A R Venkatachalapathy
Encyclopedia
A R Venkatachalapathy is a historian, author and translator from Tamil Nadu
, India
who writes and publishes in Tamil
and English
. Currently he is a professor at the Madras Institute of Development Studies
(MIDS). He is noted for collecting and publishing the works of Tamil writer Pudhumaipithan
.
degree from University of Madras
in 1987 and his MA
in History from Madurai Kamaraj University
in 1989. He received his Ph.D
in History from Jawaharlal Nehru University
in 1995. His dissertation was titled "A Social History of Tamil Publishing, (1850-1938)".
from 1995 to 2000 and that of University of Madras
from 2000 to 2001. Since June 2001, he has been a faculty member of the Madras Institute of Development Studies
(MIDS). His main areas of research are social and cultural history of colonial Tamil Nadu. He is best known for collecting and publishing the works of Tamil writer Pudhumaipithan
in 2000. In 2000, he published his most noted work Andha kaalathil kaapi illai (Kalachuvadu) in Tamil. Later he published an English Version - In Those Days There Was No Coffee, (Yoda Press, 2006). He currently serves in the advisory board of the Tamil iyal virudhu, an annual award given by Tamil Literary Garden, a Canada based organisation. He also reviews books in The Hindu
. In 2007, he was awarded the V. K. R. V. Rao
prize in Social Science Research. He also writes columns for The Hindu, Frontline
, Outlook
, India Today
, Dinamalar and Kalachuvadu magazine.
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
who writes and publishes in Tamil
Tamil language
Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
and English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
. Currently he is a professor at the Madras Institute of Development Studies
Madras Institute of Development Studies
The Madras Institute of Development Studies is a research institute based in Chennai. It is a joint undertaking of the Governments of India and Tamil Nadu for conducting research on development problems in Tamil Nadu and the rest of India.-History:...
(MIDS). He is noted for collecting and publishing the works of Tamil writer Pudhumaipithan
Pudhumaipithan
Pudhumaipithan also spelt as Pudumaipithan or Puthumaippiththan, is the pseudonym of C. Viruthachalam , one of the most influential and revolutionary writers of Tamil fiction. His works were characterized by social satire, progressive thinking and outspoken criticism of accepted conventions...
.
Education
Venkatachalapathy obtained his B.ComBachelor of Commerce
A Bachelor of Commerce is an undergraduate degree in commerce and related subjects. The degree is also known as the Bachelor of Commerce and Administration, or BCA...
degree from University of Madras
University of Madras
The University of Madras is a public research university in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. It is one of the three oldest universities in India...
in 1987 and his MA
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
in History from Madurai Kamaraj University
Madurai Kamaraj University
Madurai Kamaraj University also abbreviated MKU is a public university in India.-Overview:Madurai Kamaraj University, located in Madurai city established in 1966, has 18 schools comprising 72 departments. The Directorate of Distance Education of the University has a student strength of about 1.3...
in 1989. He received his Ph.D
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
in History from Jawaharlal Nehru University
Jawaharlal Nehru University
Jawaharlal Nehru University, also known as JNU, is located in New Delhi, the capital of India. It is mainly a research oriented postgraduate University with approximately 5,500 students and a faculty strength of around 550.-History:...
in 1995. His dissertation was titled "A Social History of Tamil Publishing, (1850-1938)".
Career
Venkatachalapathy worked in the History Department of Manonmaniam Sundaranar UniversityManonmaniam Sundaranar University
Manonmaniam Sundaranar University is a university in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It was hived off the Madurai Kamaraj University on September 9, 1990....
from 1995 to 2000 and that of University of Madras
University of Madras
The University of Madras is a public research university in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. It is one of the three oldest universities in India...
from 2000 to 2001. Since June 2001, he has been a faculty member of the Madras Institute of Development Studies
Madras Institute of Development Studies
The Madras Institute of Development Studies is a research institute based in Chennai. It is a joint undertaking of the Governments of India and Tamil Nadu for conducting research on development problems in Tamil Nadu and the rest of India.-History:...
(MIDS). His main areas of research are social and cultural history of colonial Tamil Nadu. He is best known for collecting and publishing the works of Tamil writer Pudhumaipithan
Pudhumaipithan
Pudhumaipithan also spelt as Pudumaipithan or Puthumaippiththan, is the pseudonym of C. Viruthachalam , one of the most influential and revolutionary writers of Tamil fiction. His works were characterized by social satire, progressive thinking and outspoken criticism of accepted conventions...
in 2000. In 2000, he published his most noted work Andha kaalathil kaapi illai (Kalachuvadu) in Tamil. Later he published an English Version - In Those Days There Was No Coffee, (Yoda Press, 2006). He currently serves in the advisory board of the Tamil iyal virudhu, an annual award given by Tamil Literary Garden, a Canada based organisation. He also reviews books in The Hindu
The Hindu
The Hindu is an Indian English-language daily newspaper founded and continuously published in Chennai since 1878. According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, it has a circulation of 1.46 million copies as of December 2009. The enterprise employed over 1,600 workers and gross income reached $40...
. In 2007, he was awarded the V. K. R. V. Rao
V. K. R. V. Rao
V. K. R. V. Rao , was a prominent Indian economist, politician, professor and educator. He was born on July 8, 1908 at Kancheepuram in Tamil Nadu to Kasturirangachar and Bharati Bai.-Early Life:...
prize in Social Science Research. He also writes columns for The Hindu, Frontline
Frontline (magazine)
Frontline is a fortnightly English language magazine published by The Hindu Group of publications from Chennai, India. Narasimhan Ram is the editor-in-chief of the magazine. As a current affairs magazine, it covers domestic and International news. Frontline gives a prominent place to various...
, Outlook
Outlook (magazine)
Outlook is one of India's four top-selling English weekly newsmagazines. Like many other Indian magazines, it is reluctant to reveal its circulation, but the 2007 National Readership Survey suggested 1.5 million copies...
, India Today
India Today
India Today is an Indian weekly news magazine published by Living Media India Limited, in publication since 1975 based in Mumbai. India Today is also the name of its sister-publication in Hindi...
, Dinamalar and Kalachuvadu magazine.
Awards and Fellowships
- Visiting Fellow, Maison des Sciences de l'Homme, Paris (1996).
- Visiting Fellow, Indo-French Cultural Exchange Programme, Maison des Sciences de l'Homme, Paris (1997–1998).
- Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of South Asian Languages and Civilizations, University of ChicagoUniversity of ChicagoThe University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
(1999). - UPE Visiting Fellow, University of HyderabadUniversity of HyderabadThe University of Hyderabad is a post-graduate teaching and research institute in India. It was established by an act of the Parliament in 1974 as a Central University. The university also offers courses under distance learning programs...
(2005). - Charles Wallace Visiting Fellow, Centre of South Asian Studies, University of CambridgeUniversity of CambridgeThe University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
(2006). - V. K. R. V. RaoV. K. R. V. RaoV. K. R. V. Rao , was a prominent Indian economist, politician, professor and educator. He was born on July 8, 1908 at Kancheepuram in Tamil Nadu to Kasturirangachar and Bharati Bai.-Early Life:...
prize in Social Science Research (2007)
Books in English
- (trans.) Sundara Ramaswamy's J.J : Some Jottings, New Delhi : Katha (2003)
- (ed.) A. K. ChettiarA. K. ChettiarA. K. Chettiar was a Tamil travelogue writer, journalist and documentary film maker from Tamil Nadu, India. He is most notable for pioneering travelogue writing in Tamil and for his documentary on Mahatma Gandhi....
, In the Tracks of the Mahatma: The Making of a Documentary, Hyderabad: Orient Longman (2006) - In Those Days There Was No Coffee: Writings in Cultural History, New Delhi:Yoda Press (2006)
- (ed.) Chennai, Not Madras: Perspectives on the City, Mumbai: Marg (2006)
- Kalaikkalanjiyam: the making of the tamil encyclopaedia, 1947–1968, Centre of South Asian Studies, University of Cambridge (2007)
- (ed.) Love Stands Alone: Selections from Tamil Sangam Poetry (translated by M. L. Thangappa), New Delhi: Penguin BooksPenguin BooksPenguin Books is a publisher founded in 1935 by Sir Allen Lane and V.K. Krishna Menon. Penguin revolutionised publishing in the 1930s through its high quality, inexpensive paperbacks, sold through Woolworths and other high street stores for sixpence. Penguin's success demonstrated that large...
(2010)
Books in Tamil
- (ed.) Pudumaippithan Kathaigal (first volume of chronological and variorum edition of the complete works of Pudumaippithan), Nagercoil (2000)
- Andha Kalathil Kappi Illai Muthalana Aaivu Katturaigal (collection of research papers on Tamil cultural history), Nagercoil:Kalachuvadu Pathippagam (2000)
- (ed.) Pudumaippithan Katturaigal (second volume of chronological and variorum edition of the complete works of Pudumaippithan), Nagercoil (2002)
- Novelum Vasippum: Oru Varalattru Parvai (Early Novels and Reading Practices: A Historical View), Nagercoil (2002).
- A.K.Chettiar, Annal Adichuvattil (The making of the documentary, Mahatma Gandhi), Nagercoil: Kalachuvadu Pathippagam (2003).
- Mullai: Oar Arimugam, Chennai:Mullai Pathippagam (2004)
- (ed.) Pudumaippithan Mozhipeyarppukal (third volume of the chronological and variorum edition of the complete works of Pudumaippithan), Nagercoil (2006)
- Mucchanthi Ilakkiyam (Popular Literature in Colonial Tamilnadu), Nagercoil (2004)
- (ed.), Bharatiyin 'Vijaya' Katturaigal, Nagercoil: Kalachuvadu Pathippagam (2004).
- (trans.) Thuyarmiku Varikalai Indriravu Nan Ezhutalam (Tamil Translation of Pablo NerudaPablo NerudaPablo Neruda was the pen name and, later, legal name of the Chilean poet, diplomat and politician Neftalí Ricardo Reyes Basoalto. He chose his pen name after Czech poet Jan Neruda....
), Nagercoil:Kalachuvadu Pathippagam (2005) - (trans.) Varalaarum Karuthiyalum (Tamil translation of Past and Prejudice by Romila ThaparRomila ThaparRomila Thapar is an Indian historian whose principal area of study is ancient India.-Work:After graduating from Panjab University, Thapar earned her doctorate under A. L. Basham at the School of Oriental and African Studies, the University of London in 1958...
), Delhi: National Book Trust (2008) - (trans.) Bharati Karuvoolam: Hindu Nalithalil Bharatiyin Eluthukal, Nagercoil:Kalachuvadu Pathippagam (2008)