novelist, poet, civil servant, and author of the first modern Tamil novel (1826–1889)

Samuel Vedanayagam Pillai

1826–1889, born Tiruchirappalli, writes in Tamil, English, Sanskrit, writer, novelist, poet, playwright

Samuel Vedanayagam Pillai (1826–1889), also known as Mayavaram Vedanayagam Pillai, was an Indian civil servant, Tamil poet, novelist and social worker who is remembered for the authorship of Prathapa Mudaliar Charithram (1879), recognized as the “first modern Tamil novel”. Vedanayagam’s ideals of women’s liberation and education are reflected in the novel.

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