Nirmal Selvamony

Dr. Nirmal Selvamony (B.1953-) is an Indian academician and scholar. Currently, he is the Head-in-charge of Department of English in Central University of Tamil Nadu. His major interests include Literary Theory, Eco Criticism, Eco Theory, music and drama. The current president of OSLE-India. He obtained PhD. from University of Madras with dissertation Literary Personhood in tolkappiyam in 1988. He completed BA from Scott Christian College with First Rank in Madurai Kamaraj University. He published 14 books, 50 chapters in books more than 40 research papers in journal and more than 100 conference papers. He has worked in various universities and colleges across India and abroad. He got North East Ohio Tamil Sangam Life Time Achievement Award in 2011.

Nirmal Selvamony completed BA (1973–76) from Scott Christian College affiliated to Madurai Kamaraj University with First Rank in 1976. In 1978, completed MA from Madras Christian College, Chennai in English with A Grade. In 1978, he joined Christian Institute for the Study of Religion and Society, Bangalore as research fellow and submitted an essay titled Personhood in Art in 1982. In 1980 he joined University of Madras, for PhD and submitted dissertation titled Literary Personhood in tolkappiyam in 1988.

Nirmal Selvamony began his career during his time in University of Madras from 1980 as a lecturer in Department of English of Madras Christian College. In 1989 he became a senior grade lecturer there. He was a visiting scholar in Davidson College, NC, USA during 1994-96. In 2006, he became Associate Profossor in the Madras Christian College. In 2009, he worked as a visiting faculty in Department of English in Central University of Tamil Nadu. In 2010, worked as Professor in Department of English of Cleveland State University, Ohio, USA. In 2011, returned to Department of English in Central University of Tamil Nadu as Head-in-charge. He was visiting faculty in many universities in India and across the World.In 2009, he worked as visiting faculty in University of Hawaii, USA, Queen’s University, Belfast, N. Ireland. Elmhurst College, Chicago, USA.

Selvamony has introduced the course, Ecocriticism in the Indian university system and founded a forum now known as tiNai (formerly, OSLE-India) and also a journal (Indian Journal of Ecocriticism) to promote this course. He was also the first to introduce the courses, Tamil Musicology and Music and Literature in the University of Madras. He has revived the traditional Indian philosophical tradition called “kaaTci” (in a publication titled tamizk kaaTci neRiyiyal, 1996 [The Methodology of Tamil Philosophy], which precedes the darshanas. Introduced tiNai (ecoregional) musicology that studies the music of the primordial biomic world regions (see: essays published in the reports of Tamil Isaic Cankam, Chennai, 1991, 1995, 1996). For the past twenty-five years he has researched tiNai society and published several papers on various aspects of it attempting to reconstruct it as an alternative social order. He has played the guitar professionally in India and also in musical performances in India, USA, Germany and Hong Kong. Supplementing his doctoral research in dramatic theory, he has scripted, and directed plays and composed music for them.

In 2011, he was awarded Lifetime Achievement Award by North East Ohio Tamil Sangam, Ohio, US. He was awarded with For Best Monograph by International School of Dravidian Linguistics,Thiruvananthapuram for the book, Persona in Tolkappiyam. He was selected as the Best Student, UGC Summer Institute in English Language Teaching, sponsored by British Council Division, Chennai and CIEFL, Hyderabad, at Department of English, University of Madras from 13 October to 8 November 1986.

Nirmal Selvamony’s other interests include music and drama. In 2015 he organised Theater Workshop with Kanta Kochhar-Lindgren, at Central University of Tamil Nadu, 18–23 March 2015. In 2002, he was the secretary of Tamizicaiyiyal Uyarnilai Aayvu Manram (Forum for Advanced Research in Tamil Musicology), Madurai.

He appeared in Vijaya TV programme Niiyaa Naanaa? (You or Me?) for a talk on “Do We Give Undue Importance to English?” on 30 Oct.2012. He was interviewed in Makkal Television on Tinai in “Cevvi in September, 2007 He appeared in NDTV in a programme “Red Earth and the Pouring Rain” (On Monsoons in India) in 2006.