A cross-section of people in Sri Lanka including President Maithripala Sirisena have condoled the death of Sengai Azhiyan, veteran Tamil writer.
A native of Jaffna, Sengai Azhiyan, a pseudonym of K. Gunarasa, died at his residence on Sunday. He was 75. He is survived by his wife and four daughters.
Authored 45 novels, many short stories
Azhiyan authored 45 novels and a number of short stories. Two of his works -- “Vadaikattru” and “Puthinam” -- were made into feature films. He also worked as Assistant Government Agent in Kilinochchi and Registrar of the University of Jaffna.
Recalling that Azhiyan’s literary career lasted over 50 years, Mr. Sirisena said his works were multidimensional and he was given the “Sahitya Ratna,” the highest literary award in the country, in 2009.
“Prolific writer”
Describing Azhiyan as one of the prolific Tamil writers produced by Sri Lanka, K.S. Sivakumaran, another literary figure, pointed out that the writer was a member of the first batch of graduates who passed out of the University of Peradeniya, studying in the Tamil medium of instruction.
Eelam People’s Democratic Party secretary general Douglas Devananda recounted that Azhiyan had headed a committee in 2010 to publish works of Tamil writers in Jaffna.
