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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Pain

Pain

Translated from the original Tamil short story vali (வலி) 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 or feedback, please contact ez.iniyavan@gmail.com. The intermittent shooting pain struck the lower right part of his chest. He could never predict when the pain would hit. It could come any time, even in the dead of night when he was fast
May 2026 Story
Eḻuttukkiṉiyavaṉ

Eḻuttukkiṉiyavaṉ
Iluppai Tree and the Young Generation

Iluppai Tree and the Young Generation

Translated from the original Tamil short story iluppai maramum iḷanñcantatiyum (இலுப்பை மரமும் இளஞ்சந்ததியும்) from the 1976 collection of short stories titled kōṭukaḷum kōlaṅkalum (கோடுகளும் கோலங்களும்) by Kuppilan Ai. Shanmugan. He woke up at around seven in the morning, when it was already rather bright. His little sister shook him awake, calling out, “aṇṇai, aṇṇai.” He stretched lazily, rolled up the reed mat and stood it next to the wall. The house was buzzing with activity. His sibling
April 2026 Story
Eḻuttukkiṉiyavaṉ

Eḻuttukkiṉiyavaṉ
The Meccan Shawl

The Meccan Shawl

Translated from the original Tamil short story makkattuc cālvai (மக்கத்துச் சால்வை) from the eponymous 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. “Thambi! Mammanifā, do you remember me, son? That day, your wāppā and everyone else remained mum. You were a little boy. But you spotted it like a vigilant crow. You shouted as if you were raise the alarm.” “He is hit, he i
March 2026 Story
Eḻuttukkiṉiyavaṉ

Eḻuttukkiṉiyavaṉ
Path to Virtue

Path to Virtue

Hmm! These are supposed to be great men! But their deeds are not that of great men. Otherwise, they would not do as they please… evidently, they are big thugs. But who do they show their thuggery to. To the poor who have nothing. She was a young woman. My blood boils when I think of what she has to put up with this in this world from the day she was born to this day. She grew up with no one to lend a hand. Now they take exception to her morality. Whether she ekes out a living or not, once t
Story January 2026
Eḻuttukkiṉiyavaṉ

Eḻuttukkiṉiyavaṉ
The Very Internal Investigation

The Very Internal Investigation

Translated from the original Tamil short story mika uḷḷaka vicāraṇai (மிக உள்ளக விசாரணை) by Shobasakthi. The original story is available at his website. If you have any questions or feedback, please contact ez.iniyavan@gmail.com. Picture created using Bing Image Creator https://www.bing.com/images/create There is one commonality and one difference between this story and the famous novel by Franz Kafka. They are both about judicial inquiries: the title of his novel is ‘The Trial’ and the
December 2025 Story
Eḻuttukkiṉiyavaṉ

Eḻuttukkiṉiyavaṉ
Coming of Age
Image generated using Bing Image Creator https://www.bing.com/images/create

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
Picture produced using GPT-4 https://chat.openai.com

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
Image courtesy https://www.pickpik.com/river-rushing-water-green-plants-daytime-huka-river-54422

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