Mu.Balakrishnan (1935), whose pen-name is Ilangkannan, is a rare kind of poet. He is a renowned statistician and retired as an Additional Director of Statitistics, Government of Tamilnadu.
We can not imagine a statistician will also prove his ability in the art of poetic writing.
Facts and fancy are the two extremes and here we can see Ilangkannan, who has performed the wonder of mastery over the two different faculties. He had received many laurels for his performance in the field of statistics as well as for his poetic talents.
His first book, a compilation of his poems titeld”Thaen malar” was appreciated by Suratha, a literary giant, and Suratha himself volunteered to get it published.
Ilangkannan to his credit has authored an epic. While people ignore prosody and wish to write free verse, Ilangkannan,a statistician tried his best to follow the rules laid down by prosody works and gift the Tamils an epic unique in its matter and manner.
While most of the epics, except a few, try to promote superstitions and religious fanaticism, his epic outshines others. This epic does not follow its predecessors in praising God and having a god or a saint as its hero.
This epic has chosen its hero from the ordinary people. The legendary leader Kamaraj, a representative of the common man, is the hero of this epic titled”Kaamaraasar kaaviyam.”The biography of the late leader Kamarajar is
narrated in a superb way through fine poetry. It may also be considered as a History of Tamilnadu written in verse. The atrocities of the British regime, the emergence of the National movement, the struggle for freedom by our ancestors,Kamarajar’s participation in various agitations against the then British rule, the sacrifices he had done for the country, the achievement of freedom, the
situations that led to the rise of Kamarajar as a powerful leader, Kamarajar as an efficient Chief Minister of Tamilnadu, Kamarajar as a dynamic President of the Indian National Congress, Kamarajar a King-maker who had a role in making Prime Ministers and his other achievements are described in this epic, till to the sad demise of the leader.
We can not find in any other Indian language an epic like this, which describes the freedom movement in a detailed manner.
Ilangkannan’s book on Thirukkural,titled”The Design and Composition of Thirukkural” is an interdisciplinary approach to Thirukkural.His scholarship in Statistics is utilized to give a new explanation to the formalistic elements of Thirukkural.
Ilangkannan actively takes part in many literary conferences and meetings.
He had rendered recital of his poems in such meetings as well as through
Radio and Television. He is still continuing his poetic career with much enthusiasm and is widely appreciated for his poems.
