Sa. Kandasamy

Sa. Kandasamy (23 July 1940^[1] – 31 July 2020)^[2] was a novelist and documentary film-maker from Mayiladuthurai in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Schooling in Koorainadu, Mayiladuthurai & Singarampillai High School, Villivakam, Chennai

Sa. Kandasamy

He won the Sahitya Akademi Award in Tamil for his novel, Vicharanai Commission in 1998.^[2]

Life

Kandasamy was born on 23 July 1940 in Mayiladuthurai, in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.^[3] After studying at the Singaram Pillai School, he worked at the Chennai Port Trust and the Food Corporation of India.^[4][5]

Kandasamy later moved to Chennai, and joined a writers' Association writer Cre-A-Ramakrishnan, N.Krishnamoorthy, Ramu and artist K. M. Adimoolam. They briefly published a literary little magazine, Ka Sa Da Tha Pa Ra.^[4]

He died at the age of 80.

Literary career

Kandasamy's first novel was Chaayavanam, published in 1968 by Ms Lakshmi Krishna Murthy at Vasagar Vattam Publication. It was well-received and was later included by the National Book Trust as one of Indian literature's modern masterpieces.^[3] Chaayavanam is one of the earliest examples of literature focusing on ecological concerns in India, and focuses on forest clearances and industrial development in Tamil Nadu.^[4] Kandasamy based on the novel on his own experiences in rural Tamil Nadu, and named the novel after a village that he had lived in with his family, as a child.^[4]

His novel, Vicharanai Commission, which dealt with custodial violence and the police, won the Sahitya Akademi Award for Tamil in 1998.^[5]

He has published seven novels and several collection of short stories, in Tamil. One of Kandasamy's novels, Tholaindhu ponavargal was adapted for Doordarshan Kendra Chennai.^[2]

In addition to fiction, Kandasamy wrote several pieces of criticism, focusing on visual arts and writing in Tamil Nadu, as well as introducing a series of Tamil biographies published by the Sahitya Akademi.^[4]

Film Making

Kandasamy's documentary film, Kaval Deivangal, documented history and techniques relating to traditional terracotta art in South India.^[4] It won the first prize at the Angino Film Festival, in Cyprus, in 1989.^[6] In addition, Kandasamy also directed several other documentaries, primarily on popular Tamil writers and artists, including the Sculptor S.Dhanapal, and writers Jayakanthan and Ashokamitran.^[5]

Publications

Novels

• Chaayavanam (1969)
• Avan Aanathu (1981)
• Tholaindhu Ponavargal (1984)
• Suryavamsam (1984)
• Erikkaraiyil (1986)
• Velaiyatravan (1987)
• Ettavadhu Kadal (1994)
• Visaranai Commission (1994)
• Karuppin Kural (1996)
• Maayaalokan (2011)
• Vancouver (2011)
• Neelavan (2011)
• Perum Mazhai Natkal (2012)
• Emmanaar Ivarkal (2015)

Awards and honors

• (1995) Lalit Kala Akademi Fellowship - for contributions to literature^[2]
• (1998) Sahitya Akademi Award - for his novel, Vicharanai Commission^[2]
• (2004) Receives Senior Fellowship from Ministry of Culture, Government of India
• (2009) Kalaimamani Award — by the Government of Tamil Nadu.