Hundred Years For 'Vandumama': The Wizard Of Tamil Tales For Kids

In Tamil Nadu, across the luminous span from the 1960s to the 1990s, childhood held a particular enchantment, a literary realm that beckoned amidst open play fields, summer mango groves and stertorous school work - a realm where the name ‘Vandumama’ filled its very atmosphere with a unique melody, its memory even now a vibrant source of blessed inspiration and profound nostalgia.

Most of his young readers never knew this name. To them he was ‘Vandumama’. He had also written under many names. Each name would be chosen for a particular type of writing style and content. He was born to be a story-teller for children and what stories he said and said and said.

He was born this day, 100 years ago.

At a very early stage in life, he discovered writing to be his passion. He was also an illustrator.

Gandhian Sadasivam started a popular children’s magazine with an all Tamil Nadu reach in 1972. V.Krishnamurthi, who was writing then in Kalki, became a major contributor to this magazine. He wrote serials on science, technology, ethnography of various tribes across the world, folk tales from various cultural traditions, fantasy novel serial, a comics serial to say a few.

Viswa Nathan, (‘King Viswa’) a present Tamil author and an authority on Tamil children’s literature and comics genre, informs that ‘Vandumama’ wrote in thirteen different pen names. ‘He was born in Kausika Gotra and hence wrote under Kausikan. This name he usually reserved when he wrote for grown audience. He was born under the star of Vaishak and hence under the name Vaisakan.’ says Viswa.

Viswanathan has also written a book to commemorate the 100th birth anniversary of 'Vandumama.'

When Gokulam was first published in 1972, it started with a spectacular comics series which was penned by ‘Kausikan’. It was titled ‘Veerathi Veeran’ (‘Bravest of the Brave’).

It was a story of a school-going boy, Rahim, in Bangladesh (then East Pakistan) occupied by Pakistan army. Rahim, accompanied by a group of his pet animals like a dog, a monkey, a mongoose, a donkey and a parrot assist Mukti Bahini braving all kinds of dangers.

It can be a fitting tribute to ‘Vandumama’ on his birth centenary to translate this classic into Hindi and Bengali and republish it both as comics and as animation. The comics has all the potentials to become a great animation classic.

Where did I hear the name Rana Sanga first?

That was the closing paragraph of ‘Kausikan’’s account of Rana Sanga. The lines in Tamil had a 'mantric' effect on a generation of children. You read them and then patriotism becomes part of your being. No textbook can bring that magic to history-telling.

The stories he spun, each a vibrant exposition in the grand discourse of our nation's spirit. One such tale, that even today thrills the heart, was of an 11-year-old boy, his young spirit ablaze with a fierce yearning to join the ranks of Prithviraj's valiant army. Though the noble king declined this extremely noble sacrificial offer from such a tender boy, he was struck by the incandescent patriotism that shone in the boy's eyes and gently inquired its source.

The boy's voice, though frail, carried the weight of a profound sorrow: his father, a loyal companion to the king in the battle of Mahoba, had vanished, his body lost amidst the fallen. A shadow of dishonour had fallen upon their name, whispers suggesting he had fled. It was to erase this stain, to reclaim his father's lost valour, that the boy sought to stand on the battlefield.

The king's heart, ever sensitive to courage and loyalty, was deeply moved. He remembered the warrior, Sowmyaraya, his name echoing in the halls of memory.

Victory at Mahoba had come at a heavy cost, leaving the king himself wounded and near death. Some distance by, lay the boy's father, both legs severed, immobile. As the shadows lengthened, so did the threat, as vultures descended upon the fallen.

Helpless, the king watched their approach. But the boy's father, witnessing the peril to his sovereign, though unable to move, made a choice born of ultimate devotion. With his own hands, he began to tear at his flesh, casting pieces towards the scavenging birds, diverting their attention from the king towards himself.

That was the last Prithviraj saw of the brave Sowmyaraya, with vultures diverted, now devouring him even as darkness descended on the king. And that was why, later, no recognisable trace of the warrior could be found.

The story concluded with a poignant echo of selflessness, comparing Sowmyaraya's sacrifice to that of the legendary Sibi Chakravarti.

Reading the lines sent shivers down the spine, awakening within the very essence of fighting for one's nation. This was history imbued with spirit, with the profound weight of values, a history no mere classroom could ever impart. It flowed from a soul ignited by a heart full of love for our land.

His was a remarkable ability to animate the very essence of folk traditions, drawn from every corner of the globe, transcending the boundaries of nation, culture, and religion.

Through his narratives, their differences gently reinforced themselves into a grander unity.

Remember those days, there was no internet. To collect these stories which were published in every issue of 'Gokulam', how much he should have read, how much time he should have spent in libraries taking notes and then coming home to reproduce them into Tamil, not as dry translations but as living, loveable stories.

Thus he revealed to us, then children, without preaching, a powerful and comforting truth: the fundamental oneness of human spirituality, blossoming in myriad forms through the diverse expressions of various cultures.

Consider the tender story of the Daisy he shared with the children of Tamil Nadu through the pages of Gokulam. These unassuming flowers, in an act of quiet devotion, offered solace to Mary and the infant Christ. As the Holy Family moved on, a soft touch from the baby Jesus, a silent expression of thanks, left its mark upon each bloom, imbuing their hearts with a golden hue that endures to this day. For a Hindu child, this tale would resonate with the familiar legend of the squirrel, whose stripes bear the loving touch of Sri Rama. Both narratives, born not of canonical scripture but of shared human imagination, illustrate a common spiritual wellspring.

He wrote about the wonders of science, nature, the interesting stories of inventions and trails of the inventors. We learned about wonderful life forms. We learnt about the tribes of Zulu and Australia. We learnt about their cultures, traditions, religious beliefs and how respectfully he presented them. It came naturally to him. When we read, we empathised with them. We felt again the common humanity in his writing.

He also created immortal characters. He was here ably assisted by ‘Chellam’, an illustrator. He created ‘Bale Balu’ ('Bravo Balu!') who was smart and naughty, always getting into troubles and often also getting out of them in the nick of time.

Then there was also ‘Samathu Charu’ ('Smart Charu'), another wonderful girl character. They should have been made as famous as Dennis the menace or Archie and Jughead. But then it seems ‘Vandumama’ was under-appreciated and even to this day underutilised.

He also experimented with varied genre. For instance, his serialised novel Maya Mothiram (Magical Ring) is quite reminiscent of the 'Lord of the Rings'. His another fantasy novel Manthira Kambalam (Magical Carpet) was totally an Indic fantasy children's literature.

His excellent understanding of comics form of presenting stories, also helped in designing story panels to present Puranic stories to children serialised in children's magazines.

'Vandumama' was also in charge of Poonthalir, an illustrated children's magazine which during late 1980s and major part of 1990s brought out Tamil versions of Amar Chitra Katha. Particularly the Mahabharata series as well as characters which Anant Pai ('Uncle Pai') launched in English, were tastefully translated into Tamil by 'Vandumama'.

He went on writing till he entered into a fight with cancer.

In one of the comics series involving ‘Bale Balu’, he showed seemingly mysterious events which would later reveal themselves to have natural explanations. This included even the sighting of a flying saucer.

On 14 April, 2025, Viswanathan organised a day-long event to celebrate the birth centenary of Vandumama. His family members were invited and honoured. Many from creative fields of Tamil, literature to movie industry, remembered Vandumama as their childhood inspiration into the creative field.

‘Vandumama’ was not a personality but a phenomenon. He was one man ocean of child literature in Tamil of his time. Today the forms and media of child literature have changed. But the place of Vandumama is an unoccupiable throne of the eternal emperor – verily a throne of Vikramaditya.