Anuradha Ramanan

Anuradha Ramanan (29 June 1947 – 16 May 2010)[1] was a Tamil writer, artist and a social activist. She is survived by two daughters Smt. Sudha Ramanan and Smt. Subha Ramanan. Both of them live with their families in the United States of America.

Anuradha Ramanan
Born(1947-06-29)29 June 1947
Thanjavur, Madras Presidency, British India
Died16 May 2010(2010-05-16) (aged 62)
Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
Occupation
  • Writer
  • novelist
  • artist
  • social activist
Period1977—2010

Biography

Anuradha was born in 1947 in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu. Her grandfather R. Balasubramaniam was an actor who inspired Anuradha to become a writer.[2] Anuradha started her career as an artist before making several unsuccessful attempts to get a job with popular magazines.[2] This prompted her to join Mangai, a Tamil magazine after the editor found her writings very interesting. Anuradha's literary career started in 1977 while working for the magazine.[2] She also revealed the sexual harresment allegations about Jayendra Saraswathi.

Apart from her literary contributions, she was well known for her "anti-divorce counselling" work.[3] In a career that spanned over 30 years, Anuradha wrote nearly 800 novels and 1,230 short stories.[2] Her works were mainly centered on family and everyday happenings. One of her early works Sirai, won a gold medal for the best short story from Ananda Vikatan.[4] It was adapted into a film of the same name.[4] Following this, her other novels Kootu Puzhukkal, Oru Malarin Payanam and Oru Veedu Iruvasal were adapted into films in various languages such as Tamil, Telugu and Kannada.[2] Oru Veedu Iru Vasal, directed by Balachander won the National Film Award for Best Film on Other Social Issues in 1991.[5] The 1988 Telugu film Oka Baarya Katha based on her work won five Nandi Awards.[6] In addition to films, many of her stories such as Archanai Pookal, Paasam and Kanakanden Thozhi have been adapted into television serials.[4] She was awarded a gold medal by M. G. Ramachandran, the then Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.[4]

Death

Anuradha died of cardiac arrest on 16 May 2010 at the age of 62 in Chennai.[4] She was married to Ramanan and has two daughters.[4]

Controversy

Sexual harassment allegations against Jayendra Saraswati

Anuradha Ramanan said she was subjected to sexual harresment by Jayendra Saraswati when she met back in 1992, when she was taken to negotiate the release of the spiritual magazine "Amma" by the muth. Anuradha Ramanan has charged Saraswathi of making sexual advances. He said that during their first meeting, he spoke about the proposed journal and offered to make her its editor, Ramanan agreed to the offer. During their final meeting, she said, he began using indecent language, and when she looked up from the notebook, the woman who took me to him was in a sexually intimate position with him. She said that the Saraswathi "approached" her, and when she objected, the other woman tried to persuade her of her "good fortune." When she left the place, the Shankaracharya allegedly asserted that she keep her mouth shut.[7][8][9][10]

Ramanan said that she had met a woman police officer who was close to her to lodge a complaint, but did not do so because she feared for the future of her daughters. She reported that an attempted murder had been made against her. She said a truck hit her car in which she was travelling and a further attempt was made on her life when she was admitted to the hospital.[8] On December 2004, she said she would have met with the same fate as that of Sankarraman if she had made the disclosure 12 years ago when the alleged incident took place.[11]

References
  1. "Noted writer Anuradha Ramanan passes away". Zee News. 1 May 2010. Retrieved 17 August 2013.
  2. "Popular Tamil writer Anuradha Ramanan dead". The New Indian Express. 17 May 2010. Retrieved 17 August 2013.
  3. "Saadhanai Penn – Anuradha Ramanan". The Hindu. 21 November 2003. Retrieved 17 August 2013.
  4. "Anuradha Ramanan dead". The Hindu. 17 May 2010. Retrieved 17 August 2013.
  5. "38th National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Retrieved 18 August 2013.
  6. "Noted writer dead". Hindustan Times. 16 May 2010. Retrieved 17 August 2013.
  7. "The plot thickens – Nation News – Issue Date: Dec 13, 2004".
  8. "Seer threatened to bump me off: Tamil writer – India News". The Times of India. 30 November 2004. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
  9. "Slur of lady & lucre on Kanchi seer". The Telegraph. Kolkota. 29 November 2004. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
  10. "How The Gods Fall". outlookindia.com/. 13 December 2004. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
  11. "Tamil writer makes in-camera statement in court". outlookindia.com/. 6 December 2004. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
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