KOCHI: Malayalam poet, translator and critic K Satchidanandan is among the top ten contenders for this year’s Nobel Prize for Literature which is expected to be announced on Thursday.British online site Ladbrokes has listed the poet above widely-read authors like Philip Roth, Cormac McCarthy, Joyce Carol Oates and Alice Munro on its website and suggests that he has the same chance in winning the prize as any of them.Also shortlisted is Vijaydan Detha, an octogenarian short story writer hailing from Rajasthan.When contacted, ‘Satchi mash’, as he is affectionately called, said, ‘’I can say no more than that, I am in good company.’’ According to the website, Satchidanadan has odds of 25/1, which means he has one in 26 chances of winning the prize.Adonis, a Syrian poet who tops the list, has odds of 4/1.While Salman Rushdie and Mahashewta Devi have odds of 50/1 and 80/1, Nepali writer Rajendra Bhandari has odds of 44/1. However, these odds do not reflect the actual chances of winning the prize, but a public perception on the matter.Unlike Man Booker Prize, which has a long list and then a shortlist, the present award has nothing of the sort; all that is known beforehand is the date of its announcement. Satchidanadan’s candidature gains prominence as speculation is rife that the Swedish Academy will select an offbeat writer this time, most likely a poet. A look at the top ten list proves this point. The list comprises Korean poet Ko Un, Swedish writer Tomas Tranströmer, Hungian playwright Peter Nadas and Somali novelist (who studied in India) Nuruddin Farah among others.In the list, the poet born in Pulloot of Thrissur district, has also pipped Israeli writer Amos Oz, who has been a Nobel Prize favourite in the recent years.Coincidently, Satchidanandan has published 30 poems of the frontrunner, Adonis, in Malayalam translation in ‘Kerala Kavita’ journal. ‘’I enjoy reading him alot. He is one of the finest poets of our times,’’ he said. ‘’I have always kept an open mind and has been constantly exploring language to articulate human conditions,’’ says Satchidanandan who has 27 collections of poems in 17 languages to his credit.He had served as the Secreatry of ‘Sahitya Akademi’, India’s Academy of Letters, and edited its journal.
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