Chennai: Sahitya Akademi award winner and the grand old man of Tamil literature Ki Rajanarayanan, popularly called as ‘KiRa’, died in Puducherry in the early hours of Tuesday. He was 98.
He is survived by two sons. Family sources said he died of old age-related ailments. His body was kept at Lawspet Government quarters residence, where Puducherry Lt Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan paid her homage.
Tamilnadu Chief Minister M K Stalin condoled his death and said his funeral will take place with full State honours (today).
“A pioneer in writing stories in dialects, KiRa authored a dictionary of dialect–Karisal Kaatu Sollagarathi–which paved way for similar dictionaries from other regions of the State.”
In another statement, Stalin said a statue of the legendary writer will be installed at his native Idaiseval village in Kovilpatti in his honour.
He also announced that the school at Idaiseval where the writer spent his school days would be renovated and a hall would be constructed in which his works and old photographs would be kept on display.
Earlier, announcing the KiRa would be cremated with full state honours, the Chief Minister said the death of Ki Rajanarayanan marked an end to stories from the karisal (arid) land.
“We have lost the best storyteller in Tamil,” he said, adding, “Mother Tamil has lost one of her identities. Who will console her? His fame would live so long as this land remains and so long as literature from karisal land exists”.
Paying rich tributes to the writer, Stalin said Ki Ra has not died but continued to live in the form of his works.
Meanwhile, the mortal remains of Ki Ra were taken to his native Kovilpatti for the last rites to be held today.
The Puducherry administration accorded full State honours before the carriage carrying his mortal remains left for Kovilpatti.