Dim literature

This is written in an entirely lighter vein. Those who continue to take Nobel prize for peace, literature seriously, especially after peace was awarded to Obama, should skip reading this. By the way, a sincere salute and hats off to Kailash Satyarthi, about whom, honestly, I had not heard anything at all before the Nobel announcement .
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Forget the peace prize. I just went through a list of 5 Nobel prize winners in literature over the past 5 years - Mario Vargas, Spain (2010), Tomas Transtomer, Sweden ( 2011 ), Mo Yan, China ( 2012), Alice Munro, Canada ( 2013 ), Patrick Modiano, France ( 2014 ). I have not heard even a single name from this list before they got it, and more importantly never heard of them after. These people could well be very famous in their respective countries and much loved too, but, is that a criteria for Nobel ?

If anyone in India has heard of these folks, or read their stuff ( even translated in english ) BEFORE Nobel was awarded to them, please step forward and reveal thy identity. I will genuflect before thee.

Now that I have got the names, I intend buying 1 book each of these laureates ( translated in english, where applicable ), and leave them prominently on my coffee table. Any visitor who comes home is bound to ask, and I shall, with a smug look educate them that they are books by Nobel laureates. Those among my friends who drop in, may look upon me with awe & trepidation in future, for reading such. A wicked thought that needs to be put into action pronto.

Among 110 Nobel Literature awards till date, 13 have gone collectively to folks from Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland, Finland. i.e. about 12 % of all Nobel literature so far awarded has gone to Scandinavian nations. All these countries put together have a total population of about 23 million. Current world population is projected at about 7 billion.

Does it strike you as a bit odd that a combined Scandinavian population of about 0.3 % of the world has been awarded 12 % of all Nobels in literature so far? It sure strikes me as odd. 

Works of literature, have a purpose – they need to be read and understood by great many. When that very purpose is not met, I wonder on what basis they decide. If the committee's lofty purpose is to ensure that all languages are viewed equally, then I suppose the committee should announce each year they will choose a specific language, and look for great works within that and award - for instance 2015 – French, 2016 – Tamizh, 2017 – Telugu, 2018 – Burmese and so on and so forth. This will ensure that in about 400 years, practically all countries, and languages will be considered.

Nothing can explain 1 Nobel in literature given to a work of literature in Yiddish (1978). Current estimates of folks who understand Yiddish language in its spoken & written form is about a low number of 50,000 to a high number of 1 million. Let me go by the high estimate – 1 million. This represents 0.01% of world population, and 1% of a Nobel prize awarded. Viewed purely in mathematical terms, it is a 100 fold amplification in importance of that language. For contrast, I want to take Tamizh as an example, and not out of any parochial view. Nearly 1 % of the global population speaks the language and it exists in all its vibrant forms – written, spoken, poetry, drama etc. Very surprising that not a single Tamizh author has ever come to the notice of the committee. Ditto for Telugu, Hindi, Kannada etc.

A Nobel has also been given to someone who has written in Hebrew. This only makes the mathematical odds even more skewed, to make it appear almost laughable.

Now, I think if one were to know the strange tongue of tribals of Car Nicobar, and one were to write 3 poems in that, each poem consisting of 8 words, and somehow attract the committee's attention by shooting arrows at their homes with the poems attached to the arrow tips, probability of getting Nobel for literature is very high.