22 Facts About Kannadasan

Kannadasan was a poet, film song lyricist, producer, actor, script-writer, editor, philanthropist, and is heralded as one of the greatest and most important lyricists in India.

Frequently called Kaviarasu, With over 5000 lyrics, 6000 poems and 232 books, Kannadasan is widely known by the sobriquet Kaviarasu and he is considered to be the greatest modern Tamil poet after Subramania Bharati.

Kannadasan won the Sahitya Akademi Award for his novel Cheraman Kathali in the year 1980 and was the first to receive the National Film Award for Best Lyrics, given in 1969 for the film Kuzhanthaikkaga.

Kannadasan was born to Sathappan Chettiar and Visalakshi Aachi in a Nattukottai Nagarathar family in Sirukoodalpatti, near Karaikudi, Tamil Nadu and was given the birth name Muthiah.

Kannadasan was the eighth of ten children to his parents.

Kannadasan was adopted by Chigappi Aachi for a sum of INR 7000 at an early age, who brought him up and was responsible for his early stages of school education.

Kannadasan completed his schooling till the 8th standard in Sirukudalpatti and Amaravathipudhur.

Kannadasan worked for a private company in Tiruvottiyur before taking up an editorial post in a Tamil Magazine where for the first time he took up the pseudonym Kannadasan.

Kannadasan had a great love of Tamil language and its culture and excelled in Tamil literature, both prose and poetry.

Kannadasan read the Thiruppaavai of Aandaal and was amazed at its mystic poetry, which had a deep and lasting impact on him.

Kannadasan dug deep into understanding Hinduism, and wrote his series of books on Hinduism titled Arthamulla Indhu Matham.

Kannadasan quickly became the most sought-after lyricist in the industry and remained so until his death.

Kannadasan was so popular that some songs written by other contemporary poets were considered to be written by Kannadhasan.

Kannadasan is considered to be the greatest modern Tamil poet after Subramanya Bharathi.

Kannadasan was the producer of the historic Tamil film Sivagangai Seemai portraying Marudhu Pandaiars, one of the pioneers in the Indian freedom struggle.

Kannadasan was the poet laureate of the Tamil Nadu government at the time of his death.

Kannadasan wrote two notable autobiographies, titled Vanavasam, a book about his past life whilst he was atheist, with the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and a sequel, titled Manavasam a book about his life after he had left DMK.

Kannadasan was a prolific writer and his writing covered a variety of forms- poems, novels, lyrics for Tamil films and books on spirituality.

Kannadasan's series titled Arthamulla Indhu Matham is known for its simplicity in explaining the principles of Hinduism.

Kannadasan died on 17 October 1981 in Chicago, United States, where he had gone from India to attend a Tamil conference organized by the Tamil Association of Chicago.

Kannadasan was aged only 54 at the time of his death.

The road adjoining Natesan Park in T Nagar, Chennai was previously called as Hensman Road is where Kannadasan resided from 1958 and it was renamed "Kannadasan street" in his honour after his demise.