Vanavasam  (Tamil, Paperback, Kannadhasan)

Kannadasan’s autobiography Vanavasam is a humble, poignant book in Tamil about his life as a poet, a writer. He is known as one of the most famous and important writers in the language of Tamil.

Summary of the book

Kannadasan was born in Tamil Nadu and was initially known as A. L. Muthiah. He had an immense reverence and love for his language and culture. As a student, he excelled in Tamil prose, poetry and literature. Muthiah was a staunch atheist in the beginning but later became a devotee of Lord Krishna. Hence he changed his name to Kannadasan, which translates to 'Servant of Kannan' (Krishna), in English. He then wrote prolifically in his language and also won the Sahitya Akademi Award for his novel Cheraman Kadali. He has also written many essays, plays and was one of the most celebrated Tamil cinema lyricists. His incredible journey as a writer and his personal life events have been documented in this autobiography by the author himself, in his mother tongue. Vanavasam is the first autobiographical work about the earlier part of his life, as an atheist and as a politician with the DMK party. He then wrote a sequel, titled Manavasam, which is a book about his life after he left DMK.

About Kannadasan

Kannadasan has used many pen names like Vanangamudi, Karaimuthu Pulavar, Kamakkapriya, Arokkiya Saamy and Parvathi Nathan. He was a celebrated novelist, poet, lyricist and film producer in Tamil Nadu. He was also a politician and was associated with the DMK party. He has won many awards and recognition including the Sahitya Akademi Award. Kannadasan has authored Aval Oru Hindu Pen, Sivappukal Mukkuththi, Raththa Pushpangkal, Swarna Saraswathi and Nadantha Kathai in Tamil, among several widely read books.