Thirst

Born in 1935 in a remote backward village Ponnerpatti in North Tamilnadu, Bharathi is a former by profession. He started writing poetry in school and after a sucessful start in versification (3 collection of poems, the first one "Nila Vudaimai Epoo" published in 1958. He turned to fiction and made his mark as a novelist with the big success of his very first novel Thagam (1976) and it was then bracketed as one of the best ten novels of the year. His Sangam (1985) and Sarkkarai (1991) have ensured his status as a front - ranking Tamil novelist to day. Bharathi writes with a charm and magic of a rustic story-toller but his perceptions are keen observations of historic changes that have happened in rural india. In a style. some-times poetic and some-times down to earth, he shows how the rural workers are steeped in poverty and superstitions, and how they are made victims in the hands of all - powerful landlords. the charm of the village life, the sufferings of the masses and exploitations all unfold before us and transport us a world of harsh reality. THIRST, the English Version THAGAM, vividly describes the wretched life of the Dalit agriculturists in a village of Kongu area of Tamilnadu who are treated as bonded labourers by their landlord and ends with their raising the banner of revolt against the oppressors.