Hailing from Sirkazhi and settling down in Saligramam, Chennai, Devaki Ramalingam, is a multi-faceted personality: she is a poet, writer, publisher and also a social activist who strives for the uplift of society and children in particular.
Speaking to News Today, Devaki said, “I am self-made person. I was, and still am, a voracious reader. I have been reading from the tender age of six and this led to deep interest and involvement in literature.”
Devaki is the proud winner of more than 500 awards both for her personal contributions to literature and works of her publishing unit / team.
She received ‘Best Publisher’ award from the Public Library Department, Tamilnadu government, last year. She also was the recipient of ‘Best Publisher’ award from NLC in 2006 and the award for publishing the best translation from Tirupur Tamil Sangam in 2016 for poems of ‘Gitanjali’. Not to mention the ‘Kavithai Uravu’ award constituted by the Kavithai Uravu organisation of Kalaimamani Yervadi Radhakrishnan.
She added that her tenure as a proof reader in a private firm strengthened her literary knowledge and gradually her career drifted towards reading, writing and publishing literary creations.
As a teen, Devaki had established a literary association at her native place and conducted ‘Kavi Arangam’ programmes. She was also a member of a handwritten literary magazine.
“After a short stint in a private publishing unit as proof reader, I started my own publishing house – Niveditha Pathippagam – in 1999. It was the brainchild of my husband Ramalingam who is a journalist by profession. He is also my pillar of support,” said Devaki.
“Without him I would not have been able to achieve and reach this height,” she added. Another Interesting matter that Devaki shared with this scribe was that during the 51st Library Week celebration at Saligramam, a book exhibition was organised and children were seen demanding that their parents buy story books specifically made for them. “It encouraged me to write for children,” she said.
Devaki also has a long list of her own literary creations of which the first and, according to her the best, are the ‘Arumbukalin Aavesam’ (Haiku poem), ‘Vannathu Poochigalluku Endha Neram Pidikkum’ (poem) and ‘Deerka Regaigal’ (short stories).
Speaking about her current focus, Devaki states there are two subjects in which she wants to concentrate more on – write a number of books which will inspire children and mould their character and start a storytelling session for children to help boost their moral strength and bring about tolerance in them.
“I want to do it because it is important that children of today accept what comes their way and not to covet that they are not worthy of,” she said.
On the literary front, Devaki wants to bring to the world the works of unsung heroes. They are the works of T P Meenakshi Sundaram, Mylai Seeni Vengadasamy and K Appadurai which constitute the Sangam poems.
Devaki can be reached at 89393 87295.