Kalyanasundaranar

Makkal Kavignar Pattukkottai Kalyanasundaram (April 13, 1930 - October 8, 1959) is a well-known poet, lyricist. He was the most popular lyricist in 1950's before Kannadasan fame. He penned some of the wonderful philosophy-tinged, upbeat lyrics to MGR’s successful movies.

He was born on April 13, 1930. His father Arunachalam Pillai was also a Tamil scholar and poet. PKS was born to an ordinary farming family at Senkapaduthankadu village in Pattukkottai town of Thanjavur district in Tamil Nadu. His parents were Arunachalam Pillai (a folk poet) and Visalakshi Ammal. He was the second son to this couple. Eldest was Ganapathisundaram. Another sibling was a sister Vedhambal. PKS never went to school, but had an in-born talent for poetry. He married Gowravammal in 1957, and had a baby son Kumaravelu born in 1959.

He has worked at Kuyil, a magazine ran by Bharathidasan . PKS received the first offer from Tamil movie world to write two lyrics for the movie Paditha Penn [Educated Woman], that was released on April 20, 1956. . PKS’s star was destined to rise, as Lady Luck showered her blessings and Tamil movie fans noticed him, when five of his lyrics that adorned the movie Maheswari (a Modern Theatres production with Gemini Ganesan as the hero), was released ahead on November 13, 1955. The music director for this movie was G. Ramanathan; a versatile hand in the field. C. V. Sridhar, who became well known as a trendy director later, wrote the script and dialogue. Kalyanasundaram-Sridhar combination hit the jackpot subsequently in the successful movie Kalyana Parisu [1959, Venus Pictures; again starring Gemini Ganesan]. As detailed by director Sridhar’s reminiscences, PKS wrote 8 lyrics for this triangular love plot, and all of them became great hits. This movie had the optimal mix of tear-jerking scenes, tasteful songs and a parallel comedy track of husband-wife K. A. Thangavelu - M. Saroja pair. PKS’s stellar career received tremendous boost, as he wrote memorable lyrics for the two leading Tamil stars of that period – MGR and Sivaji Ganesan. Here is a list of movies, which feature PKS lyrics for these two stars.

MGR: 7 movies; Chakravarthi Thirumagal (1957), Mahadhevi (1957), Nadodi Mannan (1958), Arasilangkumari (1961), Thirudadhe (1961), Vikramaadhithan (1962) and Kalai Arasi (1963).

Sivaji Ganesan: 11 movies; Rangoon Radha (1956), Ambikapathi (1957), Pudhaiyal (1957), Makkalai Petra Magarasi (1957), Uthama Puthiran (1958), Padhi Bhakti (1958), Aval Yar ? (1959), Bhaaga Pirivinai (1959), Thanga Padhumai (1959), Irumbu Thirai (1960), Punar Jenmam (1961).

Within the years 1954–1959 he became active in the film industry of southern India and penned around 250 songs. After suffering major migraines, Pattukkottaiyaar underwent surgery to his nose in September 1959. A few days after surgery, he died of cereberal haemorrhage on October 8, 1959.

The first compilation of Pattukkottai Kalyanasundaram's songs appeared in 1965 in print form. Comparative studies and criticism have also been published in the form of books by several authors, like Paa. Udayakumar, Ki. Sembiyan, Solomon Pappaiah, Irakuladasan, M. P. Manivel, Pandian, Paa. Veeramani and others.

Tamil Nadu Murpokku Ezhuthalar Sangam, Pattukkottai, brought out souvenirs on Pattukkottaiyaar's 50th, 56th and 60th birthdays. A bronze statue was unveiled at a busy junction in Pattukkottai town and a special souvenir was released on the statue unveiling ceremony in 1995..

Government Of India brought out a souvenir on the occasion of the Silver Jubilee of India's Independence recognising Mahakavi Subramaniya Bharathi,Pavendhar Bharathidasan and Makkal Kavignar Pattukkottai Kalyanasundaram as the three foremost poets of the 20th century in Tamil.

In 1981, the then Chief Minister of the state, M. G. Ramachandran conferred posthumously the prestigious Bharathidasan Award to Pattukkottaiyaar. Later in 1993,the then Chief Minister Jayalalithaa Jayaram declared nationalization of Pattukkottaiyaar's literary works.In 2000,a memorial structure, Pattukkottai Kalyanasundaram Manimandapam, has been erected in Pattukkottai and was inaugurated by the then Chief Minister Muthuvel Karunanidhi.

He married Gowravammal from Athikkottai (a village adjacent to Pattukkottai) at the age of 27. His mentor Bharathidasan presided over the nuptials on September 11, 1957 at Madras. In 1959, this couple gave birth to their only child, whom they named Kumaravelu who is now a state government employee,married and resides in Chennai along with his wife Kavitha,daughter Akalya and son Selvasundaram.