- Sivakumar Rajakulam
- BBC Tamil
image source, Twitter/Zee5Tamil
Sri Lankan Tamil writer Rajeshwari Balasubramanian has claimed the story of Ayali web series, which was released in Tamil and has attracted widespread attention across the country. His allegation is that his story has been fabricated. Ayali director Muthukumar has denied this and explained the background behind the creation of the Ayali story.
What is the story of ‘Ayali’ web series?
The story of Ayali is set in the 1990s and revolves around a woman who breaks the barriers of faith in God and social customs and walks towards her ambition. A village girl falls in love with a young man from outside the village and goes to get along, but for a while the village itself is deceived by nature. As a result, the people of the area, who were chased out, wandered and migrated to other places.
Those people who build a temple for the goddess Ayali there, conclude that the cause of their bad condition is the love marriage of the village girl, and as a remedy, they make it a habit to get married as soon as they bloom so that their village girls do not fall in love anymore. None of the girls in the village pass the eighth grade because their parents put an end to their studies to facilitate marriage. The story of Ayali series is about the heroine of the story who dreams of becoming a doctor, and how she faces the restrictions and barriers imposed by her home, village and society and achieves it.
Feminism concepts in ‘Ayali’ series
Throughout the Ayali series, Periyar and Ambedkar’s comments on the restrictions imposed by the patriarchal society to keep women always under control are spread. “Why are you looking for the honor of the town in the foot of the puppet?” Questions that pierce the patriarchal society featured in this series continue to reverberate on social media.
Most of the press and internet media have given positive reviews about the Ayali series which talks about women education, women liberation, child marriage, child marriage and child birth deaths. They appreciated the ideology of the film. The Ayali series which has been well received by people from all walks of life is also being dubbed into other languages like Telugu.
A Sri Lankan Tamil writer who claims the story “Ayali”.
While the Ayali series and the women’s rights and women’s liberation concepts discussed in it have become a talking point, Rajeshwari Balasubramanian, a Sri Lankan Tamil woman writer living in London, has claimed the Ayali story as her own. The 70-year-old was born in Sri Lanka and moved to London in 1970.
Rajeshwari Balasubramanian, a post graduate in medical anthropology, is a versatile writer, journalist, human rights activist and film director. He has written 19 books and won awards including best writer in Sri Lanka. He won the best writer award for his novel ‘Thillaiyaarankarai’.
image source, FB/ Rajeswari Balasubramaniam
Writer Rajeshwari Balasubramanian
The novel ‘Thillaiyarangarai’ was first published in 1987 by Pari Publishing in India. The novel, which was well received by the readers, was reprinted in 1988 by Manimegalai Publishing House. The story of the novel ‘Thillaiyaarankarai’ takes place in the period of Sri Lanka’s independence in 1948 and the 1960s.
The novel is made by linking the events of the village with the turbulent political currents of Sri Lanka. This novel brings before our mind 3 women born in that village full of tradition, casteism and anti-women stereotypes.
How do these traditions work? Can women successfully fight against this system? What are their future dreams? Is their marriage a happy one or a disaster? The plot of the novel is based on questions like
London-based Cornard Press has translated and published Thillai’s novel “The Banks of the river Thillai” in 2021. Peter S. Chapman, the book’s publisher, hailed this novel as a historical treasure trove depicting the social structure of Sri Lankan Tamils, the status of women, the impact of Tamil Nadu’s Dravidian politics on Sri Lankan Tamils, and the changes in Tamil life due to political changes in Sri Lanka.
Allegation of copying Thillaiyarangarai and alienating it
Writer Rajeshwari Balasubramaniam alleges, “They have taken such a special Thillaiyarangarai novel as Ayali web series without my permission.”
Speaking to BBC Tamil, “The story of Thillaiyarangarai Puthinam is the village of Kola near Batticaloa on the east coast of Sri Lanka. This story, which is based on the stories of Kauri, Sarada and Marakatham, begins with the birth of Sarada in 1957. In that village, restrictions were imposed on women with the Kannagi temple as the foundation. Budhinam’s story is how storytellers broke through the restrictions that fenced women’s education and women’s liberation and walked towards their dreams. said.
Influence of Dravidian politics on Thillaiyarangarai innovation
image source, FB/Rajeswari Balasubramaniam
He also says, “This novel also describes how Sri Lankan Sinhalese chauvinist politics took hold in the late 1950s, and how its impact was among the Tamils. The novel also shows how the impact of the Dravidian politics that arose in Tamil Nadu was among Sri Lankan Tamils. , the character of the teacher will also speak Dravidian concepts. Chinnathambi will be the one who reads the writings of Anna and Karunanidhi without anyone knowing. The ideas of Periyar, Anna and Karunanidhi will be taken in this novel.” says that
“Kannagi Temple has been converted into Ayali Amman”
“The story of Thillaiyarangarai Puthinam has come out as an Ayali web series. I was shocked when my friends told me about it. After that I watched the Ayali web series. I understood that they have taken the Kannagi temple in my Puthinam as an Ayali temple. Taking the story and scenes of my novel as they are, the name, Only the location has been changed and it has been made into a web series called Ayali. he exclaimed.
Legal action against ‘Ayali’ group soon – Rajeshwari Balasubramaniam
“The Banks of the river Thillai Pudinam was praised by many English writers who read it as a great story suitable for a Hollywood film. But I cannot accept that today Ayali has taken the story as a web series without asking me and without obtaining proper permission. Regarding this, my friends in Tamil Nadu, Writers and well-wishers have spoken to me. I have also spoken to Conrad Press, which has published my novel in English. I will soon take appropriate legal action against the Ayali web series production team,” said Rajeshwari Balasubramaniam.
Writer Rajeshwari Balasubramaniam’s connection with Tamil Nadu
She has presented papers in international conferences on issues of human rights violations in Sri Lanka, women and health, and women and writing. She has participated in discussions on literature, politics and women’s rights in universities in Sri Lanka, India and Britain. In particular, in Tamilnadu he has given addresses at Chennai University, Thanjavur Tamil University, Bharatiyar University and many other colleges.
After 1995, Rajeshwari Balasubramaniam’s writings have been reviewed by many students in Sri Lanka and India for undergraduate and postgraduate studies. The fact that Dr. Rasu.Pebundurai at Thanjavur University has written a book titled International Tamils and Culture and Dr. D.Priya at Kongu Nadu University has written a book on the novelties of Rajeshwari Balasubramaniam titled Life Problems of Migrants.
What does ‘Ayali’ director Muthukumar say?
‘Ayali’ director Muthukumar was asked to explain on behalf of BBC Tamil about the allegation of Sri Lankan Tamil woman writer Rajeshwari Balasubramaniam living in London. He categorically denied the allegations of author Rajeshwari Balasubramaniam, saying, “When I thought of Ayali Kathi, I knew nothing about Thillaiyarangarai novel or its author. I didn’t even know the book and the author’s name.” After saying that, he explained the way Ayali created the story.
How did the story of ‘Ayali’ come about?
“During the Corona disaster, when I was with a friend in Ashok Nagar, Chennai, I saw a North Indian woman dressed in neoclassical clothes worshiping with her mother at the Pilliyar Temple there. I told my friend that women in Tamil Nadu have reached a high level. He replied that a few days before, the flowers had blossomed in Pudukottai. At a time when I thought child marriage was out of date, the friend’s response shocked me.
image source, Twitter
Muthukumar is the director of ‘Ayali’
The event was in the agony of the father, and I planned to make a film against child marriage. I changed the story to the 1990s because it wouldn’t be appropriate in this time period to mention that a village was in that state. I wanted to break the stereotype of Tamil movies where the heroine is saved by the hero. I made the story based on the fact that the woman has to face her problems bravely and the heroine tries to break the shackles and travel towards the goal,” she said.
“I thank the writers who have sharpened my thinking”
He mentioned that his favorite scene in the Ayali story is the scene where the heroine Tamilchelvi stands in front of the Ayali deity and prays that she ‘shouldn’t bloom’. “I liked that part which reveals the childishness of the heroine, who is unknown to the outside world, and her inner self. I think that the mind flow of a woman of that age has been correctly described. The works of Tamil writers helped me to understand women’s minds, thoughts, feelings, etc.
In that way, I have included their names at the end of the series as a thank you to T. Paramasivan, Tamil Selvan, Geetha Ilangovan, Madhavi Kutty, and Priya Thambi for their works that helped shape the story of Ayali. I have not taken anything from their works for Ayali story. But those works sharpened my thinking and I thanked them for helping me write the story by thinking from the heroine’s place,” he said.
“Ayali story is mine; I will prove it in due place”
“Truth be it, 2 days ago friends pointed me to author Rajeshwari Balasubramaniam’s Facebook post about the allegation. That’s when I heard his name and the novel written by him. I haven’t even read the book till now. So I can’t say whether the novel is consistent with the Ayali series. Proceed with the case. Friends said that it was mentioned in the recording that she was preparing. But as far as I am concerned, I have not done anything wrong. The story of Ayali came to my mind. The incident that happened in Ashok Nagar, Chennai turned into the story of Ayali. I will prove that the story of Ayali is mine at the right place,” said director Muthukumar very clearly. .
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