Sivasankari reminisces about Kalki

Sivasankari is a celebrated Tamil novelist, whose prolific output has stood the test of time with the author’s profound concern for the victims of societal injustice as well as individual frailties, her empathy for Indian womanhood across generations, and the crusading spirit that pervades her work as both a writer and activist. Her novels have been translated into many languages, Indian and European, and made into movies and television serials in all the south Indian languages and Hindi. She has conceptualised, scripted, and anchored successful TV programmes on women’s issues. The Sahitya Akademi initiative “Knit India Through Literature” aimed at making the rich variety of Indian writing in different languages accessible to Indians everywhere was the brainchild of Sivasankari, who curated the massive English translation project it involved and interviewed the over twenty authors featured in a four-volume zone-wise anthology. Sivasankari’s family were friends with Kalki, and she had the opportunity to interact with him during her childhood.