CS Lakshmi-AMBAI- Celebrity Fiction Writer
In 2011, my daughter Ruupa and her husband Bhuvnesh Shetty embarked on a YouTube channel named ‘voicesnviews’ to interview some of my friends who were quietly contributing to society, giving their ‘One Percent’ for the good of others. I was the anchor which meant I did all the research too. In my list was ‘Ambai’, a popular short story writer who was also a favourite of my mother and sisters. Tamil weekly magazines like Ananda Vikatan, Kalki and Kalaimagal would regularly feature short stories. When I heard our company had printed some booklets for SPARROW, I went to meet her and invited her for an interview. But unfortunately, that never happened.
I was thrilled when
Dr C. S. Lakshmi aka ‘Ambai’ called me last month. She remembered our meeting
and came across my name on social media. We set up a meeting and Ruupa and I
had a wonderful, inspiring chat with her.
Born in 1944, Ambai
has a distinguished academic career and is one of the top Tamil writers of the literary
world. Her short stories highlight women and the challenges they face in their
varied roles. The reader is often struck by the slice of life imagery and realism
in these stories, that touches a chord somewhere.
A PhD from JNU,
Delhi, Ambai is long involved in research in women’s studies. In 1988, Lakshmi
founded SPARROW (Sound and Picture Archives for Research on Women) inviting
women artists and writers to talk about their work for documentation.
As a teenager, she published
her first short-fiction and a few years later a major novel Andhi Malai was
published. She never looked back after that as she collected several awards and prizes for
her prolific writing, including a Sahitya Akademi award for a collection of
short stories ‘Sivappukkazuttu tan Oru Pachhai Paravai.’
Among her other works
are research projects, and articles published in several journals and newspapers.
Married to Vishnu
Mathur, a film maker, Lakshmi lives in Mumbai. Her NGO has received recognition
for their work and is now housed in a spacious premises. Her celebrity status does
not come in the way of chatting with her and brought out another hidden talent.
She has trained under traditional Bharata Natyam Gurus and performed on the
stage. There is more to her personality and this brief blog is not enough to
contain them all. Looking forward to more meetings with Ambai and work.
