Devan

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Devan (R. Mahadevan)
Born	8 September 1913 Thiruvidaimarudur, Thanjavur District, India
Died	5 May 1957 Chennai, India

Devan (R. Mahadevan) (8 September 1913 - 5 May 1957) was one of the greatest of twentieth century Tamil writers, known for his witty and humorous stories.

Devan was a competent and accomplished writer, who used several interesting and varied techniques in fiction writing. From travelogues to recipes, from detective stories to social dramas, he has written them all.

Contents 1 Devan's Early Life 2 Life as an Editor 3 Famous Works 4 Links to Devan on the web 5 Devan's Life

[edit] Devan's Early Life

Devan was born in 1913 at Thiruvidaimarudur in Thanjavur district, Tamil Nadu, India, where he did his schooling. He came to Kumbakonam Government College to complete his B.A. degree. He worked as a school teacher for a few years, before joining the popular Tamil weekly magazine, Ananda Vikatan in 1934. Devan's first foray into the world of writing was through the short story "Rajamani", written when he was in his twenties.

[edit] Life as an Editor

Devan started as a Sub-Editor at Ananda Vikatan. From 1942 to 1957 he worked as Editor.

During this time, he wrote several stories, articles and travelogues. A common feature in all his work was his gentle sense of humour. He was a very popular writer and stories abound of how, when a new issue of Ananda Vikatan came out, everyone in the family would fight to get hold of the copy first.

Devan worked under famous writers like Kalki Krishnamurthy and S S Vasan. It was his wish that his stories get published as books, but sadly this did not happen in his lifetime, due to the nature of his contract with Vikatan.

During this time, he also served as Chairman of the Tamil Writers' Guild twice, and helped to promote Tamil literature.

Devan was also editor of the popular Tamil magazine, Ananda Vikatan until his death in 1957. In his short life, he experimented with different types of writing - travelogues, humour, current affairs. Devan's books are a joy to read even today, when social values and techniques in fiction writing are so different.

Devan's writings were also dramatised by several Tamil drama troupes, even during his lifetime. More recently, some of his works were made into television serials also.

[edit] Famous Works

Devan's stories and travelogues were serialised in Ananda Vikatan (with, perhaps, one exception, 'Mythili' which was serialized in 'Naradar'). His writiings are copyright of the Devan Endowments. Recently, several of Devan's works have been published by Alliance Publishers, Chennai, India. 'Kizakkup padhippagam' has recently come out with an edition of 'thuppaRiyum sAmbu'.

His writings include :

Novels:

1. Mythili
2. Thuppariyum Sambu
3. GOmathiyin KAdhalan
4. KalyANi
5. Miss JAnaki
6. SrimAn Sudharsanam
7. Mr VedhAntham
8. Justice JagannAthan
9. Lakshmi KatAksham
10. CID Chandru (his last novel)

Other collections of stories, articles and travelogues include:

1. RajAmaNi
2. Vichuvukku Kadithangal
3. AppaLak KachchEri - Short stories with a recipe at the end of each story
4. Aindhu NaadugaLil ARupathu NaaL (60 Days in 5 countries) - Travelogue
5. POkkiri MAmA
6. PallisAmiyin Thuppu
7. MOtAr AgarAthi
8. Chinna KaNNan
9. RAjiyin PiLLai
10. Adhisaya thaambathigaL
11. Kamalam SolgirAL
12. Podaatha Thapaal
13. Sarasuvukku Kadithangal
14. manidha subAvam
15. chInup payal
16. chinnan chiRu kadhaigaL
17. pArvathiyin sangalpam
18. mallAri rAo kadhaigaL
19. En indha asattuththanam
20. jAngiri sundharam
21. peyarpOna puLugugaL
22. mAlathi
23. nadandhathu nadanthapadiyE
24. rangUn periyappA
25. chonnapadi kELungaL
26. rAjaththin manOratham

[edit] Links to Devan on the web

• Hailing the creator
• Wrote to delight
• Wow! It's a woman
• God's plenty, with a touch of humour
• Murder Mystery
• Kalki and Devan
• sAmbu (a poem in Unicode Tamil)
• .. and its modified translation in English

[edit] Devan's Life

Devan was a compassionate person. Devan was well-known for his love of the Tamil God, Murugan. His house was called "The Pool Place" (the abode of Lord Murugan). In his stories, he usually included references to several Murugan temples in Tamil Nadu, be it Vadapalani or Thiruchendur.

Devan's love for food was evident in all his writings. He is known to have enjoyed several varieties of sweets and pickles with his food. His stories often describe food items prepared in pure ghee, nothing else would do!

Devan died on May 5, 1957 due to illness, although his writings are still appreciated.