Vittal Rao is a senior writer who has been active in fiction and non-fiction writing with unwavering hope and undiminished creativity for more than five decades. He is also a painter and art critic. He is among the best of Tamil literary and art world.

Vittal Rao was born on May 22, 1942 to Mr. Krishna Rao and Mrs. Saraswathi in Hosur when it was part of Salem district. He completed school in Salem and diploma in X-ray Radiography in Chennai. After working as an X-ray technician and then as a clerk in Erode electricity corporation for few years, he joined Indian Telephones in Chennai in 1963. His interest in painting prompted him to study at the Madras College of Fine Arts which further nurtured his interests in art and literature. His first short story appeared in Ananda Vikadan weekly (1967). Since then, hundreds of his short stories appeared in various magazines including Amudasurabhi, Dinamani Kadhir, Deepam, Kanaiyaazhi, Puthiya Paarvai, and Subhamangala. His first novel pOkkidam (1976) submitted as a manuscript to the Ilakkiya Chinathai contest won the first prize. His another novel Nathimoolam (1981) is considered to be one of the best Tamil novels of all times. He has published 12 novels, five novellas, five short story collections and 12 essay collections. In addition to his own writings, Vittal Rao edited three anthologies of Tamil short stories which helps to understand the trend of Tamil short stories.

Vittal Rao’s book Or annaadukaachiyin Salem (Salem of a Daily Wage Worker) published in 2021 is a collection of essays portraying Salem city 70 years ago. Vittal Rao’s vaazhvin sila unnadhangaL (Few Excellent Moments of Life) is a memoir of Vittal Rao’s quest of finding rare books in the erstwhile Moore Market and other used book stores of Chennai. His book kalai ilakkiya sankathikaL (Musings of Art and Literature) documents about writers, painters and sculptors. Vittal Rao’s book thamizhaga kOttaigaL (Forts of Tamilnadu) skillfully synthesizes travelogs and histories of the forts he visited. His novel nilanadukkOdu (2018) documents the woes of Anglo-Indian life after India’s independence. Their life slowly declined and disappeared as insignificant individuals from the mainstream.

Vittal Rao’s essays “kalaiyum kaalamum” (Art and Time) serialized in Pesum Puthiya Sakthi magazine and another series “bioscopekaaran” (The Bioscope Man) in Book Today website, and a third series inthiya cinema varalaaRu (History of Indian Cinema) in Nizhal magazine will all be published soon as books.

Retired from his job in 2002, Vittal Rao has been living in Bangalore with his daughter since 2009.

Novels
• Innoru Tajmahaal – 1974
• pOkkidam – 1976
• thooRal – 1976
• nathimoolam – 1981
• maTRavarkaL – 1992
• meendum avaLukkaaga – 1993
• kaalaveLi – 1993
• vaNNa mukangaL – 1994
• ComradekaL – 1996
• nilanadukkOdu – 2018

Short Story Collections
• muththukkaL paththu – 2010
• maram vaiththavan – 2018
• veLi manithan – 2018
• Vittal Rao kathaikaL – 2019
• Nerukkamaana idaiveLi

Essay Collections
• Thamizh cinemaavin parimaaNangkaL – 2013
• Thamizhaga kOttaikaL – 2010
• Vaazhvin sila unnathangkaL – 2011
• Naveena kaNNada cinema – 2011
• Thi.Ja.Ra.vin ezhuththum thEsia uNarvum
• Or annaadukaachiyin Salem – 2021
• Bayaascopkaaran – cinema thodar (From February 2021)
• Sila ulaga thirappadangkaLum kalaignarkaLum
• Oviya kalai ulagil
• Kalai ilakkiya changathikaL
• Koodaara naatkaL - 2012

What has to be a collaborative work of extraordinary translation in universities was actually achieved by Vaidehi Herbert single handedly by her hard work and unrelenting efforts. It is her monumental work of translating Sangam Tamil Literature into English. She has translated and published all 18 anthologies of Sangam Literature. She also made it available on the Internet for anyone interested in reading. Vaidehi’s remarkable work has only one parallel in Constance Garnett who translated major Russian classics into English.

Vaidehi Herbet (74) was born and raised in Tuticorin. She currently lives in Hawaii. She emigrated to the United States in 1977 to attend graduate school at the University of California where she graduated with a Masters degree. She was inspired by the writings of Prof. A.K. Ramanujan of University of Chicago on Sangam Tamil literature and studied Sangam literature in its entirity on her own. Not only did she studied Sangam literature herself, she translated them into English with word for word English meanings so that everyone who had schooling in English. She has put them all on the internet for anyone to read and benefit from. Moreover, over past 15 years, she conducted workshops in Tamil associations and online free of cost. She has published 47 books so far. Her writings are in her primary website from where one can navigate to her 15 other websites.

Harvard University professors who were involved in establishing Tamil Chair approached Vaidehi in order to reach out to Tamil donors. Later she became a member of the Board of Directors that raised funds to establish Tamil Chair. She has established a charity to provide educational scholarships to low-income school students in Pudhukottai near Tuticorin for the past 12 years. She also runs another charity Sangam Tamil Turst in Chennai to help students who study Sangam literature and Tholkaappiyam.

Vaidehi has received Canadian Literary Garden’s Iyal award for transation in 2012, Goverenment of Tamilnadu’s G.U. Pope award for translation in 2016 and again Kaniyan Poongundranar translation award in 2024.

Books published by Vaidehi Herbert (total of 47)

Dictionary
• Sanga Ilakkiya Agarathi – 1 (1200 pages)

Translations of Ancient Literary Works (with meanings and notes. Except Thirukkuarl)
• Sangam works – 18
• Books of Agam genere from 18 early classics (pathineN keezhkaNakku aganoolgaL) – 6
• muththoLLaayiram – 1
• paaNdikkOvai – 1
• ThirukkOvaiyar of MaanikkaVasagar – 1
• ThirukkuRaL – 1

Tamil Commentary
• Ten Songs (paththuppattu) – 10
• Short anthology (kuRunthogai) – 1
• puRanaanooRRuth thuLigaL (with Professor K.V. Balasubramaniyan)
• aRuputha thiruvanthaathi, thiruvirattai maNimaalai, thiruvaalankaattu mooththa thiruppathikam – 1

English books
• Sangam Literature – A Beginners Guide -1
• Indus Vally Civilization – Dravidian Civilization – 1 (with her student Krishnapriya)
• My Mentor Bharathiar – 1 (translated from her Tamil work en gurunathar Bharathiyaar)

Other works
• Geetanjali of Rabindranath Tagore – 1 (Tamil translation)
• Tholkaappiyath thuLikaL – 1 (an introduction to tholkaappiyam; with her student Bhuvana)

Vilakku award of 2021 for non-fiction goes to Rajendra Cholan. He was born in Ulundurpettai of Tamilnadu and is married to Rajakumari. He undertook teacher training and worked as a school teacher. Besides being a teacher, he also worked as a journalist in two magazines, Udhayam and Manmozhi. He also used a pseudonym Aswagosh for some of his writings. He treaded a unique path in writing short stories, novellas and plays. Though he had interest in Marxist ideology, his works were celebrated for the aesthetic expressions by readers of all hues and colors.

Rajendra Cholan’s non-fiction writings emerged as necessitated by the circumstances. He was motivated by the ideal of democratizing knowledge. In this backdrop, his books “aNusakthi marmam: therinthathum theriyaathathum” (The Mystery of Nuclear Energy: Known and Unknown) written when a new nuclear power plant was built in Koodankulam, “aranga aattam” (Theatrics), a book on the fundamentals of modern theatre, and “pinnaveenaththuvam: piththum theLivum” (Post-modernism: Craze and Clarity”), when post-modernism stormed in Tamil milieu, are some of his important contributions to Tamil. He complemented his writings with activism as he believed that both are necessary to democratize knowledge.

Fictional works

1. IraasenthirasOzhan kuRunaavalkaL
2. ciRakukaL muLaiththu
3. parithaaba ezuththaaLar paNditha puraaNam
4. iraasEnthirasOzhan ciRukathaikaL
5. 21vathu amsam
6. pathiyam – novel
7. kaavalar illam – novel
8. puRRil uRaiyum paambukaL
9. savaari

Plays

1. thenaaliraaman nakaichuvai naatakangkaL
2. mariyaathairaaman mathinutpa naatakangkaL
3. Aswagosh naatakangkaL
4. arangka aattam
5. naaLaivarum veLLam
6. visaaraNai
7. vattangkaL
8. meendum varukai

Essays

1. airOppiya inthiya naatakam
2. karuththiyal matham saathi peN
3. thamizh naatakam katturaikaL
4. maNmozhi manitham neethi
5. mithipadum maanudam meetpin manavali
6. thamizhakam thEsam mozhi saathi
7. peNkaL samookam mathippeedukaL
8. mozhik koLkai
9. saathiyam theeNdaamai thamizhar oRRumai
10. inthiyam thiraavidam thamizth thEsiyam
11. ambEthkarin saathi ozhippu – sila sinthanaikaL
12. pakuththaRivin moodanambikkaikaL
13. dhaliththiyam – nOkkum pOkkum
14. thamizhthEsamum thannurimaiyum
15. theeNdaamai ozhippum thamizhar oRRumaiyum
16. paattaLi varkka sarvaathikaaram thEvai thaanaa?
17. pin naveenaththuvam – piththum theLivum
18. Marxiya meyyiyal. kadavuL enpathu enna?
19. Sorgam engkE irukkiRathu?
20. Thamizh thEsiyam enRal enna?
21. Pothuvudaimaiyum thamizharkaLum
22. aNusakthi marmam
23. aNu aaRRalum maanuda vaazhvum
24. aNusakthi marmam – aRinthathum aRiyaathathum

Awards

1. Vijaya vaasakar vatta viruthu (2020)
2. Punaivilakkiyaththukkaana Kalaignar Karunanithi poRkizhi viruthu (2021)

Vilakku award of 2021 for fiction is awarded to Vannanilavan. He was born in Tirunelveli to Ulaganathan and Ramalakshmi. He completed high school and became a journalist and author. His given name is Ramachandran and he also writes under the pseudonym Dhurvasar. Vannanilavan worked as a journalist in magazines Kannadasan (1973), Puthuvaikkural (1974), Kanaiyaazhi (1974), Annai Naadu (1975), Thuglaq (1976-90), Subhamangala (1993-95) and again in Thuglaq (since 1995). His writings are a shining light of humanity.

Vannanilavan is one of the most creative minds in Tamil literature. He has been continuously operating in various genres of literature - short story, novel, poetry and essay. In the Tamil literary scene after 1970, Vannanilavan explored new possibilities through his fiction. He pushed the possibilities of fictional imagination and limits of expression of language. His short story collection “paambum pidaaranum” (The Snake and the Snake Charmer) took the genre of Tamil short story in a new direction. His novels “kadalpuraththil” (In the Sea town), “kambaanathi” (The River Kambha), and “Reinees Iyer theru” (Reinees Iyer Street) added a new treasure to the genre of Tamil novel. With his strong belief on artistic expression and honesty, he has made immense contributions to modern Tamil literature without making much noise.

Novels

1. nEsam marappathillai nenjam (1976)
2. kadalpuraththil (1977)
3. kambaanathi (1977)
4. reynees iyar theru (1979)
5. kaalam (2000)
6. uLLum puRamum (2010)
7. em. el. (2018)

Short Story Collections

1. paambum pidaaranum (1978)
2. dharmam (1982)
3. uLLum puRamum (1990)
4. thEdithEdi (1990)
5. thaamiraparaNik kathaikaL (1992)
6. Vannanilavan kathaikaL (2012)
7. mazhaippayaNam (2019)

Poetry Collections

1. meypporul (1985)
2. kaalam (1994)

Essays

1. maRakka mudiyaatha manitharkaL (2012)
2. pin nagarntha kaalam (2012)
3. oru kutti boorshvaavin anupavangkaL (2012)
4. sila iyakkunarkaL cila thiraippadangkaL (2014)
5. pin nagarntha kaalam – volume 2 (2019)
6. Dhurvaasar katturaikaL
7. (Additionally, he has written more than 300 essays that have not been compiled into books)

Movie

1. One of the three scriptwriters of the movie avaL appadiththaan

Awards

1. Ilakkiyach chinthanai award (1977)
2. Tamilnadu Government award (1983)
3. Ramakrishna Jaidayal humanism award (1998)
4. Saaral award (2012)
5. S.R.V. award (2015)
6. Jayakanthan awad of Vijaya Readers Circle (2017)
7. Periyasami Thooran Tamil writer award (2017)
8. Bombay Adhilakshmanan award of Ilakkiyach chinthanai (2018)
9. Lifetime achiever award of Coimbatore Book Festival (2019)

Stalin Rajangam was born at Munnur village near Chengam in Thiruvannamalai district in 1980 to Rajangam and Kaliyammal. Stalin is a first-generation college graduate. He completed school education in government schools in his native village and pursued college education with the help of a school teacher. He did his undergraduation in Senthamizh College, Madurai and post-graduation in American College, Madurai. Subsequently, he completed his doctorate degree in Gandhi Gram University, Dindigal. The topic of his thesis was ‘Alternative narratives of Iyotheethaas and Tamil Literature’. Currently, he is working as an Assistant Professor of Tamil in American College, Madurai. He is married to Poornima and the couple have two sons, Budhamithran and Aadhan Sidharth.

Stalin, who started writing in 2000s, entered the scene as a vibrant young man when contributions from young writers in literary criticism and research were scant. Even as he was introduced to Ambedkar and Dravidian movement by the family, Stalin had close association with the leftist movement as a college student. He was attracted to the newly emerging Dalit literature and research when he started writing. In his first book ‘sananaayagamaRRa sananaayagam’ (2007) he established himself as a second-generation writer of Dalit uprising. He has authored 13 books so far. In addition to writing books, he also published others’ works.

Stalin has introduced a new approach to Tamil research by undertaking searches of religious sites and cultural relics of Jainism and Budhism which once flourished in Tamilnadu. He is continuously engaged in alternative research of history, alternative history of literature, and alternative field research. It is heartening to see that there is a new generation of young researchers who follow Stalin’s research methodology.

Dalit liberation history has been told only through the struggles of non-Dalit activists until Stalin shifted the focus on documenting struggles spearheaded and undertaken by Dalits themselves.

Books

1. sananaayagamaRRa sananaayagam (January 2007)
2. theeNdappadaatha noolkaL: oLipadaa ulagam (December 2007)
3. aariya uthadum unathu, thiraavida uthadum unathu (January 2008)
4. varalaaRRai mozhithal
5. theeraa thiyaagam (October 2010)
6. saathiyam: kaikoodaatha neethi (December 2011)
7. Iyothidhaasar: vaazhum Bautham (May 2016)
8. ezuthaakkiLavi (vazhimaRikkum varalaaRRu anupavangkaL (April 2017)
9. thamizh cinema: punaivil iyangkum samoogam (June 2016)
10. aaNavak kolaigaLin kaalam (September 2016)
11. peyarazhintha varalaaRu: Iyothidhaasarum avar kaala aaLumaikaLum (December 2019)
12. eNpathugaLin cinema (December 2019)
13. Vaithiyar Iyothidhaasar (February 2021)

Publications:

1. G. Appathuraiyaar ezhuthiya Budhar aruLaRam
2. Vizhuppuram padukolai 1982 (August 2012)

Edited works:

1. ethaartha Bautham (editor, December 2012)
2. Iyothithaasarum Singaravelarum: naveena Bautha maRumalarchi iyakkam (veLivaraatha vivaathangkaL, October 2010)

Booklets:

1. Irupathaam nooRRaaNdin thodakkaththil Daliththukalin pathippup paNikaL
2. viNNappam sollum viduthalai (Iyothidaasarin 3 aangkilak katturaikaLin thamizh mozhipeyarppu)
3. vanjnagaram kanthan (2008)

Coauthored book:

1. saathi inRu

Awards:

1. SPARROW literary award 2017

Future plans:

1. To write Tamil cultural history using hidden elements of non-Vedic origin from people’s life that have not been told and emphasized in books written so far.
2. To write a critical history of Dalit politics spanning over a century from his experience of writing about unrecorded Dalit activities and personalities.

This is a summary of the detailed citation by the judges written in Tamil which can be seen here ***** to be inserted.

Poet Sugirtharani was born at Lalapet village near the city of Ranipet in 1973 to Thavamani and Shanmugam. Her father Shanmugan worked in EID Parry in Ranipet. Sugirtharani had her school education (classes 1-10) in Government School, Lalapet and higher secondary education (classes 11-12) in Ranipet. Subsequently, she took teacher training in the Government Teacher Training Institute for Women, Ranipet. She went on to obtain two Master of Arts degrees in Tamil Literature and Economics and Bachelor of Education degree in Tamil.

Currently, Sugirtharani works at the Government Girls Higher Secondary School as a graduate Tamil teacher in Kaveripakkam of Ranipet district. She started writing poetry in late 1990s and has published six volumes of poetry. The seventh volume will be coming out soon. Her first six books are combined into a single volume entitled “soodiya poo soodaRka” and published in recently.

Sugiratharani’s poems have been included in text books of several colleges and universities, including Delhi University. Her works of poetry have been subject of research of several masters and doctoral students. One of her poems is translated in Italian and is part of a permenant exhibition of poetry in Italy. Another poem of Sugirtharani is translated into English by Lakshmi Holmstrom and is included in The Verso Book of Feminism: Revolutionary words From Four Millennia of Rebellion, an anthology of feminist poems from around the world. Her selected poems are translated into Malayalam and published as a book entitled nathi enpathu en peyar, recently.

Besides writing poetry, Sugirtharani is a feminist activist and social worker, and writes on issue affecting the marginalized women.

Published works

1. kaippatri en kanavu kEL (2002)
2. iravu mirugam (2004)
3. avaLai mozhiperyarthal (2006)
4. theeNdathagatha muththam (2010)
5. kAmathipoo (2012)
6. ippadikku EvAL (2015)
7. soodiya poo soodaRka (2021)

Works under preparation

1. Seventh volume of poetry
2. A novel near completion

Awards and recognitions

1. ‘devamakal kavithoovi’ award (2002) – Coimbatore
2. ‘pavalar ezhugnayiRu’ award, Salem
3. ‘Woman of Achievement’ award, Women’s Front founded by writer P. Sivakami, IAS
4. Puthumaipithan memorial award, Kalachuvadu
5. ‘Amebedkar pEroLi’ award, 125th Anniversary of Ambedkar, Dalit Cultural Collective, Chennai
6. ‘The Vibrant Voice of Subalterns’ award (2018), Thiruvalluvar University, Vellore
7. Kuthoosi Gurusamy memorial award, Coimbatore
8. Annai Meenambal Sivaraj award, Republican Party of India, Tamilnadu State Committee
9. ‘avvai’ award, Meeral Literay Society, Pondicheri
10. ‘ezhuthuchemmal’ award, Ambedkar Literary Society, Chennai
11. ‘Sundara Ramaswamy’ award, Neythal Literary Organization, Nagerkoil
12. Karaikkal Ammaiyar award, International Women’s Organization, Chennai