A cat, not a coward

The conditions under which Murugan has produced this book, with 210 short poems, provide a hint to his preoccupations

Tamil poet and novelist Perumal Murugan is a cat lover. His poetic journey began when he was eight or nine years old with a poem, “Poonai nalla poonai”, on a favourite cat. (He reveals this in a speech delivered in New Delhi on August 22, 2016.) Like many feline lovers, he is not too fond of dogs. This is evident in his new book of poems, Songs of a Coward, where the poet’s personal preference is a narrative leitmotif and as a thematic preoccupation. Dogs and canine creatures such as wolves are antagonists and bearers of disease.
 
For instance,