- V. Kalyanasundaram
Tiruvarir Viruttacala Kalyanasundara Mudaliyar, ( _ta. திரு வி. கல்யாணசுந்தரம்) (1883—
September 17 ,1953 ), better known by his Tamil initials Thiru Vi Ka ("Mr. V.K."), was a Tamil scholar, essayist and activist. He is esteemed for the strong humanism of his essays, the analytical depth of his commentaries on classicalTamil literature and philosophy, and the clear, fluid style of his prose. His works, along with those ofV. O. Chidambaram Pillai ,Maraimalai Adigal , and Arumuga Navalar are considered to have defined the style of modern Tamil prose.Thiru Vi. Ka was born in the village of
Tullam , nearChennai in the southernIndia n state ofTamil Nadu in 1883. He attended the Wesley College High School, and also studied Tamil underMaraimalai Adikal againstN. Kathiravel Pillai ofJaffna . He worked briefly as a teacher, and in 1917 became an editorial assistant on Tesapaktan, a nationalist Tamil daily. Thiru Vi. Ka. was soon involved in various aspects of the independence movement. During this period, he became a strong campaigner for worker rights. In 1918, he became active in thetrade union movement as an associate ofBP Wadia , and organised the first trade unions in the south of India ref_harvard|Ses|Sesaiya 1989|none.In 1920, Thiru. Vi. Ka. started the a new Tamil weekly magazine, titled "Navasakthi". Navasakthi would be the vehicle for his thoughts for much of the rest of his life. Thiru Vi. Ka. sought to make his magazine a beacon to the Tamil people. His writings reflected his political and philosophical views. He published one of the first Tamil interpretations of the thought of
Mahatma Gandhi , which is still regarded as an important milestone in Gandhian studies. He wrote a number of works on the religious and spiritual thought of Ramalinga Swamigal, an influential Tamil Saivite philosopher-saint of the 19th century. He wrote commentaries on a number of works of classical Tamil literature, which appeared as serials in Navasakthi.Over the course of his writing career, Thiru Vi. Ka. published over fifty books. These include "Manitha Vazhkkaiyum Gandhiyadigalum", a study of the implications of Gandhi's thought for human conduct. His "Pennin perumai allatu valkait tunai nalam" was one of the most read books of that period. Also very influential, albeit at a more critical level, is his study of the concept of Beauty in
Hinduism , published as "Murugan alladhu azaku"(Lord Murugan or Beauty). His writings reflect theinternationalism characteristic of Indian intellectuals of that period, a strong pride in Indian and Tamil culture, coupled with a strong belief in the unity and universal kinship of all human thought ref_harvard|Raj|Rajenthiran 1982|none.In his writings, Thiru Vi. Ka. developed a prose style which built on the inner rhythms of the Tamil language and produced a rhythmic, flowing text. The field of Tamil prose was still relatively new, and the style he developed was extremely influential. His works are today seen as having given a new energy to the Tamil language and regarded as part of the foundations on which the modern Tamil prose style has been built ref_harvard|Rag|Raghavan 1965|none.
Through this period, Thiru Vi. Ka. continued to remain active in politics and the
Indian independence struggle . He was considered to be one of the three pillars of theIndian National Congress inTamil Nadu , even becoming the President of the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee in 1926 ref_harvard|Can|Cankaran 1970|none. He spent much time touring Tamil Nadu, making speeches on the need for independence. He remained active well into his sixties, and did not retire from politics until Indian independence in 1947.Thiru Vi. Ka. died on
September 19 ,1953 at the age of 71.On
October 21 ,2005 , he was honored by being placed on a postage stamp ref_harvard|RR|Rangaraj 2005|none.References
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url= http://www.hinduonnet.com/2003/09/19/stories/2003091900680900.htm
title= datedSeptember 19 ,1953 : Death of Thiru Vi. Ka.
publisher= The Hindu
pages=
page=
date=September 19 ,2003 , originally publishedSeptember 19 ,1953
accessdate= 2006-02-09
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