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. 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' group
that included writer S. Ramakrishnan and artist R.B. Baskaran.
Sa. Kandasamy
They briefly published a literary magazine, Ka Sa Da Tha Pa
Ra.[4]
He died at the age of 80, after experiencing a heart attack.[6]
Literary career
Kandasamy's first novel was Saayavanam Puthinam, published in 1968. It was well-received and was
later included by the National Book Trust as one of Indian literature's modern masterpieces.[3]
Saayavanam 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 television.[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.[7] 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
Saayavanam Puthinam
Suriya Vamsam
Visaranai Commission
Avan Aanathu
Tholaindhu Ponavargal (Those Who Are Lost)
Perum Mazhai Natkal
Neelavan
Awards and honors
(1998) Sahitya Akademi Award - for his novel, Vicharanai Commission[2]
(1995) Lalit Kala Akademi Fellowship - for contributions to literature[2]
References
1. Dutt, Kartik Chandra (1999). Who's who of Indian Writers, 1999: A-M (https://books.google.c
om/books?id=QA1V7sICaIwC&q=Sa.+Kandasamy+b.+23.7.1940&pg=PA561). Sahitya
Akademi. ISBN 9788126008735.
2. "Sa Kandasamy, Tamil writer and documentary filmmaker, dies" (https://timesofindia.indiatim
es.com/city/chennai/sa-kandasamy-tamil-writer-and-documentary-filmmaker-dies-in-chenna
i/articleshow/77277465.cms). Times of India. 31 July 2020. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
3. TNM Staff (31 July 2020). "Tamil writer and Sahitya Akademi winner Sa Kandasamy passes
away at 80" (https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/tamil-writer-and-sahitya-akademi-winne
r-sa-kandasamy-passes-away-80-129817). The News Minute. Retrieved 22 August 2020.
4. Panneerselvan, A. S. (August 2020). "Sa. Kandasamy: Profound yet simple" (https://frontlin
e.thehindu.com/the-nation/profound-yet-simple/article32253539.ece). Frontline. Retrieved
22 August 2020.
5. Kolappan, B. (31 July 2020). "Writer 'Chayavanam' Kandasamy is no more" (https://www.the
hindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/writer-chayavanam-kandasamy-is-no-more/article3224
4228.ece). The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X (https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0971-751X).
Retrieved 22 August 2020.
6. "Sahitya Akademi winner Sa Kandasamy no more" (https://www.newindianexpress.com/stat
es/tamil-nadu/2020/aug/01/sahitya-akademi-winner-sa-kandasamy-no-more-2177573.html).
The New Indian Express. August 2020. Retrieved 22 August 2020.
7. M. T. Saju (1 August 2020). "Sa Kandasamy: Tamil writer who spoke for the marginalised" (h
ttps://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/sa-kandasamy-tamil-writer-who-spoke-for-the
-marginalised/articleshow/77295173.cms). The Times of India. Retrieved 22 August 2020.
External links
"Tamil Literature Writers" (http://www.seasonsindia.com/art_culture/lit_tamil_sea.htm#sa).
SeasonsIndia. Retrieved 9 August 2014.
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