The Monsoon Cloud: Poet Kāḷamēkam and His Irreverent Poetry by Suganya Anandakichenin
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INFORMATION
- AUTHOR : Suganya Anandakichenin
- PB ISBN : 978-93-5852-833-6
- Year : 2024
- Extent : 130
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A wordsmith, an extempore poet and a satirist, Kāḷamēkam (also known as Kāḷamēka Pulavar; fifteenth century) is widely known for his taṉippāṭals or ‘self-contained verses’, on a panoply of topics. These splendid but notoriously provocative verses were composed during a transitional phase of Tamil literature, by now in deep conversation with Sanskrit poetics and poetic language, thereby yielding an incredibly rich and innovative poetry. Kāḷamēkam sings of courtesans, fellow humans, of gods, of animals, praises them, derides them, and insults them, using sarcasm, dry wit, and criticism, combined with śleṣas and yamakas, samasyās and nindāstutis. The Monsoon Cloud seeks to introduce this brilliant poet and his timeless and influential poetry, while analysing his humour, worldview, personal values, and devotion.
The Author
Suganya Anandakichenin is a research scholar affiliated with the Universität Hamburg (Germany), who mainly works in the field of Tamil Vaiṣṇava literature and theology. She is the author of My Sapphire-hued Lord, My Beloved: A Complete, Annotated Translation of Kulacēkara Āḻvār’s Perumāḷ Tirumoḻi and Periyavāccāṉ Piḷḷai’s Medieval Maṇipravāḷam Commentary, with an Introduction (2018) and For My Blemishless Lord: A Study of Three Śrīvaiṣṇava Medieval Commentaries on Tiruppāṇ Āḻvār’s Amalaṉ Āti Pirāṉ (2024).