Chennai :

Feminist writer Rajam Krishnan, who had been ailing for a while after an accident, passed away at a private hospital in Chennai on Monday night. She was 89.

A recipient of the Sahitya Akademi award, New York Herald Tribune award, Soviet Land Nehru award and others, Rajam was known for her writings in Tamil on the lives of poor farmers, saltpan workers, criminals, dacoits, undertrials and female labourers.

“She used to visit the place of these people on whom her story was going to be based. She lived their lives and recorded them in the form of a short story or novels,” said CPM state general secretary G Ramakrishnan in a tribute to the writer.

“Her writings on women issues and labourers were lively and explained the actual condition of the victims. Apart from writings on many issues, she also took part in several agitations to give voice for the oppressed,” said Ramakrishnan.

Born in a conservative family Trichy district in 1925, Rajam started writing at the age of 16 and since then had written several short stories, articles and novels. Though she had not undergone formal education, her writings became a subject of research at universities.

Rajam married Krishnan, an electrical engineer, at the age of 15. He encouraged her to read several books, and his encouragement helped her turn to writing at a young age.

She was awarded the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1973 for her novel ‘Verrukku Neer.’

The Tamil Nadu government nationalized her writings in 2009, making an exception to the general rule that only the works of deceased authors were considered for nationalization. An official release said her works had been nationalized for Rs 3 lakh as a special case, based on her request.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> India / by B. Sivakumar, TNN / October 21st, 2014