S. Tamilselvan
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S. Tamilselvan | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 27 May 1954 Nagalapuram, Thoothukudi district, Tamil Nadu |
| Occupation | writer and literary critic |
| Language | Tamil |
| Notable works | Veyilotu Potu, Tamizh Sirukathaiyin Thadankal |
| Notable awards |
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| Spouse | R. Vellathai |
| Children | 1 |
| Relatives | Konangi and Murugabhoopathy (brothers) |
S. Tamilselvan is a Tamil language writer and literary critic from Tamilnadu. He has written more than fifty books, including essays, short stories, and children's literature, on a variety of subjects including literature, culture, education, science, feminism, politics, and history. He received the 2025 Sahitya Akademi Award in the Literary Criticism category for his work Tamizh Sirukathaiyin Thadankal, critically analyzes Tamil short stories from different generations.
Personal life
S. Tamilselvan was born on 27 May 1954 in Nagalapuram, Thoothukudi district of Tamil Nadu.[1] His grandfather, Madhurakavi Bhaskara Das, was a playwright and the mentor of M. S. Subbulakshmi, S. G. Kittappa, and K. B. Sundarambal, and his father M. S. Shanmugam was a writer, who wrote on various journals of the Dravidian movement.[1] His mother is Saraswathi.[1] Writer Konangi and playwright Murugabhoopathy are Tamilselvan's brothers.[2]
Tamilselvan grew up in Nenmeni Mettupatti, Virudhunagar district and completed his schooling.[3] He completed his college studies at Kovilpatti.[3] Born into a family of writers, he was drawn to reading and later to writing at an early age.[1] His first poem was published in the small magazine Neelakkuuil. His first short story appeared in the journal Thamarai.[1]
In early years Tamilselvan was attracted to Gandhian ideology.[4] He also stated that the character Aravindan of the famous Tamil novel "Kurinjimalar" written by Na. Parthasarathy was his role model.[4] Inspired by the character’s Gandhian values and patriotic spirit, Tamilselvan even used to dress like him.[4]
Inspired by Gandhism and patriotism, he joined the Indian army. There he started reading English books. Poems by Kamala Das, novels by Pritish Nandy, Shasti Pratha and Bharati Mukherjee were his favorites that time.[4]
Unable to adapt to the mechanized discipline of the army, he returned home after a few years and settled in Kovilpatti.[4] At that time, Kovilpatti was the home of many left-wing progressive literary youth, including well-known writers. He too became one of them.[4] He started writing extreme left-wing poetry, and also ran a manuscript magazine called Kizhakku.[4]
He joined the postal service as an employee, and attracted towards the trade union activism.[4] Subsequently, he joined the 'Tamil Nadu Murpokku Ezhuthalar Kalaignargal Sangam' (TMMS) and later became its state president.[4]
Tamilselvan is currently living in Sivakasi with his wife R. Vellathai, a retired Headmaster.[3] His son Siddharth lives in Chennai.[1]
Career
Initially working in the Postal Department, Tamilselvan later joined the Indian Army and served on the India-China border.[1] Later, he left the army and rejoined the Postal Department.[1]
Also a left-wing thinker affiliated with the Communist Party of India (Marxist), S. Tamilselvan also served as the state secretary and president of the progressive writers and artistes association in the state called 'Tamil Nadu Murpokku Ezhuthalar Kalaignargal Sangam' (TMMS).[5][1] He played a major role in expanding the reach of the association to all corners of the state, thereby attracting a large number of youth to the organization.[1]
He also participated in the Arivoli (meaning:Light of Knowledge) movement, traveling from village to village to create awareness about the importance of education.[1] For this, Tamilselvan wrote several pamphlets and composed several songs.[1] Eventually, he voluntarily retired from his position in the Postal Department to focus more on these movements.[1]
Tamilselvan also served as the editor of the literary magazine Semmalar.[6]