Nakulan
Encyclopedia
T. K. Doraiswamy also known by his pen name
Nakulan, was an Indian poet, professor
of English, novelist, translator and short fiction writer, who wrote both in Tamil
and English, and is known for his surrealism and experimentation as well as free verse
. He served as Professor of English, Mar Ivanios College
, Thiruvananthapuram
for four decades.
During his literary career which started in his forties, when he started writing in Ezhuthu, a literary magazine founded by C. S. Chellappa
, he wrote a novel and six books of poems in English, and nine novels and five books of poems in Tamil. His English work was mostly published under his real name, while Tamil works often appeared under his pen name. He also wrote briefly under the pen name, S. Nayar(sp?). His symbolic novel Ninaivup Patai Nilakal (1972) is considered a milestone in Tamil literature
and established him as an avant garde novelist . His other notable works in Tamil include, Nizhalgal, Naykal, Naveenante Diary Kurippukal, Ezhuthu Kavithaikal, Iruneenda Kavithaikal, Antha Manchal Nira Poonaikutty, and in English, Words to the Wind, 'Non-Being' and 'A Tamil Writer's Journal' .
He received the Asan Memorial Award for Tamil Poetry in 1983.
, in Thanjavur district
, Tamil Nadu
, Prof. Doraiswamy moved to Thiruvananthapuram
at age 14.
Later he completed his M.A.
in Tamil from Annamalai University
, followed by M.A. in English from University of Kerala . He had an M.Phil. in Literature on Virginia Woolf
's work.
rather than influenced by writers like Anaïs Nin
.
His only novel in English was called "Words for the Wind." (1973). His English poetry collections include "Words to the Listening Air," "Non - Being" and "A Tamil Writer's Journal I, II and III". He wrote a long poem in English called "Raja Vembala." His short stories were frequently published by Pritish Nandy in the Illustrated Weekly of India. He has translated James Joyce
, T.S Eliot and K. Ayyappa Paniker, to name just a few. His best translation work may be the book "The Little Sparrow" in which he devotes himself entirely to the great Subramanya Bharathi's writing.
Although the influence of James Joyce
was pronounced in his writings, it was more the metaphysical and religious thrust similar to T. S. Eliot
's and the spareness of style of a Samuel Beckett
that really made his works stand out. He was definitely a late Modernist moving into the realm of Post-Modernism. He never compromised in his writing or his life on what was expected of an artist.
He retired as Professor of English, Mar Ivanios College
, Thiruvananthapuram
(University of Kerala) after serving for four decades , and started full-time freelance writing. His best known novels are Ninaivu Pathai, Naaikal (Dogs) and Vaakku Moolam (Confession).
He was awarded the Asan Memorial Award for Tamil Poetry in 1983, and several other literary awards.
, at the ripe old age of 86. He had looked after his parents till they died and so their domestic help Purthai took care of him till the very end.
Tamil
Pen name
A pen name, nom de plume, or literary double, is a pseudonym adopted by an author. A pen name may be used to make the author's name more distinctive, to disguise his or her gender, to distance an author from some or all of his or her works, to protect the author from retribution for his or her...
Nakulan, was an Indian poet, professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
of English, novelist, translator and short fiction writer, who wrote both in 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...
and English, and is known for his surrealism and experimentation as well as free verse
Free verse
Free verse is a form of poetry that refrains from consistent meter patterns, rhyme, or any other musical pattern.Poets have explained that free verse, despite its freedom, is not free. Free Verse displays some elements of form...
. He served as Professor of English, Mar Ivanios College
Mar Ivanios College
Mar Ivanios College is an educational institutuion situated in Trivandrum, the capital city of Kerala, India. The college is located on a small scenic hilltop with a sprawling campus area of hundreds of acres in Bethany Hills, Nalanchira, Thiruvananthapuram....
, Thiruvananthapuram
Thiruvananthapuram
Thiruvananthapuram , formerly known as Trivandrum, is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala and the headquarters of the Thiruvananthapuram District. It is located on the west coast of India near the extreme south of the mainland...
for four decades.
During his literary career which started in his forties, when he started writing in Ezhuthu, a literary magazine founded by C. S. Chellappa
C. S. Chellappa
Cinnamanur Subramaniam Chellappa was a Tamil writer, journalist and Indian independence movement activist. He belonged to the "Manikodi" literary movement along with Pudhumaipithan, Ku Pa Ra, Va. Ramasamy, N. Pichamurthy and A. N. Sivaraman...
, he wrote a novel and six books of poems in English, and nine novels and five books of poems in Tamil. His English work was mostly published under his real name, while Tamil works often appeared under his pen name. He also wrote briefly under the pen name, S. Nayar(sp?). His symbolic novel Ninaivup Patai Nilakal (1972) is considered a milestone in Tamil literature
Tamil literature
Tamil literature refers to the literature in the Tamil language. Tamil literature has a rich and long literary tradition spanning more than two thousand years. The oldest extant works show signs of maturity indicating an even longer period of evolution...
and established him as an avant garde novelist . His other notable works in Tamil include, Nizhalgal, Naykal, Naveenante Diary Kurippukal, Ezhuthu Kavithaikal, Iruneenda Kavithaikal, Antha Manchal Nira Poonaikutty, and in English, Words to the Wind, 'Non-Being' and 'A Tamil Writer's Journal' .
He received the Asan Memorial Award for Tamil Poetry in 1983.
Early life and education
Born in 1921, in KumbakonamKumbakonam
Kumbakonam , also spelt as Coombaconum in the records of British India , is a town and a special grade municipality in the Thanjavur district in the southeast Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Located 40 kilometres from Thanjavur and 272 kilometres from Chennai, it is the headquarters of the Kumbakonam...
, in Thanjavur district
Thanjavur District
Thanjavur District is one of the 32 districts of the state of Tamil Nadu, in southeastern India. Its headquarters is Thanjavur.-Geography:...
, Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu
Tamil 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...
, Prof. Doraiswamy moved to Thiruvananthapuram
Thiruvananthapuram
Thiruvananthapuram , formerly known as Trivandrum, is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala and the headquarters of the Thiruvananthapuram District. It is located on the west coast of India near the extreme south of the mainland...
at age 14.
Later he completed his M.A.
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
in Tamil from Annamalai University
Annamalai University
Annamalai University is a Public University located in Annamalai Nagar, Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu, India. The university offers courses of higher education in arts, sciences and engineering.The university also provides around 380 courses under distance mode...
, followed by M.A. in English from University of Kerala . He had an M.Phil. in Literature on Virginia Woolf
Virginia Woolf
Adeline Virginia Woolf was an English author, essayist, publisher, and writer of short stories, regarded as one of the foremost modernist literary figures of the twentieth century....
's work.
Career
He started serious writing only in 1960s, and was encouraged in pursuing the art by his good friend Kaa Naa Subramoniam. Many of Nakulan's students acknowledge that he initiated them into the art of writing good poetry. He was widely read. He quietly influenced countless writers and artists who visited his house at Golf Links, Kaudiar, and had discussions with him, especially the young ones. Equally distinguished as a poet, translator, critic, anthologist, novelist and short fiction writer, his publications include a novel and six books of poems in English and nine novels and five books of poems in Tamil. His alter-ego Naveenan in his Tamil novels stands out as a modernist anti-hero who was perhaps the first of his kind in Tamil literature. He was one of the first writers to attempt techniques like stream of consciousness in Tamil literature ably. His use of the diary form in his novels like " Naveenan's Diary Jottings" was based on his admiration for the spirituality, philosophy and theology of the twentieth century (modern) mystic Simone WeilSimone Weil
Simone Weil , was a French philosopher, Christian mystic, and social activist.-Biography:Weil was born in Paris to Alsatian agnostic Jewish parents who fled the annexation of Alsace-Lorraine to Germany. She grew up in comfortable circumstances, and her father was a doctor. Her only sibling was...
rather than influenced by writers like Anaïs Nin
Anaïs Nin
Anaïs Nin was a French-Cuban author, based at first in France and later in the United States, who published her journals, which span more than 60 years, beginning when she was 11 years old and ending shortly before her death, her erotic literature, and short stories...
.
His only novel in English was called "Words for the Wind." (1973). His English poetry collections include "Words to the Listening Air," "Non - Being" and "A Tamil Writer's Journal I, II and III". He wrote a long poem in English called "Raja Vembala." His short stories were frequently published by Pritish Nandy in the Illustrated Weekly of India. He has translated James Joyce
James Joyce
James Augustine Aloysius Joyce was an Irish novelist and poet, considered to be one of the most influential writers in the modernist avant-garde of the early 20th century...
, T.S Eliot and K. Ayyappa Paniker, to name just a few. His best translation work may be the book "The Little Sparrow" in which he devotes himself entirely to the great Subramanya Bharathi's writing.
Although the influence of James Joyce
James Joyce
James Augustine Aloysius Joyce was an Irish novelist and poet, considered to be one of the most influential writers in the modernist avant-garde of the early 20th century...
was pronounced in his writings, it was more the metaphysical and religious thrust similar to T. S. Eliot
T. S. Eliot
Thomas Stearns "T. S." Eliot OM was a playwright, literary critic, and arguably the most important English-language poet of the 20th century. Although he was born an American he moved to the United Kingdom in 1914 and was naturalised as a British subject in 1927 at age 39.The poem that made his...
's and the spareness of style of a Samuel Beckett
Samuel Beckett
Samuel Barclay Beckett was an Irish avant-garde novelist, playwright, theatre director, and poet. He wrote both in English and French. His work offers a bleak, tragicomic outlook on human nature, often coupled with black comedy and gallows humour.Beckett is widely regarded as among the most...
that really made his works stand out. He was definitely a late Modernist moving into the realm of Post-Modernism. He never compromised in his writing or his life on what was expected of an artist.
He retired as Professor of English, Mar Ivanios College
Mar Ivanios College
Mar Ivanios College is an educational institutuion situated in Trivandrum, the capital city of Kerala, India. The college is located on a small scenic hilltop with a sprawling campus area of hundreds of acres in Bethany Hills, Nalanchira, Thiruvananthapuram....
, Thiruvananthapuram
Thiruvananthapuram
Thiruvananthapuram , formerly known as Trivandrum, is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala and the headquarters of the Thiruvananthapuram District. It is located on the west coast of India near the extreme south of the mainland...
(University of Kerala) after serving for four decades , and started full-time freelance writing. His best known novels are Ninaivu Pathai, Naaikal (Dogs) and Vaakku Moolam (Confession).
He was awarded the Asan Memorial Award for Tamil Poetry in 1983, and several other literary awards.
Personal life
He was a bachelor. He died on 17 May 2007, at ThiruvananthapuramThiruvananthapuram
Thiruvananthapuram , formerly known as Trivandrum, is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala and the headquarters of the Thiruvananthapuram District. It is located on the west coast of India near the extreme south of the mainland...
, at the ripe old age of 86. He had looked after his parents till they died and so their domestic help Purthai took care of him till the very end.
Works
English- Words to the Wind. Writers Workshop, 1973. (as T.K. Doraiswamy)
- Routes of Evanescence: a cycle of poems. Samkaleen Prakashan, 1981.
- That Little Sparrow: poems from Subramanya Bharati, with Paratiyar. Zha Publications, 1982.
- A Tamil Writer's Journal I & II. Publisher: T.K. Duraiswamy, 1984.
- Words to the Listening Air. Atri Publishers.
- Non- Being
Tamil
- Nillakal. Publisher Tamilp Puttakalayam, 1965.
- Kurukshetram: oru ilakkiyat tokuppu. Publisher Vir̲panai urimai, Tamil̲ Puttakālayam, 1968.
- Ninaivup patai. Publisher Tas Puk Centar, 1972.
- Nāykal. Publisher Turaicāmi, 1974.
- Navinaan tayari: naval. Publisher Ilakkiyac Kankam, 1978.
- Mūnru: kavitaikal. Publisher Turaicami, 1979.
- Aintu: kavitaikal. Publisher T.K. Doraiswamy, 1981.
- Kotstānt kavitaikal. Publisher La Veliyitu, 1981.
- Ivarkal. Publisher Narmata, 1983.
- Curuti. Publisher Tarani Patippakam, 1987.
- Gramam: nōval. Publisher Sahityapr̲avarttaka Sahakaranasangham, 1991.
- Iru ninta kavitaikal. Publisher Virutcam, 1991.
- Vakkumulam. 1992.
- Nakulan̲ kataikal. Kavya, 1998.
- Nakulan kavitaikal (Selected poems). Ed. Kutalaimuttu Kanmukacuntaram. Publisher Kavyā, 2001.
- Nakulan̲ katturaikal. Publisher Kavya, 2002.
- Kannadiyahum kangal, ed. R. R. Srinivasan. Kāvyā, 2006.
- Nakulan Novelkal — Collection of Eight Novels of Nakulan. Kaavya, 2006.