Journalist, playwright and literary critic Gnani died in Chennai in the early hours of Monday.
He was 64. He is survived by his wife Padmavathi, who is also a writer and son, Manush Nandan, cinematographer.
Gnani, whose original name was V. Sankaran, began his career at the Indian Express . Later, he edited a number of journals in Tamil. He ran a theatre group, Pareeksha . His column O Pakkangal in popular Tamil weeklies was a big hit.
He contested the Alandur by-poll unsuccessfully in April 2014 on the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) ticket.
According to Jananee, journalist and who is close to Gnani's family, it has been decided to donate the body to Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital-Medical College.
Crowd gathers outside Gnani's residence in Chennai to pay their last respects.
