Nenendu Vethugudura/ How Can I Find You?
Karukurichi Arunachalam, the legendary player of the nagaswaram, a wood-wind instrument of South India, was born in 1921, in Tamil Nadu. He died at the age of 43. In the year of Arunachalam’s 100th birth anniversary, I came across a moving short story about him, Nenendu Vethugudura, based on an incident from his short life. If Arunachalam was a virtuoso, turns out, he was a great human being as well. My translation attempts to capture the greatness of the man and his music.