First Devan memorial lecture held

CHENNAI: What constitutes literary writing and whether the popular can be literary were questions that kept cropping up during the inaugural Devan Memorial Lecture on Thursday.
Organised by the Madras Book Club and Devan Endowments, the lecture was given by Tamil writer Indira Parthasarathy. He spoke about Tamil fiction writer R Mahadevan, better known as Devan, who along with ‘Kalki’ Krishnamurthy, dominated the fiction scene in 1940s and ’50s.
“Devan and Kalki were the most iconic figures of that time, much like the movie stars of today,” said Parthasarathy. “In the 1930s and ’40s, critics considered anyone with a readership over 500 a popular writer. Devan was a popular writer, but that doesn’t take away from his literary merit,” he said. Devan’s characters could be identified by the people and his stories provided insights about Tamil society, Parthasarathy said.
Writer Ashokamitran recalled his days with Devan, who edited the popular magazine ‘Ananda Vikatan’ and said the writer was known for his humour.