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Ilankaiyarkon

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இந்தப் பக்கத்தை தமிழில் வாசிக்க: இலங்கையர்கோன்

Ilankaiyarkon
Velli Padharasam

Ilankaiyarkon (T. Sivagnanasundaram) (September 6, 1915 - October 14, 1961) was one of the short story pioneers of Sri Lankan Tamil literature tradition. In addition, Ilankaiyarkon contributed for the literary reviews and plays.

Birth, Studies

Ilankaiyarkon (birth name T. Sivagnanasundaram) was born on September 6, 1915 at Earlalai, Jaffna. Ilankaiyarkon completed the matriculation and cleared the Intermediate exam in Economics conducted by London Recruitment Board. Ilankaiyarkon finally graduated from the Sri Lanka Law College.

Private Life

Ilankaiyarkon practiced as a lawyer for a brief period. Ilankaiyarkon also worked as a Divisional Revenue Officer in Trincomalee.

Ilankaiyarkon married Chellamma in 1936.

Literary Life

Ilankaiyarkon began his writing at the age of eighteen years. Ilankaiyarkon initially translated modern short stories from English to Tamil. It provided him training on short story format. Ilankaiyarkon's first story Maria Magdalene [1] was published in 1938 in Kalaimagal magazine, Tamil Nadu. Ilankaiyarkon continued to write in magazines like Elakesari. His stories such as Velli Padharasam[2] (Silver Mercury), Manitha Kurangu (Ape), Chakravakam, Machal[3], Naadodi, Vanjam (Deceit), Kadarkarai Kilanchals (Beach Clams), etc., were of pioneering in the Eelam short story tradition.

Ilankaiyarkon was influenced by Ku. Pa. Rajagopalan’s writings. Ilankaiyarkon penned subtilty of relationship between men and women similar to Ku. Pa. Rajagopalan. Ilankaiyarkon had the style of carrying stories through conversations. The stories were inherently serene. Kalaimagal Editor Ki. Va. Jagannathan offered the foreword for his first collection of stories Velli Padharasam. Critics like V. Ramasamy Iyengar and K. N. Subramaniam in Tamil Nadu noted him as a rare writer. Literary magazines like Manikkodi, Sooravali, Saraswathi and Sakthi published his stories. However, Ilankaiyarkon was recognized only in a small circle of active readers of modern literature in Tamil Nadu. In Sri Lanka, Ilankaiyarkon was largely overlooked and not highlighted by any one.

Ilankaiyarkon became involved in writing plays in latter part of his writing career. His plays like Patchonthi (Chameleon) and London Kandaiya were staged and well received. But these plays were not of the literary caliber as that of his stories.

Death

Ilankaiyarkon passed away at the age of 46 on October,14 1961.

Literary Significance

Though there are many pioneering writers in Sri Lanka, the stories written by Ilankaiyarkon still outshine them in subtilty and beauty. His writings express the most subtle inner feelings, and are solely poetic in nature. Velli Padharasam story is an example, written at his young age, where Ilankaiyarkon leaves what the devil is, to the imagination of readers. In this, a fiery image that appears in our imagination, rises and falls suddenly is one of the exceptional best short stories ever written in the world.

However, Ilankaiyarkon did not provide attention to short stories. Ilankaiyarkon's short stories left unnoticed in Sri Lanka, and he was recognized only in a small circle of active readers of modern literature in Tamil Nadu. So Ilankaiyarkon did not continue on short stories and his attention turned to the plays. His early death also limited his literary contributions. However, the Velli Padharasam is one of the most important volumes of Tamil literature.

Eelam literary environment was soon subjugated by political and social issues. Works that speak of political-social thoughts directly were only noticed by readers and admired by critics. Since direct commentary inevitably became the nature of Eelam literary tendency, Ilankaiyarkon was not noticed or followed even later. "If Ilankaiyarkon contributed a lot and received literary acceptance from readers and critics in the Eelam context, this would have replicated in Sri Lanka the short story revival created by Manikkodi magazine in Tamil Nadu" said Jeyamohan.

Books

Ilankaiyarkon books are in digital library[4]

Short Stories
  • Velli Padharasam
Plays
  • Patchonthi
  • London Kandaiya
  • Vidanaiyar Veetil
  • Mister Kugadasan
  • Madhavi Madanthai
Translations
  • Mudarkadal (Translated novel)

References

Links


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