Nitin Babel, Prateek Roy Chowdhury

Ponneelan is a much-admired Tamil writer renowned for his novels, short story collections, biographies, critical essays, and translations. His novel Pudhiya Dharisanangal won the 1994 Sahitya Akademi Award for Tamil. In 2016 it was translated as New Dharshans by S. Nagarajan and published by Sahitya Akademi. His other major novel was Marupakkam considered as his lifetime achievement which delves into the complexities of the Mandaikkadu riot of his region. Karisal was his debut novel, published in 1976. Forty-five years later, it continues to remain in print in Tamil. J. Priyadarshini, granddaughter of Ponneelan, grew up in an atmosphere of literature and litterateur. Her grandfather's library of books and the writers and political leaders who visited him shaped her childhood and growing up in many ways. Priyadarshini is also passionate about penning poems and painting.