Kalki was the pen name of
R. Krishnamurthy (September 9, 1899–December 5, 1954), a noted
TamilTamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
writer, film & music critic,
Indian independence activistThe term Indian independence movement encompasses a wide area of political organisations, philosophies, and movements which had the common aim of ending first British East India Company rule, and then British imperial authority, in parts of South Asia...
and
journalistA journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
from
Tamil NaduTamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
,
IndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
.
Biography
Krishnamurthy was born at Puttamangalam near
MayiladuthuraiMayiladuthurai , formerly known by its Sanskrit names Māyavaram and Mayūram is a town in the Nagapattinam District of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the headquarters of the Mayiladuthurai taluk of Nagapattinam district and is the second-largest town in the district...
in the old
Thanjavur district in an orthodox, large Brahmin family with limited means. After primary education in the village, Krishnamurthy joined the National High School at Tiruchi, about 100 kilometres away.
When
Mahatma GandhiMohandas Karamchand Gandhi , pronounced . 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948) was the pre-eminent political and ideological leader of India during the Indian independence movement...
launched his
non-cooperation movementThe non-cooperation movement was a significant phase of the Indian struggle for freedom from British rule which lasted for years. This movement, which lasted from September 1920 to February 1922 and was led by Mohandas Gandhi, and supported by the Indian National Congress. It aimed to resist...
in 1921, thousands of students gave up their studies to participate; Krishnamurthy was among them. Inspired by Gandhi's speech at a public meeting in Tiruchi, and despite the Secondary School Leaving Certificate examination being just three months away, he left school and joined the
Indian National CongressThe Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...
.
In 1922, he was given a one-year prison sentence for participating in the independence struggle. It was during this period that Krishnamurthy came into contact with two people who were to play a major role throughout his life: veteran Congress leader
C. RajagopalachariChakravarti Rajagopalachari , informally called Rajaji or C.R., was an Indian lawyer, independence activist, politician, writer and statesman. Rajagopalachari was the last Governor-General of India...
, and T.Sadasivam, who was to become a life-long friend and partner in journalistic ventures.
Krishnamurthy's first attempt at writing fiction also came during that period. In 1923 he became a sub-editor on
Navasakthi, a Tamil periodical edited by Tamil scholar and freedom fighter
V. KalyanasundaramThiruvarur Viruttacala Kalyanasundaram, , better known by his Tamil initials Thiru Vi Ka , was a Tamil scholar, essayist and activist. He is esteemed for the strong humanism of his essays, the analytical depth of his commentaries on classical Tamil literature and philosophy, and the clear, fluid...
, known as "Thiru Vi. Ka". Krishnamurthy's first book was published in 1927.
Leaving Navasakthi in 1928, Krishnamurthy stayed with
C. RajagopalachariChakravarti Rajagopalachari , informally called Rajaji or C.R., was an Indian lawyer, independence activist, politician, writer and statesman. Rajagopalachari was the last Governor-General of India...
at the Gandhi Ashram in
Tiruchengode-Location:Tiruchengode is in south India in the state of Tamil Nadu, approximately 18 km from the City of Erode, 44 km from Salem, and 35 km from Namakkal.-Major Occupations:...
in
Salem district and helped him edit
Vimochanam, a Tamil journal devoted to propagating prohibition. In 1931, he was again imprisoned for six months.
Next year Krishnamurthy joined
Ananda VikatanAnanda Vikatan ஆனந்த விகடன் is the leading Tamil language weekly magazine published from Chennai, India. It is part of the Vikatan group which also publishes Junior Vikatan , Chutti Vikatan , Aval Vikatan , Naanayam Vikatan , Sakthi Vikatan , Motor Vikatan and Pasumai Vikatan Ananda Vikatan ஆனந்த...
, a weekly edited and published by
S. S. Vasan Subramaniam Srinivasan , popularly known by his screen name S. S. Vasan, was anIndian journalist, writer, advertiser, film producer, director and business tycoon...
, as its de facto editor. The magazine soon became a household name in middle class families. Krishnamurthy's witty, incisive comments on politics, literature, music and other forms of art were looked forward to with unceasing interest by readers. He wrote under the pen names of "Kalki", "Ra. Ki", "Tamil Theni", "Karnatakam" ,and so on. Vikatan published many of his short stories and novels (as serials).
The name
Kalki denotes the impending tenth
AvatarIn Hinduism, an avatar is a deliberate descent of a deity to earth, or a descent of the Supreme Being and is mostly translated into English as "incarnation," but more accurately as "appearance" or "manifestation"....
of Lord
VishnuVishnu is the Supreme god in the Vaishnavite tradition of Hinduism. Smarta followers of Adi Shankara, among others, venerate Vishnu as one of the five primary forms of God....
in the
HinduHindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
religion, who it is said, will bring to an end the
Kali YugaKali Yuga is the last of the four stages that the world goes through as part of the cycle of yugas described in the Indian scriptures. The other ages are Satya Yuga, Treta Yuga and Dvapara Yuga...
and reinstate
DharmaDharma means Law or Natural Law and is a concept of central importance in Indian philosophy and religion. In the context of Hinduism, it refers to one's personal obligations, calling and duties, and a Hindu's dharma is affected by the person's age, caste, class, occupation, and gender...
or righteoueness among the worldly beings. He used the name because like the Avatar he wanted to bring about great changes, and also in honor of his mentor
Kalyana Sundaram MudaliarThiruvarur Viruttacala Kalyanasundaram, , better known by his Tamil initials Thiru Vi Ka , was a Tamil scholar, essayist and activist. He is esteemed for the strong humanism of his essays, the analytical depth of his commentaries on classical Tamil literature and philosophy, and the clear, fluid...
, taking the "Kal" from his name and the "Ki" from his own. He is often referred to as "Kalki Krishnamurthy" or simply "Kalki".
In 1941 he left Ananda Vikatan and rejoined the freedom struggle and courted arrest. On his release after three months he and Sadasivam started the weekly,
Kalki. He was its editor until his death on December 5, 1954. In 1956, he was awarded the
Sahitya Akademi AwardSahitya Akademi Award is a literary honor in India which Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, annually confers on writers of outstanding works in one of the following twenty-four major Indian languagesAssamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri, English, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri,...
posthumously for his novel
Alai Osai.
Historical novels
| Serial | Name | Comments |
| 1 |
Ponniyin SelvanPonniyin Selvan is a 2400 page 20th-century Tamil historical novel written by Kalki Krishnamurthy. Written in 5 volumes, this narrates the story of Arulmozhivarman , one of the kings of the Chola Dynasty during the 10th-11th century CE period.-Historical background:Ponniyin Selvan is a historical...
(1950–1955) |
About Chola Dynasty |
| 2 |
Sivagamiyin Sabadham Sivagamiyin sabatham is a Tamil historical novel written by Kalki in 1944. Believed by some to be one of the first historical novels in Tamil it was originally serialized in the weekly Kalki for about 12 years. This was later published as a novel...
(1944) |
About Pallava Dynasty |
| 3 |
Parthiban Kanavu Parthiban Kanavu is a famous Tamil novel written by Kalki Krishnamurthy.-Plot summary:This novel deals with the attempts of the son of Chola king Parthiban, Vikraman, to attain independence from the Pallava ruler, Narasimhavarman.The Cholas remain vassals of the Pallavas...
(1941) |
About Chola Dynasty |
| 4 |
Solaimalai Ilavarasi (1947) |
About Independence of India |
Social novels
- Kalvanin Kaadhali (1937)
- Thiyaga Bhoomi (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
| Serial | Name | Comments |
| 1 |
Subhathraiyin Sagodharan |
|
| 2 |
Otrai Roja |
The Story is about two strangers (an young man and a young women) who meets up in a train from Tirunelveli to Chennai. The woman is from Sri Lanka (who have come to Tamil Nadu) and the man is from Madras. They have failed in their exams and plans to end their life. But life takes a turn when their paths cross and ends up well. |
| 3 |
Theepiditha Kudisaigal |
|
| 4 |
Pudhu Ovarsiyar |
|
| 5 |
Vasdhadhu Venu |
|
| 6 |
Amara Vazhvu |
|
| 7 |
Sunduvin Sanyasam |
|
| 8 |
Thirudan Magan Thirudan |
|
| 9 |
Imayamalai Engal Malai |
|
| 10 |
Pongumaangkadal |
|
| 11 |
Master Medhuvadai |
|
| 12 |
Pushpa Pallaaku |
|
| 13 |
Prabala Nakchatiram |
|
| 14 |
Pithalai Ottiyanam |
|
| 15 |
Arunachalathin Aluval |
|
| 16 |
Parisil Thurai |
|
| 17 |
Susila MA |
|
| 18 |
Kamalavin Kalyanam |
|
| 19 |
Tharkolai |
|
| 20 |
S.S.Menaka |
|
| 21 |
Saradhaiyin Thandhiram |
|
| 22 |
Governor Vijayam |
|
| 23 |
Kanaiyazhiyin Kanavu |
|
| 24 |
Banker Vinayakarao |
|
Critical work
Kalki was also a film and music critic who wrote under the pseudonym
Karnatakam. He also penned many songs and lyrics, most of which were adapted into
Carnatic MusicCarnatic music is a system of music commonly associated with the southern part of the Indian subcontinent, with its area roughly confined to four modern states of India: Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu...
.
Biographies of Kalki
- Ponniyin puthalvar by sunda, Vanathi Pathipagam
- Amarar Kalki by anusha venkatesh, The Avenue Press
- oray roja
External links