C. S. Lakshmi

Better known by her pen name Ambai, C. S. Lakshmi was born in 1944 in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. She grew up in Mumbai and Bangalore. C.S. Lakshmi graduated from Bangalore University and completed her master’s at Madras Christian College. She went on to achieve her doctorate from Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi sometime during the 1970s. After her studies, she got a job as a lecturer in Tamil Nadu. She married Ahmedabad-born film director and producer Vishnu Mathur and they raise a foster girl child. C.S. Lakshmi is a distinguished Tamil writer. Her works are characterized by their strong and realistic female-centric genres, the importance of communication, and accepting one’s individuality.

She is the only Tamil writer whose name has been induced in the Picador Book of Modern Indian Literature. She has won numerous awards including the Vodafone Crossword Book Award in 2006, Kalaimagal Narayanaswami Iyer Prize, etc., to name a few. Lakshmi published her first book called ‘Nandimalai Charalilae’ or ‘At Nandi Hills’ in 1962 when she was just a teenager. Her first serious work was the fictional novel ‘Andhi Maalai’ (Twilight) which was published in 1966. She also received praise for her short story ‘Siragukal Muriyum’ (Wings Will be Broken). In 1976, Lakshmi was honoured with a two-year fellowship to study the works of female writers in Tamil Nadu. Through this research, she was able to probe into the minds of the women writers and got an insight into the experiences they had to live through.

Lakshmi wrote and published her second collection of short stories, ‘Veetin Mulaiyil Oru Samaiyalaraj’ in 1988. This book cemented her title as a significant short-story writer in Tamil Nadu. Some of her notable works are: ‘Civappuk Kazuttu Tan Oru Paccaip Paravai’ a collection of short stories, ‘A Purple Sea’ (1992), ‘In A Forest, A Deer’ (2006), and many more. Lakshmi was honoured with Iyal Virudhu, a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2008, by the Canada-based Tamil Literary Garden, and in 2021, she became the recipient of India’s highest literary honour, the Sahitya Akademi Award.

Apart from her academic and fictional writings, C.S. Lakshmi has also contributed to the world of Tamil cinema as a Screenwriter for the movies ‘Thangaraj Enge’, and ‘Mudhal Athiyayam’. ‘Thangaraj Enge’ is a film released in 1980, directed by K. Hariharan and stars popular Tamil actor Nagesh. C.S. Lakshmi is credited to have worked in two movies, written two novels, nine collections of short stories, six research books, and more.