CHENNAI: Well-known Tamil writer Ashokamitran (85) passed away on Thursday here at his residence at Velachery, after a brief illness. He is survived by his wife Rajeswari Thyagarajan and three sons.
Ashokamitran was born as Thyagarajan on September 22, 1931 in Secunderabad, Andhra Pradesh. At the age of 21, he moved to Chennai after the death of his father. He took up the pseudonym of Ashokamitran when he became a full time writer in mid 1960s.
During the 1980s and later, many of his works were translated into English and several languages. His novels and short stories are marked by subtlety and sense of humour. Pathinettaavadhu Atchakodu published in 1977 was based on his life at Secunderabad. He began his literary career with the prize winning play Anbin Parisu, followed by many short stories and novels. A distinguished essayist and critic, he was Honorary Editor of Kanaiyazhi, a Tamil literary magazine during 1966-1989.
His work includes over 200 short stories, eight novels, some 15 novellas
besides prose. His short stories have been translated into English, Hindi, Malayalam, Telugu and other languages.
He won Sahitya Akademi Award, Akshara Award, NTR National Literary Award, Lily Memorial Award and K K Birla Fellowship. He had received the Tamil Nadu Government award thrice and the University of Iowa Creative Writing fellowship in 1973-74.