Thathamangalam Damodaran Ramakrishnan (born 1961) is an Indian novelist, translator, and retired Chief Controller in Southern Railway. He has authored two best-selling

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of ...

novels: '' Francis Itty Cora'' and '' Sugandhi Enna Andal Devanayaki''. He is a recipient of the

Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award is given each year, since 1958, by the Kerala Sahitya Akademi (Kerala Literary Academy), to Malayalam writers for their outstanding books of literary merit. The awards are given in various categories.

and

Vayalar Award The Vayalar Award is a literary award presented annually in Kerala, India, for the best literary work in Malayalam. It was instituted in 1977 by the Vayalar Ramavarma Memorial Trust in memory of poet and lyricist Vayalar Ramavarma (1928-1975). A ...

Early life

He was born at

Eyyal Eyyal is a village in Thrissur district, Thrissur District in the state of Kerala, India. Archeologists have unearthed a collection of old Roman coins in 1946. These coins date from 123 BC to 117 AD. These coins currently exhibited in the Archeo ...

village in

Thrissur Thrissur (, ), Renaming of cities in India, formerly Trichur, also known by its historical name Thrissivaperur, is a city and the headquarters of the Thrissur district in Kerala, India. It is the List of most populous urban agglomerations in Ke ...

, India in 1961 to a

Brahmin Brahmin (; ) is a ''Varna (Hinduism), varna'' (theoretical social classes) within Hindu society. The other three varnas are the ''Kshatriya'' (rulers and warriors), ''Vaishya'' (traders, merchants, and farmers), and ''Shudra'' (labourers). Th ...

family as the son of Damodaran Elayathu and Sreedevi Antarjanam.V. Harigovindan (21 February 2016)
"ഇനി എഴുത്തിനായി മാത്രം"
. ''

Mathrubhumi ''Mathrubhumi'' is a Malayalam newspaper that is published from Kerala, India. It was founded by K. P. Kesava Menon, an active volunteer in the Indian freedom struggle against the British. The word "Mathrubhumi" translates to 'mother land'. ...

''. Retrieved 20 April 2018. He completed his schooling from

Kunnamkulam Kunnamkulam is a municipal town located in the Thrissur District of Kerala, India, with historical origins tracing back to the Paleolithic age. Renowned for its deep-rooted cultural heritage, vibrant printing industry, and religious diversity, ...

Boys High School and Erumappetty Government High School, and his pre-degree and degree from UC College, Aluva. In 1981, he joined

Indian Railways Indian Railways is a state-owned enterprise that is organised as a departmental undertaking of the Ministry of Railways (India), Ministry of Railways of the Government of India and operates India's national railway system. , it manages the fou ...

as a ticket collector in

Salem Salem may refer to: Places Canada * Salem, Ontario, various places Germany * Salem, Baden-Württemberg, a municipality in the Bodensee district ** Salem Abbey (Reichskloster Salem), a monastery * Salem, Schleswig-Holstein Israel * Salem (B ...

. He worked in

Kozhikode Kozhikode (), also known as Calicut, is a city along the Malabar Coast in the state of Kerala in India. Known as the City of Spices, Kozhikode is listed among the City of Literature, UNESCO's Cities of Literature. It is the nineteenth large ...

for one and a half years from 1982. In 1983, he worked as a ticket examiner in

Madras Chennai, also known as Madras ( its official name until 1996), is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian ce ...

and Salem. He moved to

Palghat Palakkad (), Renaming of cities in India, also known as Palghat, historically known as Palakkattussery, is a city and a municipality in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kerala. It is the administrative headquarters of P ...

in 1985. From 1995 onwards, he became a controller in the Palghat Railway Divisional Office. He served as Southern Railway Chief Controller from January 2006 to 31 January 2016. On 31 January 2016, he retired from service in order to be active in literature.

Literary career

His first novel ''Alpha'' is set in an imaginative island called Alpha which is located somewhere near

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

and narrates the story of an experiment on human brain undertaken by an anthropologist. His second novel, '' Francis Itty Cora'', received considerable acclaims from critics for its unprecedented incorporation of many global historical characters and knowledge available to the present Malayalam readers for weaving the story line. The novel deals with the exploration of a merchant named Francis Itty Cora, hailing from the Kerala of 15th century. His third novel, '' Sugandhi Enna Andal Devanayaki'', is based on the death of Tamil human rights activist

Rajini Thiranagama Rajani Thiranagama (née Rajasingham) (23 February 1954 – 21 September 1989) was a Sri Lankan Tamil human rights activist and feminist who was assassinated by the LTTE cadres after she had criticised them for their atrocities. At the time of h ...

who was allegedly shot dead by

Tamil Tigers The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE; , ; also known as the Tamil Tigers) was a Tamil militant organization, that was based in the northern and eastern Sri Lanka. The LTTE fought to create an independent Tamil state called Tamil Eela ...

cadres after she criticised them for their atrocities. Ramakrishnan, who had lived in

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

for the most part of his career, is also deeply associated with

Tamil literature Tamil literature includes a collection of literary works that have come from a tradition spanning more than two thousand years. The oldest extant works show signs of maturity indicating an even longer period of evolution. Contributors to the T ...

. He introduced several Tamil literary works to Keralites and has won the E. K. Divakaran Potti Award for Best Translator in 2007.

Personal life

He is married to Anandavalli and has two children: Vishnu and Surya .

List of works

* ''Alpha'' (Novel) * '' Francis Itty Cora'' (Novel) * '' Sugandhi Enna Andal Devanayaki'' (Novel) * ''Hmm'' (Translation of the Tamil novel ''Hmm'' by Shobasakthi) * ''Thappu Thalangal'' (Translation of the Tamil book ''Thappu Thalangal'' by

Charu Nivedita Charu Nivedita aka Charu (born 18 December 1953) 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 wa ...

* '' Mama Africa'' (Novel) * '' Andhar Badirar Mookar'' (Novel) * '' Pacha Manja Chuvappu'' (Novel)

Filmography

Awards

* 2016:

Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Novel The Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Novel is an award given every year by the Kerala Sahitya Akademi (Kerala Literary Academy) to Malayalam writers for writing a novel of literary merit. It is one of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award#Awards, twel ...

– ''Sugandhi Enna Andal Devanayaki'' * 2016: Malayattoor Award – ''Sugandhi Enna Andal Devanayaki'' * 2016: Abu Dhabi Sakthi Award for Novel – ''Sugandhi Enna Andal Devanayaki'' * 2017:

– ''Sugandhi Enna Andal Devanayaki''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ramakrishnan, T. D. 1961 births Living people Novelists from Kerala Malayali people Writers from Thrissur district Writers from Palakkad district Writers from Thrissur Writers from Palakkad Indian male novelists Malayalam-language novelists Recipients of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award 20th-century Indian novelists 21st-century Indian novelists 20th-century Indian male writers 21st-century Indian male writers 21st-century translators 20th-century Indian translators 21st-century Indian translators Translators to Malayalam Tamil–Malayalam translators Recipients of the Abu Dhabi Sakthi Award