LITERATURE-LIGHT AND DELIGHT. 26.DECIDING WHAT TO READ

LITERATURE- LIGHT AND DELIGHT

26.  DECIDING WHAT TO READ

Most of us have a weakness for something or the other. The celluloid poet Shailendra once wrote:

Kisi ko har har note ka nasha hai
Kisi ko suit boot coat ka nasha hai

(Some are intoxicated by the sight of fresh currency notes; some by good dress).Our books tell us that major weaknesses are mainly the three Ws.(They also speak of three attachments-Ishanatrayam) Modern civilisation has given us a few more : stamp collection, photography, keeping pets, simply collecting exotic things, hunting autographs, collecting pens, watches,etc. You name it 'hobby', and anything acquires respectability, and a following!

With some of us, reading literature is a madness, not just weakness.It is difficult to say how one acquires this. May be the influence of a teacher, or example of a family member was at work.In my own case, my mother was a voracious reader and I think she bequeathed this wealth to me, fully!

Yes, you may read all you like, but why buy books- which can put a hole in your roof, not just pocket? We do not have good libraries. The needed books may not be available. In college, my lecturer recommended a book on the pricing of public utilities: by Martin Glaser and said where it was available: Connemara Library, Madras. When we went to Madras, I visited the library and saw the book.But the particular chapter was missing: it had been nicely prised away with blade! In the big cities, for the cost of transportation , you may almost buy a book! And in the time spent, you may finish reading it,too!

If you are a serious reader, you would like to mark things as you go along- may be a  word here, a sentence there, an expression; or you may disagree with something and mark it. Often such markings help you to recapitulate the subject at a glance even years later. I have found mark-worthy matters even in the novels of Harold Robbins! So the markings make the book personal! It is not possible to mark library books, and not desirable in the case of borrowed books. ( I remember, Rajaji once borrowed a book from TTK,but could not resist marking or making some noting, and apologized to TTK!)It used to be said of newspapers that they are like woman: every one must have his own, and not look to his neighbour's! It is even more so in the case of books. And 'neither a borrower, nor a lender be' is especially applicable to books: you may get your money back, and not lose a friend, but a lost or spoiled book is difficult to replace. So there is no way other than buying a book, and holding on to it!

How do we decide  which book to read - fiction or non-fiction? We read non-fiction out of necessity, and since most of us in jobs or retirement do not have any such compelling reason, most of us do not read serious non-fiction at all. We do not read up even on subjects which we majored in at the university. For most of us serious study ends with college. Only professionals like lawyers, doctors, university professors (?),accountants  have to keep reading to remain in practice.

But many of us read fiction. However, in Tamilian middle class circles, it has taken the form of reading the periodicals carrying serials and short stories. This is a fairly well established tradition.There are avid readers, and I remember that in my school days the elders would eagerly await the arrival of the vendor bringing the latest issue of the magazine Kalki on Thursday mornings, when Kalki's novel Ponniyin Selvan was serialised in it- it ran for four years! Once it arrived, they would vie with each other to read it first; if any elder was not well and unable to read, some of us boys would have to read it aloud! That was the craze!  (But we boys would beat them: we would quietly slip out, meet the vendor at the street corner and snatch the magazine from him, stand quietly in a corner and read it, before bringing it home!)It would then be shared with two or three other families. 'Kalaimagal' magazine also carried good stories. But such craze was not for it. But 'Ananda Vikatan'  was  eagerly awaited every week, when Devan's novels  like 'Thuppariyum Saambu' or CID Chanduru were serialised! Such novels were not published as books then. So, many families collected the weekly articles and got them bound. We ourselves had at one time more than 300 such bound volumes collected over 30 years! Unfortunately, they were all printed on cheap newsprint and deteriorated fast. I mention this because it would help us understand that most of us do not have the habit of buying books-even fiction! At the most, we may have a Ramayana or some other religious books. In my visits to the  houses of friends and relatives over the last 55 years  in 7 cities across India,that I remember, I have seen not more than about ten houses with some books- (other than school books) and only two with a library, of mostly non-fiction.

So how do we decide to buy books at all?  We decide about seeing films after some one tells us about it- some one whose judgement we rely upon. But now most newspapers carry film reviews, so we can form an opinion. Most of us watch it on the TV any way,so it really does not matter. We attend music performances on the basis of the artist we like. It is only later that we read a review in a magazine  or newspaper. As for books, some newspapers carry reviews. The Hindu used to carry reviews and also lists of books received for review, earlier on Sundays, but later on other days. But this has dwindled now. They bring out a literary supplement, but it is all slanted, and holds appeal only to some niches. There is no book-review at all in the Times of India! All this only shows how much our media cares for fostering love of books or serious reading habits!

It is indeed a miracle that we decide to buy a book at all! Even those given to buying books found it difficult to get to know about new books, and then getting an idea about them, in the absence of review. In the cities we would visit book shops, scan the shelves, pick up the books that appealed, and browse through the contents, introduction, preface, etc. Some shop keepers would not allow that, and in any case most did not have sufficient space or lighting. Those of us reading magazines would get to know about some books- for eg. Rajaji, even at the age of 80+, would read books and write about them in Swarajya! I remember he reviewed Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita, and also mentioned Parkinson's Law. It is only through academic journals that we got to learn about new books.

The Reader's Digest was an excellent resource. Every issue would contain a book supplement. Articles would carry references to other books and sources. I used to buy it for  over 30 years-from 1960. I collected the book supplements , and other desired articles and got them bound. I preserved even the covers- the front cover would contain a nice painting, and the inside third cover would contain a very interesting piece about some celebrity's experience: in one, Toscanini, the famous Italian conductor related how once when he was playing the piano a flock of canaries came and sang in unison! At one stage, I had more than 150 bound volumes, but no place to keep! Also, in the 90s the Indian edition had made  changes which I did not like- I thought it had lost its "Universal" flavour;  margins on the left had become smaller which did not permit binding. Besides, our priorities do also change with the years. So, I stopped buying it in the 90s. Incidentally, there is a nice book on the changing priorities of life, titled "Repacking Your Bags" by Richard Leider! The Reader's Digest Condensed Books were another great resource! My God, how many books and authors and subjects we came to know through it! But back then in the late 50s, they were not easy to get!

The decision to read or buy a particular book on a subject is greatly facilitated by book review,or influenced by peer views or teacher's guidance. If you want to read say Shakespear's Macbeth or As You Like It ,which edition to get? Clarendon or Verity? Or any other? We needed advice. Those days we had classic novels like those of Dickens or Hardy as non-detailed reading; but once you got a taste, you could go ahead and get the others if available! The college libraries had many of them, but our Principal had given instructions that Hardy's 'Jude the Obscure' should not be issued to any student! There was always a senior who was a voracious reader and he would tell us about some books- though at times some were not so desirable, like those of Alberto Moravia. If we had to write an essay say on Macbeth's character, where would you get the material? The lecturer would direct you to the library. You would finally discover A.C.Bradley, and that would be a gold mine! It is like this in small steps that we got to know about books.

But how to know whether the book is good, to read or to buy? It depends on reviews in standard journals or newspapers by recognised names or authorities.  (D.Anjaneyulu, Prema Nandakumar, Prof.M.Siva
ramakrishna , for example) And the journal would depend on the subject. If you are interested in say religion or philosophy and such matters, Prabuddha Bharata or Mountain Path may help; but that depends on publishers giving them copies for review- and most publishers don't. Some times some articles in newspapers mention some books. I remember Swami Ranganathananda mentioned 'The Tao Of Physics' by Fritjof Capra in an article he wrote in the Indian Express in 1977 or 78. So we got to know about it.Once we got the book (it was a Bantam New Age Book), we got to know more books on allied subjects in the same series! Likewise, any one interested in Ramana Maharshi would have heard of Paul Brunton's book 'A Search in Secret India'. In the 60s, it was published by Arrow Books,London in their 'Mind and Matter' series. Once you got it, you would get to know other books in the series!  Scholarly books contain suggestions for further reading and notes contain references to many books.This is how we got to know about books. A good library is the place to get to know about books and read them.

In Madras, second hand books were available in the Moore Market, but we only searched for college books. In Bombay, there were mountains of books on the platform and in some shops specialising in second hand books. There , you had to take from what was available; for specific books  you had to go to a regular book shop.

We faced problems with poetry books too. Most of us read some good English poems in text books.Where to look for more? Palgrave's Golden Treasury was the only available anthology then, but it was without annotations, and we could not follow them.There were some like the one by Moles and Moon, but it contained only some long poems. Then came the Mentor Book of Major British Poets, but that too without notes. This problem persists.

Happily, the internet and the coming of online shopping has drastically changed things. All information you need is literally at your finger tips. On most books , you could get material on the net.After getting introduced to the net, I spent a full year on updating my old academic subjects. The amount of material available was mind boggling, and it would surely take a long time to read and digest that. Thank God, there was no internet 50 years ago- otherwise I would not have been able to write the exam!

But still, internet does not solve the problem of which book or edition to buy. I will give a concrete example. Suppose you are interested in acquiring standard material on English literature. You would come to know that there are good anthologies. But they are one too many! Almost every  famous university or publisher has his! And they are all expensive even for a book lover-upwards of Rs.5000! (per volume and they are multi-volume series!) So which one to choose?

It is here that online shopping helps you. A site like Junglee tells you which vendor is cheapest. But the cheapest may not have a review on his site. I have found that on most books Amazon has reviews by actual buyers. On academic books, well-read people and often the teachers and professors who teach the subject  themselves provide review- at times very detailed! In the end you realise that in some cases no edition is satisfactory. eg if you want to acquire an edition of the complete works of Shakespeare, you will find several editions. You will find that each edition is subjected to detailed review; every edition has compromised somewhere and no edition is fully satisfactory. If you read Harold Bloom, you will learn that the Oxford Shakespeare texts are the least satisfactory (See his magnificent book: Shakespeare-The Invention of the Human). So it is best to go in for individual volumes, with detailed annotations. Here too there are many editions. We choose depending upon the immediate interest. If we want to simply understand the work and then enjoy the poetry, 'No Fear Shakespeare' will do. It is a straight plan: it has the original on the one side, and a version in plain current English on the other, line by line! So we know what Shakespeare means, though we may not know the exact meaning of every word. If we are interested in deeper study of the plot, character, context of the play, background etc, we will have to go for annotated editions. But these days, many editions deal with the stage angle. They think that the plays were meant for acting and it is from that angle that it should be analysed. But we are more interested in it as literature - as poetry! So we have to focus on an edition that deals with the plays as literature, not a draft for theatre! Western audiences may be interested in watching the play; we have no such facility here, or even interest. We are satisfied with Shakespeare as the greatest poet. 

The net contains  the texts, analysis and explanation of most well-known poems and the quotations of Shakespeare. For most people used to the net, reading on line may be sufficient. But old timers like me feel that there is no substitute for actually taking the book in your hand, smelling it, feeling the paper and seeing print! Again, as Sahir Ludhianvi, the celebrated celluloid poet sang:

Jo baat tujh mein hain
Teri tasveer mein nahin!

(He sings of the beloved: that which is in you, is not there in your portrait!)
{ Incidentally, this is a wonderful love song and would neatly fit our love of books! If we don't love them, why should we buy them and hold them in our hand? And having loved, how can we part with them?} I wonder how any serious lover of good literature can settle for online reading!

 For us the reviews are invaluable, to help decide which book to read and which edition to buy. Review is evaluation- another name for critique or criticism. Literary criticism is a vital aspect of the overall literary activity.This we will see next.


Note:

Having mentioned English Literature anthologies, and Shakespeare, I would share the following.

1.There are many anthologies of English Literature.They are very expensive, but indispensable for proper understanding. Indian university courses are half-way houses and do not cover any subject adequately. I have found Norton Anthology to be very good and useful. There is an Oxford Anthology (now in two combined volumes) edited by Harold Bloom and others. This is even more expensive, but is very valuable, because it is not influenced by modern critical prejudices. Though they are expensive, they will obviate the need to buy many individual books later on and thus save us lot of money and time. They would surely provide a lifetime of reading pleasure.

2.As for Shakespeare, if we must own a volume of complete works, either as a matter of pride, or a mark of respect to the Bard, or just for the heck of it, the Royal Shakespeare Company sponsored edition seems to be the best option; a paperback edition is available for under Rs.2000. But this is just for show; for study we would need individual volumes. I have found 'No Fear Shakespeare' series to be helpful. Harold Bloom relies on the Arden editions. I have found the Evans Shakespeare series to be very helpful. It has a section containing material on the sources and contexts, from contemporaries and old authorities. And it has a section containing classic criticism, from Coleridge, William Hazlitt, Bradley, T.S.Eliot etc! And from modern scholars! The UK edition is expensive, but now Indian edition is available for some titles- almost for a song! (They do not have the colour plates.)

3. As for poetry, things are somewhat better. Complete works  of the major poets in durable editions are so expensive as to be not only beyond our reach, but even beyond our imagination. (Complete works of some poets are available in cheap paperback from Wordsworth Editions; they are without notes. A poet like Browning cannot at all be read without annotations.) Selected works are available in paperbacks in Oxford and Penguin editions.The print is small, the paper is not good, and the binding will not stand repeated handling.But they do carry valuable introduction and notes  by scholars. We do get bargains from online stores. Personally I have found Norton Critical Editions of individual poets to be very useful and absolutely delightful to read. The amount of material presented is simply enormous.In some cases Indian editions are available. (There are books by Dr.S.Sen ( Unique Publishers,Delhi) meant for Indian Universities.These contain very detailed annotations and are useful, if you do not mind the occasional howlers.)

4. Often we are tempted to buy books because they become best sellers, or they get some award,or are much talked about. But what happens to the best sellers  a year or two hence? Like Alvin Toffler's 'instant celebrities' they are here this moment, but are forgotten when the next candidate arrives! This best seller business seems to me  to be pure publicity gimmick. After all, we know how awards are got or given! We have to stick to enduring literature.

5. How can we afford to buy books?  Well, life is based on choice, and sacrifice! We can't have all.I can only relate my experience.(in the hope it may help some one) I stopped seeing films in theatre 40 years ago; I did not go to expensive restaurants; usually I avoided coffee, along with snacks; I visited only sacred places and avoided 'tourist spotss'; I travel by public transport, and avoid autos, to the extent possible; I have deliberately avoided owning a car. These are the ways I saved money to buy books!

6. How do we find space to keep our books? Living in flats, this is real problem.It is really strange- the idiot box gets pride of place in the living space, while books are kept elsewhere! I keep books in box cots; some are kept in the attic. But once in a while, we do have to part with some old stuff, though with a pang, to make room for the new. I donate to old age homes or other institutions, but these days, even libraries do not want books! This means we have to be really choosy in acquiring new books! 

LITERATURE-LIGHT AND DELIGHT. 24..NOVELS.

LITERATURE-LIGHT AND DELIGHT

24. NOVELS

The novel is a literary form which has developed in the last three centuries. Not that there were no stories earlier- the epics and so called medieval romances were essentially stories, but they are not the long sustained narratives that modern novels are.Today it is the most popular aspect of literature, commanding an immensely wide readership all over the world. A popular English novel has really no boundaries. It is really amazing to think that most people in the world uniformly like a good novel, though some of them may have a specific locale or situation or incident as the background. Whatever the outward situation, the inner feelings evoked are the same. This may be the result of the present educational system, which is getting uniform across countries, and in its wake breeds some common attitudes and values; or due to innate human nature; whatever it is, it is a factor which unites humanity across cultures, continents and languages! We can easily think of single novels like 'Gone with the Wind' (Margaret Mitchell), 'To Kill a Mocking Bird' (Harper Lee) 'To Sir With Love' (Braithwaite) which have stormed the whole world apart from the works of Agatha Christie, Alistair Maclean, Arthur Hailey, Wodehouse, and the current rage,J.K.Rowling. This is quite apart from the standard authors.

Romance, social, historical- these are broadly three strands of popular novels. Adventure  and detective fiction form a distinct category, though it is doubtful how far they can be counted as truly literary.

Romances have survived in two incarnations: in the medieval period, they related to the royalty or nobles, and were more or less like fairy tales. But early in the 19th century some English writers took to it seriously, making the heroine, and not the hero, the centre of action and attraction. Jane Austen wrote 6 novels in this genre in about 8 years (1811-1818) and achieved great fame. These are still popular, though they are based on the mores of a specific class in early Victorian England. There is really something universal about the emotions dealt with. In fact it was mostly women writers who wrote these; at that time, it was felt that such stories were not truly literary, that it was too easy to read them and hence did not attract serious readers,or male writers. But once they became popular, men too took to it, developing women characters. They continue to be written today, but for a junior audience.

The social novel deals with family and social themes, while historical novel takes some actual historical incident and character and make them central to the story. Walter Scott's 'Ivanhoe' (1820) is the first historical novel in modern times and its popularity led to the growth of this genre. But really, a social novel may also have a historical grounding: the outstanding example is 'Tale of Two Cities' by Charles Dickens  which takes place between London and Paris during the French Revolution; and 'Gone with the Wind' which takes place during the American Civil War and its aftermath. Even in the 'Barnaby Rudge' of Dickens there is an actual historical incident woven into it.

A novel can be considered historical even if has a general historical atmosphere, and not a specific incident or character.'A Farewell to Arms', Grapes of Wrath, 'For Whom The Bell Tolls' fall into this category.In the so called Westerns written by Louis L'Amour, the opening up and development of the great American West is captured in delightful prose narrative, where the language reaches poetic heights at times! He was himself a cowboy, and adventurer, had travelled to all the places mentioned and described, had even survived  in a desert; every place that he writes of exists; every mountain, hill, valley, waterhole,river and creek exists; he had done great research on some reported and recorded incidents and had drawn from their actual lives. And he writes with a great sense of historical responsibility- he knows he is dealing with a phase of a local culture, whose exact nature and even details and authenticity were questioned. To some extent, we may say he not only chronicled the West, but even helped create it! His descriptions of nature are outstanding and would stand comparison with the best in the recognised canon, say like  the works of Hardy. I must admit that I admire him, next only to Dickens and Hardy among the old writers, and Nevil Shute and A.J.Cronin among the more recent ones.

When we talk of research, I remember one more incident. Arthur Hailey became famous in the 70s for a series of high-drama novels: Airport, Wheels, Money Changers, Overload, Final Diagnosis, etc. In the 'Airport' he depicted the devious ways of the airline pilots-  how for instance they would resist the 'regulation shirt'- what we would call the uniform. In the 'Wheels', he wrote about how the employees in the car manufacturing plants were not quite attentive in their work on Fridays and Mondays- the former because they were eagerly awaiting the week-end get away, and the latter because of the hangover from the week-end exertions! After this, car buyers in the US started demanding that they be not supplied cars assembled on Fridays and Mondays! This observation of Hailey was correct. He would actually visit the factory or plant and do his research for some time before writing and he had done it in this case.Such observations were also made in the case of Final Diagnosis (hospitals) and  'Overload' (powerplants). His novels came to be called "faction" because they were based on facts, though it was fiction!

This is one genre in which India, and Tamil Nad does not lag behind- in fact we excel. In this we have followed the English model: great writers reaching out to big readership through periodical magazines. Kalki and Devan became our foremost novelists in Tamilin the 40s and 50s. If Dickens's novels ran for months, Kalki's ran for years! He became the master of the historical novel, having three big serials to his credit.These are being rerun periodically even now, after 60 years! His social novel "Alai Osai" can also be considered historical as it has the fredom movement as the backdrop. Devan's novels capture the ethos of the educated middle class with great wit and wisdom and sensitivity. After Kalki, there has been no writer of historical novels of comparable calibre; some people mention Sandilyan , Vikraman, Kovi Manisekaran; personally, I feel  their works lack genuine literary merit /quality and a certain finesse or refinement and I would not take their names along with Kalki's.. Readership number is not the real yardstick. Today, there are more readers than in Kalki's days and the standard of assessment was much higher then.

About standards of assessment, I know an incident in the music world. Govt. of India used to extend scholarships for junior/budding Carnatic musicians to pursue intensive studies and training under a senior Vidwan. A committee of musicians used to select them. In one year Palghat Mani Iyer was on the committee. After examining all the candidates, he felt no one was suitable and said so. The authorities pleaded with him that he might select one among the lot, for they feared that if the selection was not made and the grant availed of that year, it might not be offered  the next year and it might lapse. But Mani Iyer said that he was there to  judge and pick the suitable one and in his judgement no one was suitable and so he would not select any one! Such were the standards observed by our elders those days! Today they will pick some one just because the grant had to be availed of! We see how the quality of our Phds has declined once it became a regular requirement under UGC! As in music, so in literature!

In the area of social novels, we have been extremely fortunate. There has been an almost unbroken line of good novelists: from the old stalwarts like Lakshmi, Rajam Krishnan, Anuthama, Mayavi, Na.Parthasarathi Jayakanthan, Akilan,Indira Parthasarathi, Ra.Ki.Rangarajan, Aarvi, A.S.P, etc.  (There are of course many others, but I feel most of them write without restraint or a sense of social responsibility, especially in writing for mass circulation. Some of their themes and treatment appear to cross the bounds of good taste- at least my taste.)

India is extremely lucky in the variety of its languages and their richness in literary matters. There are great novelists and writers in all languages. But because of the bane of linguistic states, there is no flow of material across states. Even the most well-known writers in a language are not known outside their states. In the 50s and 60s we used to have a Tamil magazine named 'Manjari'. It used to mainly carry articles of academic interest but each issue would contain a  translation ( condensation, like in the Readers' Digest) of novels from other Indian languages: I remember reading the stories of V.Sa.Khandekar (Marathi), Masti Venkatesa Iyengar (Kannada) Vaikom Mohammad Basheer (Malayalam) and Hindi and other writers. I do not know whether the magazine is still published and it does carry such translations. In the absence of such arrangements, I wonder how many would have heard of even a Munshi Premchand or Sarat Chandra Chatterjee. (An earlier generation would know: Munshi Premchand's novel "Sevasadan" was made into a Tamil film "Sevasadanam" in 1938 under the direction of the legendary K.Subramaniam; it was the first film of M.S.Subbulakshmi, and starred a mainly Brahmin cast, though it was against orthodoxy! Similarly, Sarat Chandra's novel Devadas was made into a very popular tear jerker in the early 50; some other stories of his were also filmed; so he was more widely known. Whether cinema led to greater awareness and readership of literature is a different matter.At least the names of the writers were known.

 The linguistic division of states has actully proved a strong though invisible barrier to the free flow of literature across states. The booksellers in Bengaluru are reluctant to display Tamil books or magazines prominently; the names of even Tamil films are prominently displayed in Kannada! But I find the publishers are now churning out translations of English novels. (I could not find a good translation of Purandaradasa's songs, but I found translations of Bhyrappa's books! These local language enthusiasts do not understand a simple fact: the world appreciates good work and it needs to be translated into English and other languages. Can we think of Gitanjali getting the Nobel Prize if it had not been translated into English?) There are some good anthologies of English translations of short stories  from Indian languages, though we cannot be sure to what extent they reflect the correct trends, as selections in anthologies depend on the editor's and publisher's taste and prejudices or preferences. Eye on rewards and consequently political correctness are important considerations.

Whatever it may be, we can surely be proud of our record in respect of novels, in almost all Indian languages. That is something to cheer about.

LITERATURE-LIGHT AND DELIGHT. TASTE FOR LITERATURE

LITERATURE- LIGHT AND DELIGHT

TASTE FOR LITERATURE

How do we acquire taste for literature?

Some are born with such a taste, as in every case of some special talent or inclination  for something, like music, painting,sports.Some may acquire it through the example of others in the family or peers. However, since all of us go through schooling, most of us are influenced by what we read in our text-books and other prescribed material. But in most cases of life-long fascination with literature, it is some good teacher who plants this love for good literature in the tender heart. And there will always be some who won't like literature!

It is also greatly influenced by the general cultural atmosphere prevailing in the society . Before the invention of printing, books were copied down from hand to hand and study was confined to a select few.That is how in the olden days we have palm leaf manuscripts. Literacy was not widespread, but it was no bar to learning: there were itinerant scholars, sadhus,professional story-tellers etc who went from place to place giving discourses; so most people were aware of the contents of our itihasa-puranas, even in villages. Ramcharitmanas used to be read publicly by a pundit, and people sitting around would write down the verses as they were recited. This happened at the time of Akbar. I do not know whether there were any parallels in Tamil Nad. What I mean is that learning was not dependent on literacy and literacy does not necessarily lead to learning.

From English cultural history, we learn that the most important development that gave a great push to reading literature was the invention of printing and the publication of books in greater numbers. There were two other developments:  the gradual extension of public schooling and the appearance of circulating libraries. This was followed by the rise of periodical magazines, and coverage of literary matters in newspapers . The growing schooling led to rise in general literacy, and people lapped up all forms of literature. Even poetry was published in magazines and newspapers, before they were published in books. The stories of the greatest English novelists Charles Dickens and Thomas Hardy first appeared as serials  in magazines. 

This development was intimately connected with the socio-economic developments and movements. The novels of Dickens dealt with social problems like child labour, unhealthy working conditions, etc prevailing then in the wake of the Industrial Revolution. On the one hand, the novels portrayed what was happening; on the other, this very portrayal led to arouse public conscience and public opinion in favour of reforms! Thus in a sense, Dickens achieved through his novels what Karl Marx was attempting to do through revolution! Thomas Hardy was less fortunate. His novels dealt with the more fundamental human condition- problems of fate and free will, love and marriage, marital problems, disruption of rural life due to industrial system and consequent displacement of families, etc. But above all, he dealt with some deep psychological aspects of human relationships, especially relating to love and marriage.And there was  an overall sense of human helplessness in the face of fate. One of his most famous novels records in the last paragraph: "the President of the Immortals had ended his sport with Tess" (when the heroine was condemned to be hanged!) The public judged him to be pessimistic, the critics were against him.The criticism was so severe after one novel that he gave up writing novels altogether, and took to poetry!

I value both Dickens and Hardy. But today, novels of Dickens have lost their social relevance, though they retain their artistic and literary charm and historical value. But the issues raised by Hardy are even more relevant today; Victorian England did not dare to discuss the issues openly;today they are beyond all discussion: the problems are so severe, there is not even an attempt at solutions! Hardy will continue to be relevant so long as man ponders his place in the world, and has to deal with emotions of the heart!

We can see the parallels in the Tamil literary field. In the 30s and 40s of the last century , periodical magazines became the purveyors of popular literature and also shapers of public taste. We had some of our greatest writers around that time, till may be up to the early 60s. In the beginning , the Independence movement had given the impetus for sparkling new literature: Bharati and Namakkal Ramalingam Pillai in poetry; Thiru.Vi.Ka for socially relevant commentary and criticism;T.K.C and Ki.Va.Ja for sheer literary exposition. Kalki and Devan opened a new era in both periodical serial writing and novels. Kalki wrote historical novels which have set an all-time standard. His Tyagabhumi is also a social novel which captures the mood of the freedom movement. His comments on public affairs and music constitute a different genre. Devan on the other hand wrote brilliant social novels with deep import and subtle humour. But he has remained an unsung hero.I wonder how many people today will even be able to understand his writing- general level of education has become so shallow, and sensitivities so blunted. 

The leading Tamil periodicals of that era discovered a galaxy of brilliant talent and promoted literature of some standard. Three magazines come to mind: Ananda Vikatan, Kalaimagal and Kalki. They were pioneers  (people speak of Manikkodi, I have no personal knowledge) but Kalaimagal must rank at the top for sheer literary excellence under KI.Va.Ja as editor. But they have all declined now ( I mean in literary standard, not necessarily circulation)

This is where social conditions dictate literary taste.With the rise of the Dravidian parties, values have changed. Cinema and politics have become the preoccupation of society as a whole. We talk of TV but that too is dependent on cinema and politics! What are the serials, except another format of cinema? Everything else is on the periphery. This leads us to the larger question of just what is literature!

In the olden days, any piece of writing was considered literature, whatever the subject or even quality. However, it was mostly in the form of verse and demanded minimum competence. Even the prose works demanded some quality, since the readership was confined to learned people. It thus meant any work on philosophy, history or arts or any subject meant for a general audience. However, with the spread of general literacy and readership since the 18th century, it came to mean mainly works of fiction and poetry, though there were great literary forms like the essay on serious subjects. In a general sense we may say that any good writing on any subject can be considered literature. The dialogues of Plato, the economic writings of Keynes, the writings of William James on psychology and sociology, historical writings of Gibbon, etc can be considered literature, no less than Boswell's life of Johnson, or Johnson's own writings on the poets or prefaces to Shakespeare or his literary criticism! Even some of the works on political theory like those of Harold Laski or Ernest Barker  or Ivor Jennings would qualify as literature, regardless of whether we agree with their views. The writings of Marx, Freud and Jung would also qualify on that basis. There is something besides the subject matter which makes a work  a piece of literature.

In the Western tradition, there is a concept called "classical". Originally for them classical literature meant the works of the ancient Greek and Roman writers, from whom they reckon the rise of their civilisation.There is an enduring quality about the works- they raised fundamental questions about life, meaning of existence, recorded the lives and achievements of old heroes- they set standards of life and belief. Over the centuries, the general public has come far away from reading them, but western society still respects them and considerable numbers of their youngsters study them in the universities. The works of  learned authors still carry allusions to the old Greek history and legends and mythology.They may not believe the stories, but names like Achilles, Sisyphus and Pandora carry lot of psychological significance for them! Knowledge of classical literature is a mark of culture.

Closely following this is the idea of a "canon". It refers to a corpus of literary works  which any educated person should be acquainted with  and read. Generally, these have to do with the cultural -development of their society, not just language and literature. One need  not subscribe to the views advocated by them but they should be known. Thus Shakespeare is universally admired. Milton's greatest work is an exposition of the story of the fall of Adam and Eve- which most educated westerners do not believe in, but it is still part of the canon! The canon is not a boundary fixed for ever, but how something gets included or excluded is a complex phenomenon. Dr.Johnson said that the merit of a work can be judged only after a century! Rabindranath Tagore's Gitanjali is still great after a century;the works of Tolstoy are considered great still; but what about Pearl Buck's "Good Earth"? or Gone with the Wind? So the canon has nothing to do with popularity, or prizes. Harper Lee's 'To Kill A Mocking Bird' or Robert Pirsig's "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" (though it has nothing much to do with Zen or motorcycle) are greatly valued, 50 and 40 years after their publication and translated into many languages. But will they become part of the canon?

In this respect, we see how dismal and depressing our situation is. Even during the British rule and freedom movement, our national leaders had one vision and broad agreement on some basic values, even if they differed on details. The constituents of the national spirit and the basics of our civilisation and culture were agreed terms.But with Independence and the creation of linguistic states, linguistic jingoism, local chauvinism and regional loyalties have largely interfered with national consensus. So we have no national canon. At least is there one in the regions? The society is so sharply divided on communal lines within each state, and the regional parties are so antagonistic to each other that such a canon can neither arise nor flourish. One party will undo what another has done!

In any case, the canon in Tamil Nad can be expected to be   full of filmy stuff and political works.

Note:

1. In olden days, literature consisted of mainly epics,written in verse, dealing with heroic characters and ancient stories and themes,which were considered relevant for all times. Then poetry and drama developed separately. Novel is a very late development, but today it is reckoned as the main form of literature. The short story form is also very popular.Poetry and drama are important, but have only niche markets. Of course, an educated person values all.
2.In England women took the lead in reading and writing novels! They patronised the circulating libraries and the first famous and popular writers were women- the names of George Eliot, Bronte sisters, Jane Austen are legendary. Surprisingly, in Tamil too we have had good women writers from the beginning- Vai.Mu.Kothainayaki Ammal, Rajam Krishnan, Lakshmi, Anuthama. The last three dealt with family issues and human relationships with mature understanding and great literary skill.Their works still remain unmatched.
3.We have had a good number of great writers in Tamil of both novels and short stories, essays, criticism, etc :Aarvi, P.Sri.,Ka.Sri Sri, B.S.Ramaiya, Ka.Na.Subramaniam,La.Sa.Ramamirtham,Ra.Ki.Rangarajan, Na.Parthasarathy, Akilan,Asoka Mitran, V.Swaminatha Sarma, Nadodi ,Na.Pichamurthi,etc. Jayakanthan started a new wave;Bakyam Ramaswami started a new strain of humorous writing. While Gopulu is a cartoonist of international standards, Silpi was very unique in making line drawings of our temple architecture- which is unparallelled in the world. They have not achieved the fame they deserved, nor an all-India fan following.
4.When cinema was becoming popular, some people raised concerns that it would kill drama- and it did. Now, T.V has risen to monstrous proportions and killed all other forms of art and entertainment. It has diverted the middle class educated from serious reading. In fact, the habit of serious reading has declined; people now cannot read for long hours.It is only students who study , but under compulsion.

5.But even here, there is a big change. Students even at college level do study only their text-books;the study is so exam-oriented as to preclude not only general reading, but even advanced reading in their own subjects, beyond the syllabus! In taking interviews of fresh post-graduates, I found that not one of them had read any original work of a recognised authority in subjects like economics. I found literature graduates who had not studied Milton or Shakespeare, because they told me they had only studied modern literature! This could happen only in India! Physics graduates could not tell me about Raman effect, or the subject for which the latest Nobel prize was awarded in Physics!  But most of them are all well informed about the latest film and even filmy gossip and tit-bits!If politics dominates conversation of men, tele serials occupy the thoughts of our womenfolk! How can serious literature flourish in this atmosphere? Our engineering graduates are perhaps the worst of the lot. They are so tunnel-visioned that most do not even read novels!

6. I am not just railing against movies and TV. They are the current vehicles of popular culture and can be great instruments of education, as newspapers and magazines once were. But they have merely become purveyors of frivolous entertainment and useless information. The French sociologist Jacques Ellul said that advances in technology have an invariable tendency to be used for useless purposes. Look at our newspapers: the best of paper is used for glamorous fashion supplements; colour photography is used for projecting cine stars and starlets and models for advertising. Has any newspaper or magazine ever produced a decent photo of a Nobel laureate, or a poet or novelist? At least Hindi movies used to have real poetry for songs, and brought classical Urdu poetry into popular culture and great music directors made classical music popular. Old Tamil movies had good classical-based music, though the lyrics were not great as poetry, except occasionally.There has only been a progressive debasement of public taste through movies and TV.