30 January - 3 February 2025 | Hotel Clarks Amer, Jaipur

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V.J. James

V.J. James

V.J. JAMES is born and brought up in Kerala. An engineer by profession, he worked at Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre. He has been awarded DC books Silver Jubilee Award, Malayattoor Prize, O.V. Vijayan Award, Thikkurissi Award, Thoppil Ravi award, Basheer puraskaram, Kerala Bhasha Institute Award, Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award and Valayar Award. His novel Chorashastra: the subtle science of thievery, published in English by Westland books was short listed for Atta Galata Literary award and Anticlock by Penguin is short listed for JCB Prize. Along with six story collections his major works include Purappadinte Pusthakam, Chorashasthram, Dathapaharam, Leyka, Ottakkaalan Kakka, Nireeshwaran and Anti-Clock.

Session

The M-Wave

V.J. James, M. Mukundan in conversation with Keerthik Sasidharan

Malayalam fiction has now found a home the world over through its books and cinema. Stories that are at times intrinsically local have also found audiences in different pockets of the world due to their universal appeal, reiterating the notion of a ‘glocal’ world. Whilst Malayalam classics have had a long tradition of being translated, now contemporary Malayalam fiction is not only getting translated into English but other regional languages. In this ever growing space where do Malayalam authors see this literary tradition going? Are they now writing for a more diverse audience, and is that reflecting upon their latest works? In conversation with writer Keerthik Sasidharan, a panel that explores the role of language within the written word and attempts to decipher what is lost and found in translations.