The Tamil alphabet has a retroflex approximant, which is transcribed in English as zha . The articulation of the letter is tricky, and leaves non-native speakers stumped. To get the correct enunciation, one must be trained when young. And what better way to train a child than through verse? That is why Azha Valliappa, popularly known as Kuzhandai Kavignar (children’s poet), came up with a poem, where the letters la , La and zha occur repeatedly, helping a child distinguish among the three.
Writing verse came naturally to Valliappa, who wrote his first poem when he was thirteen, while he was on his way to school. The long trek to school didn’t seem tiring, for whatever Valliappa saw — even film posters — provided him with themes for verses. “His early poems were published by Palaniappa Brothers in two volumes, under the title Malarum Ullam . More poems were added later, and published by Kuzhandai Puthaka Nilayam, run by my father,” says the poet’s daughter Devi Nachiappan.
Valliappa took up a post as clerk in Indian Bank, but continued to write for children. “It was my father who kept children’s magazines like Sangu , Damaram and Balar Malar going. He would collect material, proof read, edit and do the page layouts. The title of a magazine, Pooncholai even became my pet name!” laughs Valliappa’s son Alagappan.
Valliappa started the Kuzhandai Ezhuthalar Sangam (KES) — Children’s Writers’ Association — in April 1950, to ensure reading material for children and to nurture the reading habit in children. Interestingly, the Tamil writers’ association was started nine months after KES was established.
From 1951, KES began to organise children’s book fairs. Drama contests for children began in 1955. In 1956, the Madras Legislative Assembly, which had been meeting in a building in Government Estate, moved to Fort St George. Valliappa requested Education Minister C. Subramaniam to turn the building in Government Estate into a children’s theatre. Thus was born Balar Arangam, later known as Kalaivanar Arangam. Between 1957 and 1989, 750 children’s books were published by KES.
KES gave prizes to unpublished manuscripts on science, novels, short stories, history and poems. From 1971, A.V. Meyyappa Chettiar, a close friend of Valliappa, began to give gold and silver medals to prize winners. In 1961, a Who’s Who of 201 children’s writers in Tamil was published by KES. Because of the encouragement given by KES, more people began writing for children, and when the next edition of Who’s Who came out in 1972, the number of authors had increased to 370!
To help unpublished writers, Valliappa would arrange dinners at his house, to which publishers and writers would be invited. Publishers would get an opportunity to pick up manuscripts which appealed to them. Poovannan’s Kaveriyin Anbu , chosen by Palaniappa Brothers during one of these dinners, won a national award.
In 1956, Valliappa had a surprise visitor — Devan, the editor of Ananda Vikatan . Devan, who had been elected president of the Tamil writers’ association, wanted Valliappa to become the secretary. Valliappa, who was president of KES, was reluctant to hold another post. But Devan was at his persuasive best and refused to take the coffee offered by Valliappa, until the latter agreed to the proposal! Valliappa, as secretary of the Tamil Writers’ association, honoured Pammal Sambanda Mudaliar and Somasundara Bharati and took them in a procession on Mount Road, in a convertible!
Valliappa took lien from Indian Bank for a year, to work as special officer for the publications division of Southern Languages Book trust, funded by the Ford Foundation. But one year stretched to five years, and Valliappa would remark jocularly that while the bank usually lent money, he was perhaps the only human being to be lent by Indian Bank!
Valliappa would send stories and poems for publication only after gauging the reaction of children. It was for this reason that KES had a weekly story telling session — Kadai Sollum Nigazhchi — at Valliappa’s house. His wife would provide the children with snacks, and they would settle down to listen to stories. And of course, the children felt very important, because their opinions counted.
Few families had television sets in the 1970s, and one evening, children from a slum turned up at Valliappa’s house hoping to watch the Sunday film. They waited outside, not sure whether they would be allowed in. But Valliappa invited them in, served them snacks and tea and told them that they could come every Sunday. It’s difficult to be a children’s writer if you don’t enjoy the company of children. And Valliappa, of course, loved children. Parents in the neighbourhood didn’t worry if a child wasn’t at home. They knew the child would be at Valliappa’s listening to a story.
Valliappa’s verses captured popular imagination because of their simplicity. Of all the songs sung at Kumudam ’s Friday bhajan session, Valliappa’s ‘Kannan engal Kannanaam, kaarmega vannanaam’ was editor S.A.P. Annamalai’s favourite.
Valliappa wrote three novels — Burma Ramani , Manikku Mani , and Neela Mala — of which the last was serialised in Doordarshan. All his books were illustrated by artist Sagar. Valliappa’s research on the reading habits of Tamil children was published by UNESCO. His book on South Indian rivers has been published in 14 languages by the National Book Trust. His poems find a place in school text books in Kerala, Karnataka, South Africa, Malaysia, Singapore, Mauritius and Sri Lanka.
“Magazines which my father edited were printed in Kannabiran Achagam. Pudukottai. P. Venkatraman, whose father owned the press, was instrumental in bringing out a special postal cover for my father,” says Devi.
Poet Chella Ganapathi, Poovannan and other admirers of the poet started the Valliappa Ilakkiya Vattam, which for the last two decades, has celebrated Valliappa’s birthday by giving prizes to writers and publishers of children’s books. Contests for school children are held in different districts each year, and the best school gets the Valliappa Kalai Virudhu.
