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Graphite portrait of the poet Kalapriya, depicted with two hibiscuses growing around him.

For The Caravan’s November 2018 issue, four portraits of leading figures of the Tamil New Poetry Movement.

Hibiscus from Broken Skulls

CLIENT + TEAM

The Caravan Magazine
Ashik Kahina (Author)
Tanvi Mishra (Creative Director)

LINK TO ARTICLE

Figures of the Tamil New Poetry movement have rarely been photographed professionally, despite contributing to the literary movement for decades and keeping certain traditions of the language and imagination alive.

 

The essay primarily focuses on the leading figure Kalapriya for his significant contribution to the movement, while also looking at the irreverence of Gnanakoothan, and the versatility of Vannadasan and Ramaswamy.

Although amongst the oldest languages in India, Tamil is often unnoticed due to its regional boundaries, yet contains a revolutionary poetry movement.

GNANAKOOTHAN

Pronounced (Nana-koo-than), known for invoking scat imagery and writing about characters that were conventionally considered negligible in artistic representation, such as sex workers, milkmen, etc.

Graphite Portrait of the poet Gnanakoothan.

VANNADASAN

Pronounced (Vun-nuh-dhaa-sun), this poet and short-story writer was raised with Kalapriya in the district of Tirunelveli. His pen name is a play on the word "Kannadassan", translated as 'devotee of the deity Krishna', while 'Vannadasan' translates to a 'devotee of hues'.

Graphite Portrait of the poet Vannadasan.

RAMASWAMY

 

Ramaswamy's contributions were in reaction to his view of a landscape overdetermined by language and caste politics, resulting in his drawing on a movement that represented an alternative to both modernism and the aesthetics of the Dravidian movement.

Graphite Portrait of the poet Ramawamy.

TEARSHEETS

© 2025 KEVIN ILANGO

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