I’m Alive For Now – A Novel By Acclaimed Author Imayam

Madras Book Club brought together three well-known personalities for a discussion on a book titled I’m Alive For Now. It was an English translation of the original Tamil novel Ippodu Uyirodirukkiren, written by acclaimed author Imayam. Writer and translator Justice Prabha Sridevan (Retd) was in conversation with much-awarded journalist Kavitha Muralidharan. Also present was Mr Dinesh Sinha, Executive Editor, Ratna Books, the publisher of the book.

I’m Alive For Now is an intense exploration of the inner world of a teenager battling kidney damage while watching and listening to his parents who are locked into his struggle and – in a different way – theirs. The layers peel away: medication, nurses, surgeons, devices to keep him alive and under it all, the growl of money. His father’s fury, his mother’s strength and ceaseless worry, his grandmother’s faith in the family deity, all form a universe utterly alien to those who have never had to spend a day in hospital. As his body gives up, his determination and fortitude stiffen and he says to himself, ‘Well, for now, I can say I am Alive Now’.

Imayam says that the inspiration for all his novels is from his own personal experiences. Life and people around him as well as situations where he sometimes finds himself in, are all fodder for his stories, he says.

Justice Prabha Sridevan (Retd) has won several awards during her illustrious career, including the Justice Shivaraj V. Patil award for Service to Humanity, the Sirandha Mozhipeyarppalar award from the TN Tamil Turai and the Lifetime Achievement Award from The Hindu in 2025.

After retirement as a judge, Prabha has turned to translation. The books include ‘Seeing in the Dark’ (OUP), a translation of Chudamani’s short stories, and ‘The Echoes of the Veena’ (Ratna). The latter won the Translation Award at the Valley of Words literary festival 2019 at Dehradun.

Based on stories from these two books, the renowned Chennai theatre group, Madras Players, staged the play ‘Chudamani’ which proved a resounding success. Her other translations include the short stories by Ravikumar M.P, Kavitha Sornavalli, Thoppil Mohammed Meeran Vaasanthi and Seeta Ravi, Kothamangalam Subbu and S. Ramakrishnan. Madras Players have also performed her translation of Seeta Ravi’s short stories as the play ‘Trinity’. She, along with historian Pradeep Chakravarthy, translated selected essays by U.Ve.Sa published as “Essays of U.Ve.Sa” (Niyogi ), 2021. Her translation of Prof. K.Bharathi’s monograph on the writer R. Chudamani as part of the Makers of Indian Literature was published by Sahitya Akademi in 2022. Two short stories, translated by Prabha, have been included in the collection ‘The Greatest Tamil Stories Ever Told’ (Aleph). Prabha has translated three works of Imayam: If There Is a God and other Stories, (Ratna), Vazhga vazhga and other stories (Penguin Random House), and the book under discussion.

Kavitha Muralidharan is a seasoned bilingual journalist with 25 years of experience, specializing in Tamil Nadu’s political, cultural, and cinematic landscapes. Beginning her career in 1998 with News Today, she has held pivotal roles in leading publications, including The Hindu group, India Today, and The Week. Her work emphasizes human rights, women’s issues, and marginalized communities, reflecting a deep engagement with the state’s cultural fabric. Internationally, she has reported from Sri Lanka, covering the aftermath of the civil war and its impact on civilians. Kavitha is also an accomplished writer and translator and has authored poetry and essays in Tamil and translated significant works between Tamil and English.