Maa. Aranganathan Memorial Awards for two Tamil scholars

April 09, 2024 09:16 pm | Updated 09:16 pm IST - Chennai

Maa. Aranganathan Memorial Awards for literary scholars will be conferred on Tamil scholars Thea. Gnanasundaram and K.V. Balasubramaniam on April 16, according to a press release from the Maa. Aranganathan Foundation.

The foundation launched in 2018 has been honouring Tamil scholars who have made lasting contributions to literature, art, and heritage. The award carries a cash prize of ₹1 lakh and a citation. The awards were instituted in the memory of Maa. Aranganathan, an unsung writer, but well recognised in the circle of connoisseurs of contemporary Tamil literature. He ran the literary magazine Mundril and authored 90 short stories, two novels, and a lot of articles on literature and language.

The winner of the award Mr. Gnanasundaram, an authority on Vaishnavite literature, is the first professor of the Kamban Chair, Central University, Puducherry. Mr. Balasubramaniam, known as KVB, is a research scholar of ancient literature. He worked in the Tamil department at the Government College, Kumbakonam, and Tamil University, Thanjavur. Justice R. Mahadevan of the Madras High Court and the son of Aranganathan will present the awards.