Mi. Pa. Somu is the pen name of Mi. Pa. Somasundaram a Tamil

Tamil language

Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...

 journalist, poet, writer and musicologist from Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...

, India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

.

Biography

Somu was born in Meenakshipuram in Tirunelveli District

Tirunelveli District

Tirunelveli District is a district of Tamil Nadu state in southern India. The city of Tirunelveli is the district headquarters. A unique feature of this district is that it encompasses all five geographical traditions of Tamil Literature; kurinji , mullai , marudham , neithal and palai...

. He studied Oriental Studies

Oriental studies

Oriental studies is the academic field of study that embraces Near Eastern and Far Eastern societies and cultures, languages, peoples, history and archaeology; in recent years the subject has often been turned into the newer terms of Asian studies and Middle Eastern studies...

 in Madras University and obtained the Vidwan

Vidwan

A vidwan is a person who has vidya of a particular science or art. This term is usually used for Indian Classical Musicians to denote their scholarship and experience in performing classical music concerts. Vidwan may also be referred to as a doctorate in layman's terms....

 certification awarded by it. He was a friend and contemporary of Pudhumaipithan

Pudhumaipithan

Pudhumaipithan also spelt as Pudumaipithan or Puthumaippiththan, is the pseudonym of C. Viruthachalam , one of the most influential and revolutionary writers of Tamil fiction. His works were characterized by social satire, progressive thinking and outspoken criticism of accepted conventions...

. He won a short story competition conducted by the magazine Ananda Vikatan

Ananda Vikatan

Ananda Vikatan ஆனந்த விகடன் is the leading Tamil language weekly magazine published from Chennai, India. It is part of the Vikatan group which also publishes Junior Vikatan , Chutti Vikatan , Aval Vikatan , Naanayam Vikatan , Sakthi Vikatan , Motor Vikatan and Pasumai Vikatan Ananda Vikatan ஆனந்த...

in 1938. He published his first collection of poems - Ilavenil - in 1946. It won a state award. He worked as the editor of the Tamil magazine Kalki

Kalki

In Hinduism, Kalki is the tenth and final Maha Avatar of Vishnu who will come to end the present age of darkness and destruction known as Kali Yuga. The name Kalki is often a metaphor for eternity or time...

during 1954-56. He was the founder-editor of the monthly magazine Nanban during 1958-60. He worked in All India Radio

All India Radio

All India Radio , officially known since 1956 as Akashvani , is the radio broadcaster of India and a division of Prasar Bharati. Established in 1936, it is the sister service of Prasar Bharati's Doordarshan, the national television broadcaster. All India Radio is one of the largest radio networks...

 for over forty years and retired in 1981. In 1962, he was awarded the Sahitya Akademi Award

Sahitya Akademi Award

Sahitya Akademi Award is a literary honor in India which Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, annually confers on writers of outstanding works in one of the following twenty-four major Indian languagesAssamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri, English, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri,...

 for Tamil for his travelogue Akkarai Cheemayil Arumadhangal. He has written a large number of poems, short stories, novels, non fiction essays, travelogues, plays and research articles on Music. He also contributed several entries to the Tamil Encyclopedia

Tamil Encyclopedia

Tamil Encyclopedia is a universal encyclopedia in Tamil, published by Tamil Academy, Chennai. It was a project funded by the Government of India after Indian Independence. The chief editor of this effort was Periyasaamy Thooran. The entire Kalaikalanjiam is available online at the Tamil Virtual...

(Kalaikalanjiyam). He died in 1999.

Short Stories

• Kelatha Ganam
• Udhaya Kumaari
• Manjal Roja
• Manai Mangalam
• Kallarai Mogini
• Thirupugazh Samiyar

Novels

• Ravichandrika
• Kadal Kanda Kanavu
• Nandavanam
• Vannila Ponnarasi
• Enthayum Thayum