Coimbatore :

Nonagenarian Tamil scholar K Meenakshi Sundaram of Coimbatore has been selected for the Bhasha Samman award given by Sahitya Akademi this year.

Meenakshi Sundaram, who is an author of numerous books including The Contributions of European Scholars to Tamil, was born in the village Vellakinar near Thudiyalur on July 11, 1925. He took his BA (Mathematics) from the Government Arts College, Coimbatore in 1948 and his MA (Tamil) and MLitt from Annamalai University. He did his Phd from the University of Madras.

Having worked as a lecturer in Tamil in Annamalai University, Meenakshi Sundaram taught in various government arts colleges in Tamil Nadu. However, he was the first Tamil professor to become the Director of Collegiate Education.

“Professor K Meenakshi Sundaram is the second Tamil scholar to bag the Bhasha Samman. Previously, the award was given to Prof. S V Subramaniam of Kerala University, who was my teacher,” said K Nachimuthu, convenor, Sahitya Akademi, Tamil Nadu and professor of Tamil in Central University of Tamil Nadu.

Poet Sirpi Balasubramaniam, a two time Sahitya Akademi award winner from Coimbatore, who was a student of Meenakshi Sundaram in Annamalai University, said, “The Bhasha Samman is given by Sahitya Akademi for two scholars of different languages in India every year. Nevertheless, the award comes rarely for Tamil scholars.”

Nonagenarian T C Ramasamy, who translated Raja Rao’s famous novel The Serpent and the Rope in Tamil and penned books on Meenakshi Sundaram as Kattror Nokkil Munmadhiriyana Oru Mamanithar and Perasiyar Ka Mee Aaraychi Thadangal, says: “Meenakshi Sundaram is a great research scholar in Tamil. And I am glad that Bhasha Samman award is given to him.”

Meenakshi Sundaram is an author of famous books like A Study of the Poetical works of Subramanya Bharathi, Pannmayil Orumai, Silambil Thunai Paathirangal, Manonmaniam Sundaranar Puratchithiran and son.

The Sahitya Akademi has also selected Chella Ganapathy,a Coimbatore-based writer of Children’s literature for Sahitya Purashkar award for his book Theduthal Vettai and Veerapandian for his Tamil novel Parukkai.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Tamil Nadu / by B. Meenakshi Sundaram / June 25th, 2015