Rarely is an editor remembered a year after his demise, much less eulogised for his contribution to the nurturing of young and budding writers for children in Tamil.
'Aarvi' belonged to a rare breed of editors, who spotted talent among the young contributors for the children's fortnightly Kannan, from the Kalaimagal Group, which he edited in the 1950s for a little over two decades, He had an extraordinary skill in identifying the writers best suited for the magazine and encouraging them to become short story writers or novelists. (Aarvi, Tamizhvanan and Azha. Valliappa formed the triumvirate in the golden era of children's literature in Tamil.)
While he was writing serials for Swadesamitran Weekly ('Anayaa Vilakku,' 'Aadittan Kaadal,' 'Thiraiku-Pin,' etc.) and short stories for a number of Tamil periodicals, he found the time not only to edit his fortnightly, but also to write serials for children such as 'Jakku,' 'Jakku Thupparigiran,' 'Asattu Pichu,' 'Pudhiya Mugam,' sci-fi such as 'Kaalakappal' and historical serials including 'Kaali Kottai Ragasiyam' and 'Chandragiri Kottai.'
As a staunch follower of Kanchi Mahaswamigal, he had closely interacted with him and on his advice, took up the task of mobilising like-minded devotees to visit hospitals and jails to comfort and console the inmates on week-ends and important festivals to distribute vibhuti and prasadam. Sethumadhavan, who is a make up artist for several Bharatanatyam dancers of today, was his close friend and they have often shared their socialistic ideologies. He was a contemporary of Ki.Va.Ja. Akilan, Ka.Sri.Sri., Thi. Janakiraman, Thi. Ja. Ra.and Sandilyan. He always looked cheerful and fresh, with his starched-and-ironed khaddar jibba and white dhoti.
'Aarvi' was a banyan tree in which under whom several writers and poets found shelter and had their talent nurtured. On the solemn occasion of the first death anniversary of 'Aarvi,' Swami Kamalathmananda of Sri Ramakrishna Math released a commemorative volume of articles on 'Aarvi' (Compiler: 'Mayuran'). The 392-page book speaks volumes of the unassuming editor who shaped the career of many writers who went on to become famous. The volume opens with the 'Srimukham' from the Kanchi Math. (LKM Publishers, T.Nagar, Chennai 600 017 Phone: 2436 1141).
The souvenir has tribute in the form of articles by spiritual leaders including Sri Jayendra Saraswathi (he reminisces about his own contribution under the pseudonym 'Kingaran' when he was young and being a proud member of the 'Kannan Club'), Swami Vimurthananda, Editor, Ramakrishna Vijayam and 'Mathi Oli' Saraswathi. Illustrators Gopulu, Natanam and Maniam Selvan and senior writers Ashokamitran, Kalki Rajendran, Bhagyam Ramaswamy, Sri Venugopalan, and others recall Aarvi's sterling qualities. J.M. Saali (who later served Ananda Vikatan and then migrated to Singapore to work in television there), poets 'Leman' (who later worked under him) and 'Ilakkiyacharal' Ilayavan, organiser and orator 'Ilakkiya Veedhi' Iniyavan (now secretary, Kamban Kazhagam, Chennai), 'Pooram,' 'Vadhoolan,' 'Ramaneeyan,' 'Revathy' (who became editor of the children's monthly Gokulam and had recently researched Aarvi's 11 novels for children), Jyothirlatha Girija and others, who were shaped by 'Aarvi' as poets and writers, walk down memory lane. Aarvi's son Krishna Prasad recalls his meeting with writer Sujatha, an ardent admirer of Aarvi.
Other contributors
Among other contributors are Dr. Vikraman, editor of Ilakkiya Peetam, B.R. Kumar, former Director AIR, 'Doordarshan' Natarajan, C. Srinivasan, former editor of Swadesamitran, Tiruppur Krishnan, Amudasurabhi editor, 'Poovannan,' a prolific writer for children, Dr. S. Vijayalakshmi, 'Aarvi's colleague of socialist days, and a host of other admirers.
For posterity, Kalaignan Pathippagam had brought out a few years ago, 'Kannan Kadambam,' a 14-volume compilation of writings in Kannan, edited by 'Aarvi,' which showcased the creative talents of the young writers he groomed.
In an interview to The Hindu on December 18, 2002, 'Aarvi' had said, "I did not know most of the contributors personally. Some of them later went on to occupy high positions in government. They still remember me as the person who provided them encouragement and instilled in them self-confidence when they were young."
