, birth_name = Ramasamy Aiyer Krishnamurthy , birth_date = , birth_place = Puthamangalam, near Manalmedu , death_date = , death_place =

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 th ...

, India , occupation = journalist, critic and writer , nationality = Indian , education = High School , alma_mater =Municipal High School, Mayiladuthurai & National High School,

Tiruchi Tiruchirappalli () ( formerly Trichinopoly in English), also called Tiruchi or Trichy, is a major tier II city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Tiruchirappalli district. The city is credited with bein ...

, period = 1899–1954 , genre = Historic fiction, social fiction , notableworks =''

Ponniyin Selvan ''Ponniyin Selvan'' () is a historical fiction novel by Indian author Kalki Krishnamurthy, written in Tamil. It was first serialized in the weekly editions of ''Kalki'', a Tamil magazine, from 29 October 1950 to 16 May 1954 and later integrat ...

'', '' Shangeeth Oru Bean'', ''

Sivagamiyin Sapatham ''Sivagamiyin Sapatham'' ( ta, சிவகாமியின் சபதம், ', , literally 'The vow of Sivagami') is a Tamil historical novel written by Kalki, first serialized in kalki during January 1944 June 1946, and published as a ...

'', ''

Thyaga Bhoomi ''Thyaga Bhoomi'' () is a 1939 Indian Tamil-language film directed and produced by K. Subramanyam. Starring K. J. Mahadevan and S.D.Subbalakshmi, the film was produced at the height of India's freedom movement and glorified Mahatma Gandhi and h ...

'', ''

Parthiban Kanavu '' Parthiban Kanavu '' ( ta, பார்த்திபன் கனவு, , lit. Parthiban's dream) is a Tamil novel written by Kalki Krishnamurthy. Details Adapted in 1960 into a film of the same name, starring Gemini Ganesan and Vyjaya ...

'', '' Alai Osai'', '' Kalvanin Kadhali'' , children = Kalki Rajendran
& Anandi Ramachandran , spouse = Rukmani , awards =

Sahitya Akademi Award The Sahitya Akademi Award is a literary honour in India, which the Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, annually confers on writers of the most outstanding books of literary merit published in any of the 22 languages of the ...

for '' Alai Osai'' Ramaswamy Krishnamurthy (9 September 1899 – 5 December 1954), better known by his pen name Kalki, was an Indian writer, journalist, poet, critic and Indian independence activist who wrote in

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...

. He chose the pen-name "

Kalki Kalki ( sa, कल्कि), also called Kalkin or Karki, is the prophesied tenth and final incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu. He is described to appear in order to end the Kali Yuga, one of the four periods in the endless cycle of exist ...

", the future incarnation of the

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

God

Vishnu Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism. Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" within t ...

. He founded a magazine, which was also named ''

'', with T Sadasivam being the co-founder, in 1941. Krishnamurthy‘s writings include over 120 short stories, 10 novellas, 5 novels, 3 historical romances, editorial and political writings and hundreds of film and music reviews.

Early life

Ramaswamy Krishnamurthy was born in a Brahmin family on 9 September 1899 in Puthamangalam, near Manalmedu, in

Mayiladuthurai district Mayiladuthurai district is one of the 38 List of districts of Tamil Nadu, districts of the state of Tamil Nadu in India. The district headquarters is located at Mayiladuthurai. Geography The district is bounded on the north by Cuddalore di ...

in the Indian state of

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is 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 India ...

. Krishnamurthy's father was Ramaswamy Aiyar, an accountant in Puttamangalam village in the old

Tanjore 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 Gr ...

district of erstwhile Madras Presidency. He began his primary education in his village school and later attended Municipal High School in

Mayavaram Mayiladuthurai (formerly known as Mayavaram or Mayuram) is a town and district headquarter of Mayiladuthurai district in Tamil Nadu, India. The town is located at a distance of from the state capital, Chennai. Mayiladuthurai was ruled by Mediev ...

but quit in 1921, just short of completion of his Senior School Leaving Certificate, in response to

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

's 1921 call for non-co-operation joining the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Em ...

instead. His son Kalki Rajendran was married to Sadasivam's daughter Vijaya. And Krishnamurthy's daughter Anandi was married to Sadasivam's nephew (sister's son) Ramachandran, known as Ambi in music circles. Anandi's daughter Gowri Ramanarayanan was a music critic for The Hindu newspaper, and she also learned music under M S Subbulakshmi.

Literary work

Krishnamurthy started writing fiction stories in ''Navaskthi'' in 1923 where he worked as a sub editor. He was working under the tutelage of

Thiru Vi Ka Thiruvarur Viruttachala Kalyanasundaram (Thiruvarur Virudhachala Kalyanasundaram : 26 August 1883 – 17 September 1953), better known by his Tamil initials Thiru. Vi. Ka, was a Tamil scholar, essayist and activist. The analytical depth ...

when he published his first book in 1927. He started working with

C Rajagopalachari Chakravarti Rajagopalachari (10 December 1878 – 25 December 1972), popularly known as Rajaji or C.R., also known as Mootharignar Rajaji (Rajaji'', the Scholar Emeritus''), was an Indian statesman, writer, lawyer, and independence activis ...

in Thiruchengode in Gandhi Ashram. He published ''Vimochanam'' along with ''Rajaji'', a journal propogating liquor prohibition. He was working in freedom struggle and during 1931, he was jailed for six months. He joined ''Ananda Vikatan'', a popular Tamil magazine along with editor S S Vasan. He became very popular as a critic, witty author, political commentator and short story writer. He wrote under various pen names like "Kalki", "Ra. Ki", "Tamil Theni" and "Karnatkam". He left ''Ananda Vikatan'' and joined freedom struggle in 1941. On his release, he and Sadasivam started a weekly named ''Kalki''. He was the editor in the journal till his death on 5 December 1954

Bibliography

Historical novels

Social novels (Tamil)

* '' Kalvanin Kadhali (1937)'' * ''

(1938–1939)'' * ''Magudapathi (1942)'' * ''Abalayin kaneer (1947)'' * '' Alai Osai (1948)'' * ''Devagiyin Kanavan (1950)'' * ''Mohini Theevu (1950)'' * ''Poiman Karadu (1951)'' * ''Punnaivanathu Puli (1952)'' * ''Amara Thara (1954)''

Short stories

Critical work

Krishnamurthy was also a film and music critic, writing under the pseudonym "Karnatkam". He also penned lyrics for many songs, most of which were adapted into

Carnatic Music Carnatic music, known as or in the Dravidian languages, South Indian languages, is a system of music commonly associated with South India, including the modern Indian states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, an ...

Honours

* The release of a postage stamp in honour of Krishnamurthy was among the highlights of the centenary celebrations.

Government of Tamil Nadu Government of Tamil Nadu is the subnational government for the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is seated at Fort St George, Chennai. The legislature of Tamil Nadu was bicameral until 1986, when it was replaced by a unicameral legislature, lik ...

announced the nationalisation of Krishnamurthy‘s works, this will enable publishers to produce reprints of his works. * Krishnamuthy had the

Sangeetha Kalasikhamani Sangeetha Kalasikhamani or Sangita Kalasikhamani (Sanskrit: saṅgītakalāśikhāmaṇi) (sangeetha = music, kala = art, sikhamaṇi = A gem of a diadem or crest) is the title awarded yearly to an expert Carnatic music Carnatic music, kno ...

award conferred on him by The Indian Fine Arts Society in 1953.

Death

Krishnamurthy died in Chennai on 5 December 1954 aged 55 years from

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

. ''Kalki'' magazine's special issue for Annai Sarada Devi, dated the day Krishnamurthy died, was his last editorial work. The magazine shared the information that his health was improving prior to his demise.Sri Ramakrishna Vijayam December 2014 page 36,37
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Legacy

Veteran actor and former

Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu The chief minister of Tamil Nadu is the chief executive of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. In accordance with the Constitution of India, the governor is a state's ''de jure'' head, but ''de facto'' executive authority rests with th ...

M. G. Ramachandran Maruthur Gopalan Ramachandran (17 January 1917 24 December 1987), also popularly known as M.G.R., was an Indian politician, actor, philanthropist, and filmmaker who served as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu from 1977 until his death in 1987 ...

(M.G.R.), actor-turned-politician

Kamal Haasan Kamal Haasan (born 7 November 1954) is an Indian actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, playback singer, television presenter and politician who works mainly in Tamil cinema and has also appeared in some Telugu, Malayalam, Hindi, Kannada and Bengali l ...

and director

Mani Ratnam Gopala Ratnam Subramaniam (born 2 June 1956), known professionally as Mani Ratnam, is an Indian film director, screenwriter, and producer who predominantly works in Tamil cinema and few Hindi, Telugu and Kannada films. Ratnam has won six Nat ...

tried to adapt Krishnamurthy's novel ''

'' into a film at different times, but only Mani Ratnam succeeded. The first part of Mani Ratnam's two-part film was released on 30 September 2022 as '' Ponniyin Selvan: I''.

Biographies of Kalki

* ''Ponniyin Puthalvar'' by Sunda * ''Amarar Kalki'' * ''Oray Roja''

References

External links

Kalki's ''Ponniyin Selvan'' (Tamil)
Wikisource (Unicode)

Chennailibrary.com (in Tamil)
''Ponniyin Selvan'' Facts and Fiction
ponniyinselvan.in
English translation by Nandini Vijayaraghavan of ''Sivakamiyin Sabadham''English Translation by Indra Neelameggham of Ponniyin Selvan
{{DEFAULTSORT:Krishnamurthy, Kalki Tamil-language writers Children's writers in Tamil Indian male novelists 1899 births 1954 deaths 20th-century deaths from tuberculosis Tuberculosis deaths in India Tamil dramatists and playwrights Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Award in Tamil People from Mayiladuthurai district Tamil journalists Indian independence activists from Tamil Nadu Journalists from Tamil Nadu 20th-century Indian novelists 20th-century Indian poets Indian male dramatists and playwrights Novelists from Tamil Nadu 20th-century Indian journalists Poets from Tamil Nadu Indian male poets 20th-century Indian male writers