E. Lakshmanan, a writer with a variety of works in Tamil behind him, has written a book this year that will blend into the season.
It is a book on music titled Sangeetha Ninaivalaigal . Lakshmanan is known by his pseudonymn “Vadoolan”.
“The book is about the changing patterns in Carnatic music; and it has articles on stalwarts of music — Madurai Mani Iyer, Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, Sanjay Subrahmanyan and T. M. Krishna, to name a few,” says Vadoolan .
This is his second book on music, and the first one — Carnataka Sangeethathai Rasiyungal — was published in 2012.
With 300 short-stories and the scripts he has done for plays, Lakshmanan has pages of memories to turn over.
He chooses to begin at the very beginning.
“I first started writing for a children's magazine in Tamil, Kannan, in 1957. The first story for grown-ups was published in 1957 in the Tamil weekly magazine Dinamani Kathir ,” says Vadoolan, a resident of Besant Nagar.
Vadoolan was with Canara Bank for a long time, retiring from the bank in 1999 as a senior manager. Despite the heavy demands of a 9to5 job, he would find time to write articles for many leading Tamil magazines, including Kalki, Ananda Vikatan, Kalaimagal, Kumudam and Mangayar Malar.
“At present, I write articles for Dinamani and Kalki,” he says. “Following my retirement in 1999, I started concentrating on writing articles about religion and the importance of religious festivals. The articles were published in 'Gnana Aalayam'. From 2002 to 2005, I wrote a series of articles on the share market for a Tamil magazine 'Valarthozhil', which later appeared as a book in two volumes, How to earn money in share market.”
Other books by Vadoolan include Vettriku Ezhu Ezhuthukal , which is a collection of his middle-page articles in a leading Tamil daily Dinamani in 2005; and California Grapes , a collection of short stories, mostly on family relationships, that was published in 2017.
The veteran writer has also penned books on mutual funds, religion, child development, manners and ethics in public behaviour, and is a recipient of prizes awarded by Amudha Surabhi, Dinamani Kathir and Kalki.
"I have penned around 50 scripts for plays. A play titled 'A House in City' was broadcast in Vivedh Bharathi, All India Radio, Chennai, for 12 weeks. My cousin Sankari Venkat is also a writer, and she focuses on cookery and house-hold maintenance. My inspiration to write shortstories comes from R.K. Rangarajan from Kumudam ."
At present, Vadoolan is working on a book about the banking sector.
He lives is a resident of Fifth Avenue (Urur Olcot Kuppam), Besant Nagar, and can be contacted at 044-24464370, 97909 04627.
