Tamil scholar Avvai Natarajan passes away

CHENNAI: Renowned Tamil scholar and Thanjavur Tamil University former vice-chancellor Avvai Natarajan passed away on Monday. He was 86.
An accomplished Tamil orator and writer, he published several books on Vallalar, Bharathi, Kambar and former chief minister C N Annadurai. ‘Art Panorama of Tamils’is one of his famous works.
The vice-chancellor of Tamil University from 1992 to 1995, he was also vice-chairman of the Central Institute of Classical Tamil in 2014 and received the Padma Shri award in 2011.
In a career spanning more than five decades, he held several posts including Tamil professor in Rajah Serfoji Government College, Thanjavur and Madurai Thiagarajar College, news reader in All India Radio, deputy director of DIPR, translation director and secretary to the Tamil development and culture department.
Born to Tamil scholar Avvai Duraisamy in 1936 in Avvaiyar Kuppam near Cheyyar in Tiruvannamalai district, Natarajan studied in Madurai Thiagaraja College and completed his PhD in Pachayaippa’s College, Chennai. He and his wife Tara have sons Kannan, Arul and Bharathan.
Governor R N Ravi, chief minister M K Stalin condoled the death of Avvai Natarajan. CM said Avvai Natarajan’s demise was a loss to Tamils and the academic world.