Lakshmi Holmström
Encyclopedia
Lakshmi Holmström MBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...

  is an India
India
India , 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...

n-born British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 writer, literary critic and translator of Tamil
Tamil language
Tamil 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...

 fiction into English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

. Her most prominent works have been her translations of short stories and novels of the contemporary writers in Tamil like Mauni, Pudhumaipithan
Pudhumaipithan
Pudhumaipithan also spelt as Pudumaipithan or Puthumaippiththan, is the pseudonym of C. Viruthachalam , one of the most influential and revolutionary writers of Tamil fiction. His works were characterized by social satire, progressive thinking and outspoken criticism of accepted conventions...

, Ashoka Mitran
Ashoka Mitran
Ashokamitran is one of the most influential figures in post-independent Tamil literature. He began his literary career with the prize winning play "Anbin Parisu", followed by many short stories, novellas and novels. A distinguished essayist and critic, he is the editor of the literary journal...

, Sundara Ramasami
Sundara Ramasami
Sundara Ramasamy , fondly known as "Su.Ra" in literary circles, is one of the giants of Tamil modern literature. He edited and published a notable literary magazine called Kalachuvadu. He wrote poetry under the penname "Pasuvayya". His poetry collection Nadunisi Naaykal created waves in Tamil...

, C. S. Lakshmi
C. S. Lakshmi
C. S. Lakshmi is a Tamil feminist writer and independent researcher in women's studies from India. She writes under the pseudonym Ambai .-Personal life:...

, Baama and Imayam. She obtained her undergraduate degree in English Literature from the University of Madras
University of Madras
The University of Madras is a public research university in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. It is one of the three oldest universities in India...

 and her post graduate degree from University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...

. Her post graduate work was on the works of R. K. Narayan
R. K. Narayan
R. K. Narayan , shortened from Rasipuram Krishnaswami Iyer Narayanaswami Tamil: ) , Madras Presidency, British India. His father was a school headmaster, and Narayan did some of his studies at his father's school...

. She is the founder-trustee of SALIDAA (South Asian Diaspora Literature and Arts Archive) - an organisation for archiving the works of British writers and artists of South Asian origin. She currently lives in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

.

She was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2011 New Year Honours for services to literature.

Awards and Scholarships

  • Vodafone-Crossword prize (in the Indian language fiction translation category) for Karukku - 2000
  • Vodafone-Crossword prize (in the Indian language fiction translation category) for In a Forest, A Deer - 2006
  • Iyal Virudhu (Lifetime Achievement Award) awarded by the Canada based Tamil Literary Garden - 2007
  • Fellow, The Royal Literary Fund
    Royal Literary Fund
    The Royal Literary Fund is a benevolent fund set up to help published British writers in financial difficulties. It was founded by Reverend David Williams in 1790 and has received bequests and donations, including royal patronage, ever since...

     at University of East Anglia
    University of East Anglia
    The University of East Anglia is a public research university based in Norwich, United Kingdom. It was established in 1963, and is a founder-member of the 1994 Group of research-intensive universities.-History:...

    , 2003–06
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