, accolades and honours for his works. Considering his universality, realistic portrayal of the characters and the society and the extensive research writer Imayam has done for his works.