Dear colleagues,

It is a pleasure to announce the publication of The Monsoon Cloud: Poet Kāḷamēkam and His Irreverent Poetry  by Suganya Anandakichenin (Primus Books, 2024).

 

Description: 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 common people, courtesans, 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.

 

This book is the second in a series edited by David Shulman, in relation to the ERC project titled  The New Ecology of Expressive Modes in Early Modern South India. Also from the same series is Shulman’s Introspection and Insight: South Indian Minds in the Early Modern Era.

 

 

Best wishes,

Naresh Keerthi