Famous Tamil novelist Sri Venugopalan, who mostly wrote under his pen name ‘Pushpa’ Thangadurai, passed away here on Sunday after a brief illness.
He was an 82-year-old bachelor. He had been admitted to the Rajiv Gandhi Government Hospital two weeks ago.
Born in 1931 into an Iyyengar family in Tirunelveli district, Venugopalan is said to have published over 2,000 stories and novels, starting with his first story in 1949 in the Dinamani Kathir.
Writing as ‘Pushpa’ Thangadurai, his early works were largely crime thrillers that brought him fame and popularity. His well-researched thriller novels were widely acclaimed and had a huge following among the youth.
The novels were also known for their sensuality, which was quite uncommon in Tamil writing during the 60s and 70s.
While he wrote fiction under his pen name, Venugopalan used his original name for a number of religious and spiritual works he had authored over the years.
Most people consider Thiru Arangan Ula, a masterful narration of the story of how Vaishnavite saints, including Vendanta Desika, saved the ceremonial (utsava) deity of the Sri Rangam temple from the clutches of Muslim invaders, as his best work in this genre.
The idol was taken out of the Sri Rangam and was protected for over 40 years before it was returned to the temple.
Some of his novels, including Nandha En Nila and Oru Oothappu Kan Simitugirathu have been made into movies.
He is survived by a sister. Thangadurai had been on ventilator support for the last two weeks at Rajiv Gandhi government general hospital.
His condition worsened on Sunday and he passed away at around 6 pm, the sources said.