D. Jayakanthan, popularly known as JK, was an Indian writer, journalist, orator, filmmaker, critic and activist. Born in Cuddalore, he dropped out of school at the age of 9 and went to Madras, where he joined the Communist Party of India. In a career spanning six decades, he authored around 40 novels, 200 short stories, apart from two autobiographies. Outside literature, he made two films. In addition, four of his other novels were adapted into films by others.
Urdu literature comprises the literary works, written in the Urdu language. While it tends to be dominated by poetry, especially the verse forms of the ghazal and nazm, it has expanded into other styles of writing, including that of the short story, or afsana. Urdu literature is popular mostly in Pakistan, where Urdu is the national language, and in India, where it is an Eighth Schedule language.
C. Viruthachalam, better known by the pseudonym Pudhumaipithan, was one of the most influential and revolutionary writers of Tamil fiction. His works were characterized by social satire, progressive thinking and outspoken criticism of accepted conventions. Contemporary writers and critics found it difficult to accept his views and his works were received with extreme hostility. He as an individual and his works have been extensively reviewed and debated for over sixty years since his death. His influence has been accepted and appreciated by the present day writers and critics of Tamil fiction. In 2002, the Government of Tamil Nadu nationalised the works of Pudumaippithan.
Ṣadr ad-Dīn Muḥammad Shīrāzī, more commonly known as Mullā Ṣadrā, was a Persian Twelver Shi'i Islamic mystic, philosopher, theologian, and ‘Ālim who led the Iranian cultural renaissance in the 17th century. According to Oliver Leaman, Mulla Sadra is arguably the single most important and influential philosopher in the Muslim world in the last four hundred years.
Padmanabhapuram Palace, also known as Kalkulam Palace, is a Travancore-era palace located in Padmanabhapuram in the Kanyakumari district of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The palace is owned, controlled and maintained by the Kerala Government. Padmanabhapuram is the former capital city of the erstwhile kingdom of Travancore. It is around 20 km (12 mi) from Nagercoil, 39 km (24 mi) from Kanyakumari town and 52 km (32 mi) from Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala. The palace complex lies inside an old granite fortress around four kilometers long. The palace is located at the foot of the Veli Hills, part of the Western Ghats. The river Valli flows nearby.
Bahuleyan Jeyamohan is an Indian Tamil and Malayalam language writer and literary critic from Nagercoil in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.
Charu Nivedita is a Tamil writer based in Chennai, India. His novel Zero Degree (1998) was translated into English in 2013 and longlisted that year for the annual Jan Michalski Prize for Literature. It was also selected or the prestigious 50 Writers, 50 Books - The Best of Indian Fiction, published in 2013 by HarperCollins. Conversations With Aurangzeb won the Crossword Award in 2024.
Vairamuthu Ramasamy is an Indian lyricist, poet, and novelist working in the Tamil film industry. He is a prominent figure in the Tamil literary world. A master's graduate from the Pachaiyappa's College in Chennai, he first worked as a translator, while also being a published poet. He entered the Tamil film industry in the year 1980, with the film Nizhalgal, an Ilaiyaraaja musical, directed by Bharathiraja. During the course of his 40-year film career, he has written over 7,500 songs and poems which have won him seven National Awards, the most for any Indian lyricist. He has also been honored with a Padma Shri, a Padma Bhushan and a Sahitya Akademi Award, for his abundant literary output.
Appadurai Muttulingam is a Sri Lankan Tamil author and essayist. His short stories in Tamil have received critical acclaim and won awards in both India and Sri Lanka.
T. K. Doraiswamy, also known by his pen name Nakulan, was an Indian poet, professor of English, novelist, translator and short fiction writer, who wrote both in Tamil and English, and is known for his surrealism and experimentation as well as free verse. He served as Professor of English, Mar Ivanios College, Thiruvananthapuram for four decades.
Sundara Ramaswamy was an Indian novelist, poet, translator, and literary critic, widely considered to be a preeminent figure in post-Independence Tamil literature. His notable works include "Oru Puliyamarathin Kathai", "J.J. Sila Kuripugal", "Kuzhanthaigal," "Pengal," and "Aangal." He was a key figure in Tamil modern literature. The translations of his novels and short stories have brought him international acclaim. Sundara Ramaswamy has been praised for his versatility and his skillful negotiation of various literary forms: poetry, short fiction, and the novel.
Thangar Bachan is an Indian film director and actor, cinematographer and novelist. He has served as jury member in National Film Awards.
Rayangala Shri Krishna Raja Narayana Perumal Ramanujam Naicker, shortened to Ki. Rajanarayanan and popularly known by his Tamil initials as Ki. Ra., was an Indian Tamil language folklorist and writer from Kovilpatti, in Tamil Nadu. Some of his popular works include Gopalla Grammam, Gopallapurathu Makkal, Mayamaan, and Nattuppura Kadhai Kalanjiyam. He was a recipient of the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1991.The Times of India called him the "Guardian of Tamil oral tradition".
A.R. Venkatachalapathy is an Indian historian, author and translator who writes and publishes in Tamil and English. Currently he is a professor at the Madras Institute of Development Studies (MIDS). He is noted for collecting and publishing the works of Tamil writer Pudhumaipithan.
C. S. Lakshmi is an Indian feminist writer and independent researcher in women's studies from India. She writes under the pseudonym Ambai.
Ka. Naa. Subramanyam was a Tamil writer and critic from Tamil Nadu, India. He is also popularly known by his Tamil initials as Ka. Naa. Su.
Nanjil Nadan is the pseudonym of G. Subramaniam, a Sahitya academy winning Tamil writer from Tamil Nadu, India.
Sister Jesme was born on 11 June 1956, in Kerala. Sister Jesme decided to become a nun when she was in college. She graduated with rank from the University of Calicut and completed M. Phil. She worked as a teacher and joined as vice principal of Vimala College, Thrissur from 2002 to 2005. In 2005, she joined St. Mary's College, Thrissur as Principal and served there till 2008. She resigned from her post as Principal. She was a member of the Congregation of the Mother of Carmel (CMC) which she was forced to leave because of emotional torment, after 33 years as a nun., Her life as a nun and her experiences within the Catholic Church in Kerala are recounted in her book, Amen - The Autobiography of a Nun, The Indian Express reviewing the book states, it "details the humiliation, sexual abuse and mental torture at the seminary. Sister Jesme has a doctorate in English Literature. She is known as Dr. Sister Jesme.
K. P. Ramanunni is a novelist and short-story writer from Kerala, India. His first novel Sufi Paranja Katha won the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award in 1995 and the novel Daivathinte Pusthakam won the Kendra Sahitya Akademi Award in 2017. Jeevithathinte Pusthakam won the 2011 Vayalar Award.
G. Poornachandran is a Tamil writer from India. He was born in Arcot in 1949, worked as a Tamil professor in Bishop Heber College, Tiruchirappalli and an emeritus professor in Pondicherry University. He is currently living in Chennai. He has written many books on the subjects of Tamil literary criticism and has translated several books from English to Tamil. He won the Sahitya Akademi Translation Prize in 2016 for his translation of the fiction Serious Men by Manu Joseph into Tamil as "Poruppumikka Manidargal". He is also a recipient of Anantha Vikatan awards for translation in 2011 and 2016. He also received the Ilakkiya Mamani Award for 2022 from the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, M.K. Stalin.
He has written 11 books, majorly based on literary criticism and western contemporary theories, and has translated 37 books on variety of subjects and genres from English to Tamil. He has also published 4 books and has written a lot of essays in the little magazines such as Kalachuvadu, Nigazh, Tamil Neyam. He is one of the first persons to conduct Badal Sircar Theatrical Workshop in Tiruchirappalli in 1989. He had been an influential person in Tiruchi Cine-forum and Tiruchi Readers-forum and had developed an interest on art films and serious book reading in many of his students. He is actively writing essays and articles in his website www.poornachandran.com which shall help the students on their academics and the others to think on the contemporary issues faced by the society on various fields. He is also running an endowment on his name through which he has been conducting regular workshops for the students on the subjects of literature and criticism.
