Charukesi, veteran writer-journalist and a critic on performing arts, died here on Wednesday after a prolonged illness. He was 80.
A native of Palakkad, Charukesi, whose original name was S. Viswanathan, had a modest formal education.
“He began his 60-year career writing short stories and plays. Later, he took to non-fiction, primarily on politics, Tamil literature, culture and art, thanks to encouragement provided by K. Rajendran, former editor of Kalki ,” says Charukesi’s friend and Tamil writer, Vadoolan. A bilingual writer, he contributed articles to The Hindu and other English publications. He had translated a number of works. Related to Tamil writer of yesteryear ‘Devan’ or R. Mahadevan, he was instrumental in establishing a trust named after Devan to honour Tamil literary figures, says Tiruppur Krishnan, editor, Amudhasurabi.
Sujatha Vijayaraghavan, musician, writer, and a dance scholar, recalls that Charukesi and K.S. Subramanian, another connoisseur of the performing arts, had run an organisation briefly to promote young dancers.
