S.M.L. Lakshmanan Chettiar, as a 27-year-old budding businessman, undertook a marathon visit in 1948-49, covering nearly 40,000 km over six months, in search of business opportunities. Apart from the West, he went to other countries, including Australia and Malaysia.
But the journey had a great impact on him as it turned him into a trend-setting Tamil writer in travelogue.
Though he wrote initially under his original name, he subsequently adopted the pen name, Somalay, according to a monograph on him which was published by Sahitya Akademi originally in 2001.
Within a year of his return to Tamil Nadu, Somalay (1921-1986), whose birth centenary falls on Thursday, came out with three books including the one on the U.S., “Amerikkavai Paar,” which attracted a wide attention. There was no turning back since then.
Avvai Natarajan, former Vice-Chancellor of Tamil University, says Somalay was known for his power of sharp observation and this quality of his got reflected in many of his works, which covered not only travel but also contributions of the Nagarathar community in the fields of Tamil studies and temples. In travelogue, his work was comprehensive, as he wrote about African countries, States of India and districts of Tamil Nadu. “His book on the composite Ramanathapuram district had information that you can’t find even in the district gazetteer,” Dr. Natarajan points out.
Somalay wrote on various other subjects. Among them were his biographies of Omandur P. Ramaswami Reddiar (1895-1970), who was the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu at the time of Independence, and ‘Sardar’ Vedarathnam Pillai (1897-1961), a freedom fighter who played an important role in the Vedaranyam salt satyagraha of 1930.
Pointing out that a number of activities had been lined up as part of the centenary celebration, the writer’s son, Somalay Somasundaram, who is an agriculture scientist based in Philadelphia, said that on Thursday, a book on his father, meant for children, would be released at a government branch library, named in honour of the writer, in Nerkuppai, Sivaganga district.
The library is being supported by a foundation named after his father. Students from Sivaganga and Pudukottai districts will participate in an event and talk about Somalay’s contributions to Tamil.
On the same day, in Paypanayampatti where Somalay was involved in farming prior to becoming a full-time journalist, several villages would take part in the centenary celebration at Somasundara Vinayagar temple, which was built by his father, Mr. Somasundaram adds.