Capturing the cruelty of leprosy in a dark and merciless language
This article from The Hindu explores how leprosy, a disease historically associated with severe stigma, ostracization, and loss of dignity, has been a potent subject in Tamil literature. It focuses on two novels: Sahitya Akademi Award-winning author Imayam's 'Noiputtru', set in the 1960s, which chronicles the disease's progression and the grim resignation of patients confined to leprosy homes; and Karichan Kunju's 'Pasitha Manidam', set earlier, which follows a wealthy Brahmin, Ganesan, who suffers a merciless social descent due to the disease. The article contrasts the experiences of the protagonists, highlighting that leprosy respects no social status. It notes that before the WHO's Multi-Drug Therapy (MDT) breakthrough in the 1980s, treatment could only slow the disease, not cure it, leaving patients to face disfigurement, isolation, and a slow erosion of human dignity.
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