Sila Nerangalil Sila Manithargal - Tamil

One of the most popular Tamil Novels in the 70s, Jayakanthan’s ‘Sila Nerangalil Sila Manithargal,’ and also an elaborate version of his 1968 short story titled ‘Agnipravesam’. The plot is set around the outrageous deviations from cultural norms, astonishingly advocated by a senior woman of the family, to a rather conservative young woman who is sexually assaulted.
The book discusses in detail about complexities of human relationships and individual struggles as the protagonist Valli faces a series of challenges and dilemmas in the course of her life which includes love and betrayal, with a focus on the clash between tradition and modernity. Just a decade before, in 1958, another prominent author, R K Narayan, talked about ‘living together’ in one of his novels which is a concept that is a culture shock even today. Sila Nerangalil Sila Manithargal portrays the rather revolutionary and modern mindset which was fast emerging in the first few decades of independent India.
The book which won ‘The Sahitya Akademi Award’ in 1972 is published in both hard copy and paperback versions by Meenakshi Puthaga Nilayam.