About the Book

A COLLECTION OF TWENTY-TWO FREE VERSE POEMS WRITTEN AS AN INNOVATIVE DIALOGUE WITH THE POET AND PHILOSOPHER VALLUVAR, ALSO KNOWN AS TIRUVALLUVAR, GREETINGS, VALLUVAR! WEAVES TAMIL MYTHS, EPIC HISTORY AND SYMBOLISM.
How was it that your thoughts could soar beyond colour and caste?
This profound question sets the tone for a dialogue between the poet Erode Tamilanban and the revered poet-philosopher Valluvar, or Tiruvalluvar. The result is a stunning collection of twenty-two free-verse poems interlaced with Tamil myths, epic history and rich symbolism, offering deep reflections on spirituality and societal norms.
Winner of the Sahitya Akademi Award for Tamil in 2004, Greetings, Valluvar! is a testament not only to the enduring relevance of Valluvar’s ideas of universality and secularism, but also to Tamilanban’s literary prowess and his ability to bridge ancient wisdom with contemporary thought.

About the Poet

Erode Tamilanban, who retired as Professor of Tamil, New College, Chennai, has been writing poems since the age of twelve, and continues to do so today at the age of ninety-one. His first work, Koti Katta Kumaran, appeared in 1968, since when he has published ninety-one anthologies of his poems, many of which have been translated into other languages, including English, Spanish and Hindi. He has won a number of awards and honours at the international, national and state levels. His Vanakkam, Valluva! earned him the coveted Sahitya Akademi Award in 2004 and the Kalaignar M. Karunanidhi Classical Tamil Award of the Central Institute of Classical Tamil for 2018.

About the Translators

Gregory James graduated in Linguistics from the Universities of Edinburgh and Exeter. After periods teaching in India and Iran, he joined the University of Exeter as Director of the Testamur in English Language and Literature. He subsequently worked in educational administration in Hong Kong, where he now lives in retirement. In 2020, he received the Veeramamunivar Award of the Government of Tamil Nadu for his contributions to Tamil lexicography.

V. Jayadevan, who retired as Professor and Head of the Department of Tamil Language, University of Madras, is an acknowledged Tamil scholar, lexicographer and translator. Among the numerous accolades he has earned, in 2013 he received the Muthamizh Kavalar K.A.P. Viswanatham Award of the Government of Tamil Nadu for his contributions to Tamil scholarship.