Ashokamitran facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Ashokamithran
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|---|---|
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| Born |
Thyagarajan
22 September 1931 |
| Died | 23 March 2017 (aged 85) |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Occupation | Novelist |
| Children | 3 |
| Awards | Sahitya Akademi Award |
Ashokamitran (born Jagadisa Thyagarajan; September 22, 1931 – March 23, 2017) was a famous Indian writer. He is known as one of the most important people in Tamil literature after India became independent. He started his writing journey with a play called "Anbin Parisu," which won an award. After that, he wrote more than 200 short stories, many novellas, and several novels.
He was also a respected essay writer and critic. He edited a literary magazine called "Kanaiyaazhi." Many of his works have been translated into English and other Indian languages like Hindi, Malayalam, and Telugu.
Contents
Life of Ashokamitran
Ashokamitran was born in Secunderabad in 1931. He spent the first 20 years of his life there. His real name was Jagadisa Thyagarajan. In 1952, after his father passed away, he moved to Chennai. He was invited by his father's friend, the film director S.S. Vasan, to work at Vasan's Gemini Studios.
He worked at Gemini Studios for more than ten years. While there, he often helped people in the film industry by writing important letters for them. He said he wrote "heart-rending appeals for loans and salary advances." He also started writing about his experiences in the film industry for a magazine called Illustrated Weekly of India. These writings later became his book, My Years with Boss. The "boss" he mentioned was S.S. Vasan, who owned Gemini Studios.
In 1966, he left his job in the film industry. He later said he felt he "should not continue with a system which had built-in inequities." This means he felt the system wasn't fair.
After 1966, he became a full-time writer. He started using the pen name "Ashokamitran." In 1973, he was invited to take part in the International Writing Program at the University of Iowa in the United States. In the 1980s, many of his works were translated into English. This made him and his writings well-known across India. Some of his works were also translated into other European and Indian languages.
Ashokamitran passed away on March 23, 2017, when he was 85 years old. He was survived by his wife and three sons.
His Writing Style
Ashokamitran's writings are known for being simple and clear. He often used his own experiences from work and life in his stories. For example, his novel Karainta nizhalkal (which means "Star-Crossed") was inspired by his time working in the film industry at Gemini Studios.
He mentioned several writers who influenced his style. These included Tamil writers like B.R. Rajam Iyer, Subramania Bharti, Kothamangalam Subbu, and K N Subramaniam. Most of his stories focus on the lives of everyday middle-class people. Besides Karaintha nizhalkal, his other famous works include Thanneer, Otran, and Pathinetaavathu atchakodu.
He was one of the first Tamil writers to set a story in a non-Tamil place and make it successful. He was also a very keen reader, especially of American writings. His essays were also very strong. People admired his dry sense of humor. Today, with over 200 short stories, nine novels, and many essays and translations, Ashokamitran is seen as a major contributor to modern Tamil literature. His creative works are praised for their quiet beauty and lack of exaggeration.
His Legacy
Ashokamitran's life and work have been featured in three documentary films. These films were made by Amshan Kumar, Kandasamy, and Gnani. His novel Thanneer is also being made into a film by director Vasanth.
Awards and Honours
Ashokamitran received many awards and honors for his writing. Here are some of them:
- The K.K. Birla Fellowship, which helped him study different Indian literatures.
- 1973-74: The University of Iowa Creative Writing Fellowship.
- 1992: Lily Memorial Award.
- 1993: Ramkrishna Jaidayal Harmony Award from the Dalmia Trust for helping to promote peace between different religions.
- 1996: Akshara Award.
- 1996: Sahitya Akademi Award for Appavin Snegidhar, which is a collection of his short stories. This is one of India's highest literary honors.
- January 2007: The MGR Award.
- May 2012: NTR National Literary Award by NTR Vignan Trust.
- February 10, 2013: The first Kaa Na Su award at a ceremony in Chennai.
- March 30, 2013: A national award from the Bharatiya Bhasha Parishad in Kolkata.
His Works
Novels
- Anbin Parisu (1953)
- Thanneer
- Manasarovar
- 18-vadhu Atchakkodu (1977) - This book was translated into English as "The Eighteenth Parallel." It looks back at his early life in Secunderabad. It tells the story of a young man during a time of political trouble in Hyderabad in the late 1940s.
- My Years with Boss
- Karainta nilalkal (translated to English as "Star Crossed")
- Otran
- Paavam Dalpathado (translated to English as "The Ghost of Meenambakkan")
- Indru
- India 1944-48
- Aagayathamarai
Short Stories
- Appavin Snegidhar. He won the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1995 for this collection of short stories.
- Still Bleeding from the Wound (a collection of stories translated into English).
- Ammavukku oru naal
See also
- List of Indian writers
- Jayakanthan
- Sundara Ramaswamy
- Ka. Naa. Subramanyam
- Jeyamohan
