Writers Sabarinathan and Devi Nachiappan have been conferred Sahitya Akademi’s Yuva Puraskar and Bal Sahitya Puraskar awards for 2019 on Friday.
While Mr. Sabarinathan has been awarded for his poetry collection ‘Vaal (Tail)’ published in 2016, Ms. Nachiappan has received the award for her contributions to children’s literature.
Mr. Sabarinathan, who hails from Kazhugumalai in Thoothukudi district, has so far published two poetry collections. His first collection titled Kalam Kaalam Aatam was published in 2011, a year after he completed Electronics and Communications Engineering at Thiagarajar Engineering College in Madurai. He works with Tamil Nadu government’s Department of Employment and Training in Chennai. Speaking to The Hindu, he said his poetry revolves around different aspects of contemporary life. Though he hails from the region famously known in Tamil literary circle as karisal mann, he said his work could not be classified as karisal literature. “My works only have glimpses of karisal region here and there,” he said.
Mr. Sabarinathan, who admires the poems of Pramil, Devadevan and Devathachan in Tamil, has translated a few works of Swedish poet and Nobel Laureate Tomas Transtromer in Tamil. He has also written literary criticism. Ms. Nachiappan, 58-year-old daughter of renowned children’s writer Azha. Valliappa, has written 12 books, predominantly short stories for children. She has been working as a Tamil teacher for the past 29 years at Sri Meenakshi Sundareswarar Higher Secondary School in Keelasevalpatti in Sivaganga district.