Ashokamitran

Ashokamitran (22 September 1931 – 23 March 2017) was the pen name of Jagadisa Thyagarajan, a prolific Indian writer regarded as one of the most influential figures in post-independent Tamil literature. He began his prolific literary career with the prize-winning play "Anbin Parisu" and went on to author more than two hundred short stories, and a dozen novellas and novels. A distinguished essayist and critic, he was the editor of a famous Tamil literary journal "Kanaiyaazhi". He has written over 200 short stories, nine novels, and some 15 novellas besides other prose writings. Most of his works have also been translated into English and other Indian languages, including Hindi, Malayalam, and Telugu.

Life

Born in Secunderabad in 1931, Ashokamitran spent the first 20 years of his life there. His real name was Jagadisa Thyagarajan. He moved to Chennai in 1952 after the death of his father, following an invitation from his father's friend, the film director S.S.Vasan to come work at Vasan's Gemini Studios. While working there he often acted as an "unofficial scribe" (in his own words) for people working in the film industry, and said that his efforts consisted of "writing most heart rending appeals for loans and salary advances."

Writing style

His works are characterized by simplicity and clarity of thought and drew from his professional and personal experiences. His novel Karainta nizhalkal (Star-Crossed), for instance, drew from his experiences working in public relations in the film industry at Gemini Studios.

• 1996: Akshara Award.
• January 2007: The MGR Award.
• May 2012: NTR National Literary Award by NTR Vignan Trust.
• 10 February 2013: The inaugural Kaa Na Su award at a function in Chennai.
• 30 March 2013: National award instituted by the Bharatiya Bhasha Parishad at Kolkata.

Works

Novels

• Thanneer
• Padhinettavadhu Atchakodu (1977) - This novel is widely regarded as the masterpiece of Ashokamitran. The novel is set in the Nizam Kingdom of Secundrabad in the period of 1947-48. It is a microhistorical and semi-auto biographical work describing the unfolding of the conflict of The Nizam kingdom with the newly independent Indian Union from a common man's perspective. Widely regarded as one of the greatest modern historical novels in Tamil, it has been selected under the National Book Trust's "Aadhan Pradhan" scheme to be translated into all Indian languages.
• My Years with Boss: A memoir of his experience in Gemini Studios. He recounts his experience in the Gemini Studios as a Public Relations incharge at Gemini. The novel was originally published in English and is an important English work of Ashokamitran.
• Karainta Nilalkal (translated to English as Star Crossed, by V. Ramnarayan.: It is the first novel of Ashokamitran which later cemented him as an important writer in the Indian literary landscape. It has been recounted many times by very famous Tamil writers that he refused to remove a chapter from the novel which was widely assumed to be inspired from a famous Tamil magazine editor. The chapter was set as a conversation between a wealthy powerful father and his careless son. It has been said that his refusal to remove the chapter affected him both financially and professionally.
• Otran in 1973. An English translation of the work was done by N. Kalyan Raman.
• Indru: A novel exploring the state of India during the Emergency period in India in the eighties.
• India 1944-48: A compiled version of his two novels capturing the events in India few years before and after independence.
• Aagayathamarai
• Yudhangalukku Idaiyil: The last novel written by Ashokamitran based on his family.

Short stories

• Appavin Snegidhar.