Mathuram Bhoothalingam (pen name Krithika) was a Tamil writer who wrote plays and short stories in Tamil and English.[1]
Krithika | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Mathuram 1915 Bombay, British India |
| Died | 2009 Delhi, India |
| Pen name | Krithika |
| Occupation | Writer, novelist, scriptwriter |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Spouse | S. Bhoothalingam |
Personal life
editKrithika was born as Mathuram in a Kannada-speaking family in Bombay in 1915.[2] At an early age, she moved to Delhi where she spent a considerable part of her life.[3] She was married to Subrahmanya Bhoothalingam, an ICS officer from Delhi.[3] The couple have a daughter, Mina Swaminathan.[3]
Krithika died in 2009 at the age of 93.[2]
Literary career
editMathuram started writing under the pen name "Krithika" from an early age.[1] Making her debut with the Tamil-language novel Puhai Naduvil, an acid look at the bureaucracy, she went on to write a number of children's stories, novels, and plays based on the puranas.[3]
Her play Manathile Oru Maru was directed by another famous writer of her time, Chitti (P. G. Sundararajan), with whom she shared a strong bond of friendship.[2][3] Chitti even authored a book titled An Introduction: Krithika and Mathuram Bhoothalingam.[4] Midway through her career, Krithika also started to write in English.
As Krithika started to write children's books apart from adult-centric stories, she began using her given name.[3] Krithika was one of the first Indian authors to regularly publish children's books in English.[3] Some of her important works in English are Movement in Stone, which looks at early Chola temples and the influence of Pallava art prior to the 9th and 10th centuries; and, Yoga for Living (1996), a contemporary look at the direction of India.[3]
Vasaveswaram is one of her works which focused on women and dealt with issues faced by them in the society.[4] Krithika has also authored books on Hindu Epics such as Ramayana.[5]
Her written correspondence with Chitti which spanned over 30 years have been brought together and published in the form of a book titled Lettered Dialogue by K. R. A. Narasaiah, a relative of Chitti.[6]
References
edit- ^ a b Authors Guild of India (1986). Indian author. Authors Guild of India. p. 42. Retrieved 5 August 2012.
- ^ a b c Ramnarayan, Gowri (30 July 2012). "Writers as friends in correspondence". The Hindu. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
- ^ a b c d e f g h S, Muthiah (25 May 2009). "A 40-year correspondence". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 25 January 2013. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
- ^ a b Adma Narayanan; Prema Seetharam (1 August 2004). "The truth as it is". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 12 August 2004. Retrieved 5 August 2012.
- ^ Modern Language Association of America. Conference on Oriental-Western Literary Relations (1966). Literature east & west. p. 405. Retrieved 5 August 2012.
- ^ Ramnarayan, Gowri (30 July 2012). "Writers as friends in correspondence". The Hindu.