Hi all, I thought I could write something about an amazing biography on Amarar Kalki. Written by writer Sunda (Sundarajan) and published by vanathi, this 1200 and odd page book is a fitting companion to sivakamiyin sabadham - in terms of its size. When I took this book first, I just thought that - after all this is a biography and may not be as interesting as kalki's novels - and thought of browsing only those portions related to PS. Alas ! I's in for a drastic shock. For the next one week, I could neither put down the book nor think of anything other than Kalki and the people with whom he was closely associated - Rajaji, TKC, Sadhadivam and MS Subbulakshmi.
I've not come across any other biography in Tamil with so much reseach work done in the background - that too for a writer ! The book is not just a collection of interesting incidents or how great a writer kalki was - it is a live account of 50 and odd years which saw the fall of an empire and rise of an age old nation; it was also a golden period for tamil magazine industry in which thousands of ardent fans would wait for a copy of kalki mag - in railway stations - early in the morning (2 AM !).
In Kalki - we find a great writer, a humorist, a social reformer, a gandhian, a propagandist, a good husband and a wonderful father - as also a great friend ! The transformation of Kalki from a half drawer boy of Putthamangalam to the most renowned writer of tamilnadu - who took tamil literature to hiterdo unknown heights - is the incredible and unbelievable story of the evolution of a great man.
If there is anything you can do for him - this sep 9th (apart from a nice chat with our group friends) , it is this:
Grab a copy of this book - go to some corner of the house where you'll have least disturbance - and lose yourself in time to find out the fire that was igniting a man called Kalki R.Krishnamoorthy.