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'Ramanujar' is a play that addresses various socio-cultural and religious concerns in medieval South India, and issues that have contemporary significance. The lives of saints and enlightened persons have perennial value; not necessarily for adulation but to realize how demanding and yet positive such lives can be.
List of contents
- Foreword
- Acknowledgements
- List of Abbreviations
- Introduction: Hagiography Revisited
- 1: Author's Preface
- 2: 'RAMANUJAR'
- Act I
- Act II
- Act III
- Act IV
- Epilogue: Swami, Who Is Tanjamma?
- 3: Afterword
- Notes and Glossary
- Commentary on the Play
- Appendices
- Select Bibliography
About the author
Author: Indira Parthasarathy, pseudonym of Padma Shri (Dr) Ranganathan Parthasarathy (b.1930), is widely acknowledged as one of those who have revolutionized modern Tamil drama. He has authored several novels, novellas, and short stories. The only Tamil writer to have won both the Sahitya Akademi and the Sangeet Natak Akademi awards, Indira Parthasarathy was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018 at The Hindu Literature for Life event.
Translator: T. Sriraman, previously associated with the English and Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad, has also translated Indira Parthasarathy's 'Aurangzeb' (Seagull).
Introduction and Commentary: C.T. Indra, previously associated with the University of Madras, has translated Indira Parthasarathy's 'Nandan Kathai' as 'The Legend of Nandan' (Oxford University Press).
Summary
Indira Parthasarathy's Tamil play 'Ramanujar' was awarded the Saraswati Samman by the K.K. Birla Foundation in 1999 for promoting an understanding of the contemporary relevance of the renowned Vaishnava acharya of medieval India. The English translation by T. Sriraman and the accompanying critical apparatus by C.T. Indra make the play accessible to a wider audience for the first time. The book presents the saint not only as an exponent of the Visishtaadvaidic philosophy, but even more strikingly as a radical social reformer with an inclusive vision. The Epilogue, a playlet included in the present edition, presents an imaginary meeting of the aged renunciant with his long-separated wife. The searching questions she poses make the savant reflect upon and evaluate himself, his past, and the impact he has made on society.
Additional text
''Indira Parthasarathy's 'Ramanujar' is a wonderful achievement and is now a part of Yatiraja's tradition.'' --- Francis X. Clooney, Parkman Professor of Divinity and Professor of Comparative Theology, Harvard Divinity School, Harvard University.
