Rajam Krishnan

Verukku Neer Rajam Krishnan

Rajam Krishnan was self-aware. She knew that her vast repertoire as a writer was rare, especially for a girl from 1920s Tiruchi, whose education was cut short by marriage. While she never identified herself as feminist, her short stories were mostly women-centric, addressing issues that no one spoke of in her time. Her long form, usually, was about people who would never have otherwise been written about - the Badaga tribe of the Nilgiris, salt pan workers, farmers... The stories were true, even if generously sprinkled with Krishnan's sparkling wit and imagination, and her women were strong and level-headed. Krishnan passed away recently, at the age of 90, taking with her more than 50 years of Tamil writing, and leaving fellow writers, publishers, and literary critics at a loss for words. Forty novels, more than 200 short stories, two biographies, 20 radio plays and translated works... it would be hard to find a writer as prolific as the late Krishnan. She won many awards, among which were the Sahitya Akademi Award for her novel Verukku Neer (Water for the Roots) - Anusha Parthasarathy, The Hindu