Kumudini- Makers of Indian Literature

Kumudini Ranganayaki Thatham (1905-1986), scholar, writer, translator and Gandhian activist was among the first feminist thinkers in Tamil Nadu. Self-educated, Kumudini came into the limelight with her translation of Rabindranath Tagore's Yoga-Yog which was serialised in Ananda Vikatan in the early thirties. Her sparkling wit and in-depth scholarship in Sanskrit, Tamil and English made her essays informative, educative and eminently readable.

Inspired by the Swadesi Movement launched by Mahatma Gandhi, Kumudini wrote tirelessly on the need to take up Gandhian ideals to save the nation both from medieval obscurantism and modern consumerism. She also lived a Gandhian life, visited the Wardha Ashram several times, and corresponded with the Mahatma. She wore Khaddar, propagated Hindi and was instrumental in launching the Tiruchi Seva Sangam which has performed yeoman service to the cause of the marginalised and abandoned women and female children during the six decades of its existence.

Prema Nandakumar (b. 1939) obtained her Ph.D for her study of Sri Aurobindo's Savitri. A creative writer, critic and translator, she writes both in Tamil and English. Her recent publication is an English translation of the ancient Tamil ethical text, Eladi.

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