Va. Ra. (Va. Ramasamy) (1889-1951) Va. Ramasasmay Alyangar who is fondly called Va. Ra. was born in a small village called Thingalur in Thanjavur district. He was a novelist, dramatist, biographer, essayist, journalist and a good translator. He was the prime disciple of Bharati. He followed revolutionary ideas both in his words and action. He portrayed patriotism, women's rights, freedom and the greatness of Tamil language in his creative works which he held as his basic principles. He wrote in a simple style which can be understood even by a common man.
Su. Venkataraman (b. 1948) is a retired professor and was Head of Tamil Department, Madurai Kamaraj University. He has 32 published books to his credit including Enrum Ulla Tamil, Araiyar Sevai, Tamil Valartha Vainavam, Thennindhiya Kovilgal (Translation), Tamil Ilakkiyangalil Vainavam (Translation), Va. Ra Madhavaiya (monograph), and Thirugnanasambandhar (monograph). He was also an executive member of Central Institute of Classical Tamil, Ministry of HRD, Government of India.
S. Vincent (b. 1939) is a retired professor of English. He has translated more than thirty books from English to Tamil. He has brought out Muthumai Inimai, Nadine Gordimer, Valarga Uyarga and Edgar Alan Poe in Tamil and English translations of contemporary Tamil poems and the short stories of Kumarananthan. With Dr. Lawrence he has translated Veeramamunivar's Paramartha Guruvin Kathai and Mayuram Vedanayakam Pillai's Prathaba Mudaliar Charithiram (the first novel in Tamil) into English. Other important books translated by him are Paulo Coelho's Fifth Mountain, Ivan Illich's Deschooling Society and Dostoevsky's The Idiot.
As directed by Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi this monograph on Va. Ramasamy's (Va. Ra.) literary works and his personal qualities was written with the intention of helping the reader understand him and appreciate his works. Va. Ra. was not only a good novelist but also a biographer and an essayist. He was also a journalist who had worked in more than ten journals. He was an efficient translator and introduced to Tamil readers a new genre, namely, pen sketches and also a fantasy utopian novel. He was a good speaker as well. Above all he was a social reformer who practised what he preached. He actively participated in the Freedom struggle. It is not possible to estimate Va. Ra.'s personality or his literary contribution fully in this short monograph. However this short book is written to make him understood by common readers and to introduce a pioneer in Tamil renaissance prose of the twentieth century, as one of the architects of modern Indian literature.
Following in the foot steps of Mahakavi Bharati, Va. Ra. also continued to express his ideas on national freedom, social change, liberation of women and greatness of Tamil language.
Patriotism and humanism are the undertones of Va. Ra.'s writings. I express my appreciation and gratitude to Sahitya Akademi which asked me to write this monograph as a first step in introducing such a great writer as Va. Ra. to people of other Indian languages.
**Contents and Sample Pages**
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