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Dawn

Discussion in 'Snippets of Life (Non-Fiction)' started by sojourner, May 14, 2011.

  1. sojourner

    sojourner Silver IL'ite

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    A woman is living in a village in Tanjore District. Her husband is away working in Chennai. She gets the news that her husband is very ill. He is her lifeline -- sole means of support.

    She takes the train to Chennai around 9 PM at night. The ride will take her all night, putting her in Egmore at dawn.

    She is worried sick and highly anxious. Will the news in Chennai be bad? Will her life change for the worse? Can she handle it if so?

    She doesn't have a wink of sleep.

    The train reaches Egmore. A relative has come to meet her. He gives her the news -- her husband is dead.

    The anxiety completely clears. It dawns.
    ------------------
    The above is what I remember of a famous Tamil story called விடிந்தது (Dawn).
     
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  2. Shanvy

    Shanvy IL Hall of Fame

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    sojourner,
    was it like a small crisp half a page story that leaves a lasting impact.
     
  3. ILoveTulips

    ILoveTulips IL Hall of Fame

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    Bit confused.. what does it mean? Was he a bad husband or... that at least her doubt of what happened to him, cleared?? please explain...
     
  4. sreemanavaneeth

    sreemanavaneeth Gold IL'ite

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    Hai SoJo,

    Her troublesome husband died isn't it??? you have referred the matter in a unique way.
     
  5. AkilaMani

    AkilaMani Local Champion Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

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    Dear sir,

    The dawn lifted the killing anxiety about her husband from her mind, but might have pushed her life into darkness since he was her sole means of support...

    Akila
     
  6. sojourner

    sojourner Silver IL'ite

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    I just got back from a trip. I will be off on another trip during the second half of next week.

    Akila got it right.

    The dawn signifies only the end of her tension/anxiety caused by not knowing whether her husband will live or not. The news is of course awful. She has been plunged into a deep depression. The only bad emotion that she is spared is anxiety due to not knowing.

    People say that they can handle bad news -- it is the uncertainty that they cannot handle. This is not true at all. The protagonist would gladly trade two months of anxiety for eventual good news.

    Of course, this is only a story. I am pretty sure that this story was published in the literary magazine Manikkodi. Here and here are some more information on this magazine. I haven't read these links yet. I think that the magazine was short lived. It looks like it existed from 1933 to 1939. I have been trying to find the name of the author of விடிந்தது for the last few days, but without success.

    It is a very famous short story. It has been about forty years since I read it. The author does a great job of making the reader react only to the clearing of the tension and not the tragedy itself. The whole story is about the protagonist's anxiety. I of course am not capable of capturing the effectiveness of the story -- the strength of this story is its narration and not its plot. [I am glad that I have a day job :)]

    Three names stand out from the Manikkodi days -- Si.Su. Chellappa, Ku. Pa. Rajagopalan, and Pudumaippiththan (C. Vriddhachalam). My recollection is that Ku. Pa. Rajagopalan wrote விடிந்தது but I wouldn't bet on it.
     

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