Tamil Nadu: Writer Ashokamitran passes away at 86

Chennai: Ashokamitran, a giant in the Tamil literary world who shunned exaggeration like the plague in his prolific writing career, passed away here on Thursday.

Ashokamitran, 86, who was not keeping well for sometime due to age-related illness, breathed his last at around 9 pm. He is survived by wife and three sons.

Born as Thyagarajan in Secunderabad, he moved to Chennai at the age of 21 after his father passed away. After having worked at the famous Gemini Studios for more than a decade after which he took up writing as full-time career. 

Beginning his literary career with award-winning play Anbin Parisu, the legendary writer went on to write several novels and was conferred with Sahitya Academy Award.

His portrayal of Secunderabad, where he spent his childhood, in
“Pathinettavathu Atchakkodu (18th Parallel) in which he had chronicled the pre-independent and post-independent Nizam era life was evocative and masterful.  

Not just in Tamil but also in English, the legendary writer penned several novels and books, which are a treasure trove not just for his generation, but generations to come. He also edited Kanaiyazhi highly acclaimed literary magazine besides penning several award-winning and critically acclaimed books.        

Most of his works in Tamil were translated into English and several Indian and European languages in the late 1980s and his fame spread across the country.

Subtlety was the cornerstone of his writings and no contemporary Tamil writer captured the essence of middle-class life as vividly as Ashokamitran. It was a pity that his considerable talents were not enough to fetch him the coveted Gnanapeet Award.

He has written over 200 short stories, eight novels and15 novellas besides other writings. Chennai, the city that gave him a job and a prolific career, was the centerpiece of most of his writings and he had vividly captured the city in the 1960s and 1970s and its life.