Eḻuttukkiṉiyavaṉ

Eḻuttukkiṉiyavaṉ

N. Asokan, who writes under the name எழுத்துக்கினியவன் | eḻuttukkiṉiyavaṉ, is a technologist by profession and a literary bridge-builder by passion.

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Coming of Age
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Coming of Age

Translated from the original Tamil short story pakkuvam (பக்குவம்) from the 1964 collection of short stories titled akkā (அக்கா) by A. Muttulingam. The original collection is available at noolaham.org. Translated with the author’s permission. “Kantharmadam Sellammā” “Five” “Kottadi Āchippiḷḷai” “Five” “Kokuvil Velāyuthapiḷḷai” “Ten” “Chitfund Nallāmpi side” “Twenty” “Co-operative store Rathinam’s wife” The traditional puberty ceremony was well under way. As people came up and put money
November 2025 Story
Eḻuttukkiṉiyavaṉ

Eḻuttukkiṉiyavaṉ
Jaffna Swami
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Jaffna Swami

Translated from the original Tamil short story yāḻppānaccāmi  (யாழ்ப்பாணச் சாமி)  by Shobasakthi. The original story is available at his website. If you have any questions or feedback, please contact ez.iniyavan@gmail.com. This story is not about the Aruḷampalam Swami who was immortalized in song by the great Tamil poet Bharathiyār, calling him the eye of the world and the enlightened vessel that delivers sinners from their suffering. I am about to tell you the story of a different Jaffna Swami
Story October 2025
Eḻuttukkiṉiyavaṉ

Eḻuttukkiṉiyavaṉ
Directions
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Directions

Translated from the original Tamil short story ticaikaḷ (திசைகள்) from his 1992 collection of short stories by S.L.M. Hanifa. The original collection is available at noolaham.org. If you have any questions, please contact ez.iniyavan@gmail.com. Co-translators: eḻuttukkiṉiyavaṉ and Fasmila Raviraj. Māntarāṟu river rampaged with full ferocity, like a stampede of elephants in musth. Manikkam’s eyes were fixated on the treacherous maelstroms appearing here and there on the river’s surface, only to
Story September 2025
Eḻuttukkiṉiyavaṉ

Eḻuttukkiṉiyavaṉ
The Elephant Story
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The Elephant Story

Translated from the original Tamil short story yāṉaikkatai (யானைக் கதை) by Shobasakthi. The original story is available at his website. If you have any questions or feedback, please contact ez.iniyavan@gmail.com. When Guillaume Vernon, the linguistics professor, read ‘Me Grandad 'ad An Elephant,’ the English translation of Vaikom Muhammad Basheer’s celebrated novel, he went all the way to Kerala for an audience with the great master and wrote a long essay in French about the meeting. He may wel
Story August 2025
Eḻuttukkiṉiyavaṉ

Eḻuttukkiṉiyavaṉ
Emotions
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Emotions

Translated from the original Tamil short story uṇarccikaḷ (உணர்ச்சிகள்) from the 1976 collection of short stories titled kōṭukaḷum kōlaṅkalum (கோடுகளும் கோலங்களும்) by Kuppilan Ai. Shanmugan. The original collection is available at noolaham.org. If you have any questions, please contact ez.iniyavan@gmail.com. She was sitting next to him. He peered at her intently with curiosity. Her proximity made him fidget. He breathed in the scent of the perfume that wafted from her and delighted in the gent
Story July 2025
Eḻuttukkiṉiyavaṉ

Eḻuttukkiṉiyavaṉ
Living Through Four Revolutions: How Computers, Internet, Mobiles, and AI Redefined the Human Story

Living Through Four Revolutions: How Computers, Internet, Mobiles, and AI Redefined the Human Story

Prof. N. Asokan was invited to give a short “morning assembly talk” at his alma mater, Trinity College, Kandy. The following is the transcribed version of his inspiring speech, reflecting on the four major technological revolutions that have shaped our world—and his life. He writes under the pen name 'eḻuttukkiṉiyavaṉ', including for Jaffna Monitor. Forty-five years ago, I walked into this assembly hall thrice a week for morning assembly. My classmates and I always sat over on that side. Today,
June 2025
Eḻuttukkiṉiyavaṉ

Eḻuttukkiṉiyavaṉ
Last Rite

Last Rite

Translated from the original Tamil short story கடைசிக் கைங்கரியம் from the 1964 collection of short stories titled அக்கா By : A. Muttulingam Translated by: Eḻuttukkiṉiyavaṉ Cry, Thaṇigāsalam, cry. Don’t stand silently like a tree. Your own wife, that saint who bent her head to receive your thāli in a promise to share in your joys and sorrows till death do you part, now lies here as a corpse. But you stand there staring at a distance. Is your heart made of stone! Or have you petrified into a sta
Story June 2025
Eḻuttukkiṉiyavaṉ

Eḻuttukkiṉiyavaṉ