Tirunelveli professor Soundara Mahadevan receives 2025 Tamil Semmal Award

Professor Soundara Mahadevan, head of the Tamil department at Sadakathullah Appa College in Tirunelveli, received the Tamil Nadu government’s 2025 Tamil Semmal Award at a government function in Chennai held on Tamil Nadu Day. The award recognises his contribution to the development of Tamil language and literature. He was presented with a certificate of appreciation and a gold purse.

Mahadevan’s literary work

Mahadevan said he has written 19 books and more than 100 articles on literature and self-confidence. His works include writing on internet-related technologies in Tamil and books used as university textbooks. He plans to publish சிறார் இலக்கியம் (Children’s Literature) as his 20th book; it is forthcoming, not yet published.

Important Facts for Exams

• Sangam corpus: The core Sangam corpus comprises the Eight Anthologies and Ten Idylls, alongside the grammatical treatise Tolkappiyam.
• Akam and puram: Tamil literature classifies themes as akam (subjective) or puram (objective), framing varied subjects within accepted conventions.
• Tirukkural structure: The Tirukkural contains 1,330 couplets: its chapters cover ethics, polity and love, in that order.