N. Pichamoorthi

N. Pichamoorthi Biography

N. Pichamoorthi was a poet and writer associated with Tamil literature, who lived during the period, 15 August 1900 – 4 December 1976. He was a journalist and lawyer by profession. He is considered father of Puthu Kavidai in Tamil, which literally means ‘free verse’. He belonged to the "Manikodi" literary movement of Tamil literature along with his contemporaries Pudhumaipithan, Ku Pa Ra, Va. Ramasamy, C. S. Chellappa and A. N. Sivaraman – the elite clan of literals. Pichamoorthi authored 127 short stories establish him as a pioneer in the genre of Puthu Kavidai. He owns a couple of novels, 11 plays, and much non-fiction to his credit. He published his works in literary magazines, and also did the role of an editor.

His real name is Venkata Mahalingam. He was born on 15 August 1900 in Kumbakonam, Thanjavur District, Madras Presidency in British India. Natesa Dikshitar and Lakshmi Ammal were his parents. His parents lost first three children in their infancy before Venkata Mahalingam was born. So his extremely religious parents named him “Pichai” which literally means ‘beggar’. They did so believing that at least this son would be spared. Years later he changed his name to Pichamoorthi. He belonged to a family of Dikshitars in Tiruvaiyaru, associated with musical field. The great composer Tyagaraja was his grandfather's neighbour and friend, and his linguist father composed songs and performed harikatha.

Pichamurti studied philosophy and law, and worked as a pleader in his birthplace Kumbakonam. As a writer he started off with English and then switched over to his mother tongue. His works draw durability from subtlety and indirection. Many of Pichamurti's writings were published by C. S. Chellappa, the discerning writer-publisher, who took great efforts to complete this task.

Published: September 15, 2018

Updated: September 15, 2018