T. M.

Chidambara Ragunathan
T. M. Chidambara Ragunathan (20 October 1923 –
31 December 2001), was a Tamil, writer, translator, T. M. Chidambara Ragunathan
journalist and literary critic from Tamil Nadu, India.
He is also known as T. M. C. Ragunathan, Tho. Mu.
Si. Ragunathan or by his Tamil initials as Tho. Mu.
Si.

Biography
Ragunathan was born in Tirunelveli in 1923. His elder
brother T. M. Bhaskara Thondaman, a member of the
Indian Civil Service was also a noted author. He was a
student of and mentored by A. Srinivasa Raghavan.
His first short story appeared in Prasanda Vikatan in
1941. He was jailed in 1942 for his participation in the Born 20 October 1923
Indian independence movement. He worked as a sub- Tinnelvelly,
editor in Dina Mani briefly in 1944 and later joined the Madras Presidency,
literary journal Mullai in 1946. His first novella Puyal British India
was published in 1945. His first noted work was the (now Tirunelveli,
literary criticism 'Ilakkiya Vimarsanam' (1948). He Tamil Nadu, India)
followed it up with the novel Panchum Pasiyum in Died December 31, 2001
1951. It was translated into Czech and sold 50,000 (aged 78)
copies within weeks of publication. The same year he Palayamkottai, Tirunelveli,
published his first short story collection. During 1954– Tamil Nadu, India
56 he ran the progressive literary monthly Shanthi. The Occupation Author, poet, critic and
magazine introduced many young writers to the world translator
including – Daniel Selvaraj, Sundara Ramasami, Language Tamil
Jayakanthan and Ki. Rajanarayanan. For the next Period 1941–1999
decade he worked as a free lancer in magazines. In the Genre Social novels, literary
mid 1960s he joined Soviet Land Publications (Soviet criticism, poetry
Information Branch), where he edited and translated Literary
Socialist Realist
many Russian works into Tamil. Some of his noted movement
translations include Maxim Gorky's The Mother and Notable works Panchum Pasiyum
Vladimir Mayakovsky's elegy Vladimir Ilyich Lenin. Bharathi: Kaalamum
In 1983, he was awarded the Sahitya Akademi Award Karuthum
for Tamil for his literary criticism – Bharathi: Ilango adigal yaar?
Kalamum Karuthum (lit. Bharathi – his times and his
ideas). In 1985, he published Ilango Adigal Yaar (lit. Who is Ilango), a socio-historical study on Ilango
Adigal. He retired from Soviet Land in 1988. He died in Palayamkottai in 2001.
Ragunathan was a friend and associate of the Tamil writer Pudhumaipithan. After Pudhumaipithan's death
in 1948, Ragunathan collected and published many of his works. In 1951, he published a biography of his
friend. In 1999 he published Pudumaippithan kathaigal: sila vimarsanangalum vishamangalum (lit.
Pudumaippithan's stories – some criticisms and some mischiefs). It was a follow-up to his 1951
biography and a detailed defence of Pudhumaipithan against the allegations of plagiarism levelled by his
contemporaries like P. G. Sundararajan. Ragunathan's most productive literary phase was during 1942–
62. He belonged to the socialist-realist school of writers and his political orientation was socialist. His
ideology is well reflected in his Panchum Pasiyum (lit. Cotton and hunger) which describes the plight of
handloom weavers in Tamil Nadu. He also wrote poems using the pseudonym Thiruchirrambala
Kavirayar. In his literary career, he produced four short story anthologies, three novels, three poetry
collections, two plays and one biography, besides his non-fiction (research and critical)
works.[1][2][3][4][5]

Awards and recognitions

Partial bibliography

Biography
Pudhumaipithan varalaaru (biography)

Literary criticism
Bharati kaalamum karuthum
Bharatiyum Shelliyum
Ilakkia vimarsanam
Gangayum Kaviriyum
Samudhaya Ilakkiam

Literary research
Pudumaippithan kathaigal: sila vimarsanangalum vishamangalum
Ilango adigal yaar

Translations
Thai (Gorky's mother)
Lenin kavithaanjali (Mayakovsky's elegy Vladimir Ilyich Lenin)
Novels
Silai pesitrru
Panchum pasiyum
Marudha Pandiyan

Short story collections

Poetry collections
Ragunathan kavidhaigal
Kaviaranga kavidhaigal
Kaviya parisu
Tamizhaal elaathaa?

References
1. Tamil Sahitya Akademi Awards 1955–2007 (http://www.sahitya-akademi.gov.in/old_version/a
wa10320.htm#tamil) Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20100124032426/http://www.sah
itya-akademi.gov.in/old_version/awa10320.htm#tamil) 24 January 2010 at the Wayback
Machine Sahitya Akademi Official website.
2. Viswanathan, S (2 February 2002). "A trailblazer" (https://web.archive.org/web/2012110704
0555/http://www.hindu.com/fline/fl1903/19031010.htm). Frontline. Archived from the original
(http://www.hindu.com/fline/fl1903/19031010.htm) on 7 November 2012. Retrieved 8 June
2010.
3. "Tho.Mu.Si. dead" (https://web.archive.org/web/20020129123402/http://www.hinduonnet.co
m/thehindu/2002/01/01/stories/2002010102160500.htm). The Hindu. 1 January 2002.
Archived from the original on 29 January 2002. Retrieved 8 June 2010.
4. "Novel as critique" (https://web.archive.org/web/20080102154423/http://www.hinduonnet.co
m/thehindu/thscrip/print.pl?file=2004010400220300.htm&date=2004/01/04/&prd=lr&). The
Hindu. 4 January 2004. Archived from the original on 2 January 2008. Retrieved 8 June
2010.
5. Lal, Mohan (2006). The Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature (Volume Five (Sasay To Zorgot),
Volume 5 (https://books.google.com/books?id=KnPoYxrRfc0C&q=TMC+Raghunathan&pg=
PA4073). Sahitya Akademi. p. 4073. ISBN 978-81-260-1221-3.

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