Poomani

Life and works

Poomani was born in 1947 into a family of marginal farmers in Andipatti, a village near Kovilpatti.

In his youth, Poomani was enchanted by the stories he heard around him growing up, as told by his mother and in his community. As a young man, the works of Ki. Rajanarayanan, a senior writer from Kovilpatti, inspired Poomani to take up writing. According to Poomani, KiRa combined in his writing "the scent of the soil with the natural flow of life's energies to enable the writing to develop its own traits, instead of borrowing from other models". He was also influenced by P. Kesavadev's Malayalam novel, Ayalkar, published in English as The Neighbours (1979). Poomani found in Ayalkar a worthy model: "It is a strong story, told with an aesthetic narrative style and keen imagination. The imagination adds lustre to the nature of the story, instead of dominating it. Changes and values arise anew on their own. The narration brings many things alive for the reader, carries him to the terrain of the story and stands him there. It makes him walk alongside, cry and laugh. When everything is wrapped up at the end, it makes him think."

Poomani's historical novel Agnaadi (January 2012) has been called "a landmark work". It covers a period of more than 170 years from the beginning of the 19th century, revolving mainly around the lives and fortunes of several families dispersed over villages in the region: Kalingal, Kazhugumalai, Chatrapatti, Veppankadu, Chinnaiahpuram and Sivakasi. The families are from a range of castes (Pallars, Vannaars, Panaiyeri Nadars, Naickers and Thevars) and occupations (farmers, washermen, toddy-tappers, landed squires and warriors). Poomani received a 28-month study and research grant from Indian Foundation of the Arts in Bengaluru to study the history of the novel. The novel won the inaugural Gitanjali Literary Prize.

Poomani directed the award-winning movie Karuvelam Pookkal (1996) for NFDC.

Awards