Prapanchan, is the pseudonym of S. Vaidyalingam ( ta, சாரங்கபாணி வைத்தியலிங்கம்; 27 April 1945 – 21 December 2018)
a
Tamil, writer and critic from
Puducherry,
India
India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...
.
Biography
Prapanchan was born in
Pondicherry
Pondicherry (), now known as Puducherry ( French: Pondichéry ʊdʊˈtʃɛɹi(listen), on-dicherry, is the capital and the most populous city of the Union Territory of Puducherry in India. The city is in the Puducherry district on the sout ...
and did his schooling in
Petit Seminaire Higher Secondary School
, motto_translation = en, Nothing Is Great Unless It Is Good ta, நல்லதே மேலானது
, location =
, streetaddress = 355, Mahatma Gandhi Road
, region =
, city ...
, Puducherry. His birth name was Vaidyalingam. His father ran a
toddy shop. He attended the Karandhai College and graduated as a Tamil
Vidwan
In Hindu philosophy ''vidvān'' alludes to an expert in discrimination, to the one who is an expert in the Vedanta.
A ''vidwan'' (or ''vidvan'') is a person who has '' vidyā'' (knowledge) of a particular science or art. This term is usually used ...
. He started his career as a Tamil teacher in
Thanjavur
Thanjavur (), also Tanjore, Pletcher 2010, p. 195 is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur is the 11th biggest city in Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur is an important center of South Indian religion, art, and architecture. Most of the ...
. He also worked as a journalist in ''
Kumudam'', ''
Ananda Vikatan
''Ananda Vikatan'' is a Tamil-language weekly magazine published from Chennai, India.
History and profile
''Ananda Vikatan'' was started by Late Pudhoor Vaidyanadhaiyar in February 1926 as a monthly publication. The issue for December 1927 ...
'' and''
Kungumam''. In 1961, he published his first short story ''Enna ulagamada'' in the magazine ''Bharani''. He was influenced by the
Self-Respect Movement. He had published 46 books. In 1995, he was awarded the
Sahitya Akademi Award for
Tamil for his historical novel ''Vaanam Vasappadum'' (lit. The Sky will be ours) set in the times of
Ananda Ranga Pillai. His works have been translated into Hindi, Telugu, Kannada, German, French, English and Swedish. His play ''Muttai'' is part of the curriculum in
Delhi University
Delhi University (DU), formally the University of Delhi, is a collegiate university, collegiate Central university (India), central university located in New Delhi, India. It was founded in 1922 by an Act of the Central Legislative Assembly and ...
and his short story collection ''Netrru Manidhargal'' is a textbook in many colleges. He was married to Pramila Rani and they have three sons. He was living in
Chennai
Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of ...
and Pondicherry. He was diagnosed with lung cancer (Squamous cell carcinoma), for which he underwent palliative chemotherapy from Manakula Vinayagar Medical College & Hospital under the department of pulmonary medicine and oncology. On 21 December 2018 he died of respiratory failure and tumor metastasis.
[Tamil Sahitya Akademi Awards 1955-2007]
Sahitya Akademi
The Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, is an organisation dedicated to the promotion of literature in the languages of India. Founded on 12 March 1954, it is supported by, though independent of, the Indian government. Its of ...
Official website.
Partial bibliography
Novels
*''Vaanam vasappadum''
*''Mahanadhi''
* ''Manudam vellum''
*''Sandhya''
*''Kagidha Manidhargal''
*''Kaneeral Kappom''
*''Penmai velga''
*''Padhavi''
*''Erodu Thamizhar uyirodu''
Novellas
*''Aangalum Pengalum''
Short story collections
*''Nerru Manidhargal''
*''Vittu Viduthalayagi''
*''Iruttin Vaasal''
*''Oru ooril irandu manidhargal''
* '' Appavin veshti ''
* ''Mari engira aatukutti''
Plays
*''Muttai''
*''Akalya''
Awards and recognitions
*
Sahitya Akademi Award in Tamil, 1996 for ''Vaanam vasappadum''
*
Bharatiya Bhasha Parishad Award
*Coimbatore Kasturi Rangammal Award for ''Mahanadhi''
Ilakkiya Chinthanai Award for ''Manudam vellum''*
Adithanar award for ''Sandhya''
*Award for Non-Fiction from
The Tamil Literary Garden, Toronto
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
1945 births
2018 deaths
Novelists from Puducherry
Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Award in Tamil
Tamil writers
Indian Tamil people
People from Pondicherry
20th-century Indian dramatists and playwrights
20th-century Indian novelists
20th-century Indian short story writers