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Vol. XXXI No. 3, May 16-31, 2021

Charukesi & Muthiah – Two veteran journalists of Chennai with contrasting personalities

by R.V. Rajan (rvrajan42@gmail.com)

During 2019 I lost two of my genuine well-wishers, who were responsible for my new Avatar as a writer/author, post retirement. One was Charukesi, the well-known bilingual writer and music /dance critic who passed away on 30th January, 2019. He had just turned 80. The other one was S. Muthiah, the chronicler of Madras, a heritage activist/ author who passed away on 20th April, 2019. He was 89. Both were single. Charukesi was a lifelong bachelor who never married and Muthiah, a widower who lost his wife of 40 years in 2013. What contrasting personalities they were.

Both Charukesi and Muthiah became full time writers post retirement from regular jobs. Charukesi, born in a large middle class family, was a diploma holder in Commerce from the Indian Merchants Chamber. A self-made man he evolved as a multi-dimensional writer who wrote essays on a variety of subjects covering medicine, literature, painting, politics, theatre, administration, industry, etc. He also wrote short stories, novels, travelogues and was a columnist for a couple of Tamil journals. Besides this he was also a well-known translator of books – both from English to Tamil and Tamil to English. Encouraged by a friend he adopted the pen name Charukesi – without even knowing that it was the name of a popular raga and that one day he would become a much sought after music and dance critic. He was a regular contributor to the Metro Plus section of The Hindu writing many feature articles apart from reviews. A prolific writer, he had written over 8,000 articles and a couple of novels and hundreds of short stories in an illustrious writing career spanning 62 years.

S Muthiah

Muthiah, born with the proverbial silver spoon in a prominent and prosperous Nagarathar family, had his engineering education in USA. He started his career as a journalist with the Times of Ceylon where he worked for 17 years. Forced by circumstances he came to India in 1968 to take up a job as the Chief of TT Maps & Atlas – a unit of the TTK group. Doing research on Madras city for preparing the maps on Chennai kindled in him an abiding interest in the history of Madras . While still in his job, he dabbled as freelance writer and published a book titled Madras Discovered in 1981. It was to be the beginning of his tryst with Madras and its history.

N. Murali (centre), releasing the book, Mridanga Medhai Palakkad Mani Iyer, written by Charukesi (left). With them is V. Sriram. Picture courtesy: The Hindu.

N. Murali (centre), releasing the book, Mridanga Medhai Palakkad Mani Iyer, written by Charukesi (left). With them is V. Sriram. Picture courtesy: The Hindu.

Charukesi’s looks were deceptive. He packed a lot of energy in his thin, lean frame. A humble and a serious-looking man, his sense of humour in most of his writings was palpable. His essays were both informative and entertaining. Charukesi, with help from his nephews mastered the art of using his PC for churning out articles both in English & Tamil – though he never felt comfortable using the smart phone. He could be seen pounding away on his computer, either in English or Tamil, for several hours every day. He allotted specific times every day for his varied assignments. He was a one man army as he had no one to help him with any of his work. He would move around the city in public transport or just walk long distances to reach specific destinations. Walking helped him keep fit, he would claim.

Charukesi never bothered about the compensation he got for his writings for any of his assignments; be it a column or a book project. He accepted whatever the publications or clients paid him, very often doing jobs pro bono. He never capitalised on his reputation, though the monthly remuneration that he was earning from publications post retirement from his job was important for maintaining his family consisting of four siblings, all senior citizens and single, who were staying with him.

Muthiah, refused to accept technology until his end. He did not own a mobile phone for long nor did he ever learn the use of a computer. He continued to churn out his articles pounding on his faithful Olivetti typewriter. He was assisted by a secretary and also had a battery of writers to help him with research work for the many book projects that he undertook for a fee.

Highly disciplined writers both of them were very time conscious and believed in keeping up with deadlines, without fail.

* * *

For all his greatness Charukesi was humility personified. A humble person who was non-political, non-judgmental he endeared himself to everyone he came in contact with, in his long journey as a writer. Never fond of publicity for himself, he would prefer to remain a back bencher wherever he went. A soft-spoken person, he did not believe in hurting anyone through words or deeds. He shunned big parties but could be seen nursing a glass of wine in private parties with close friends. The number of young musicians and dancers he had encouraged through his writings is well known.

Muthiah believed in celebrating life, enjoying the good things without any reservations. He enjoyed people, parties and the daily quota of two pegs of his favourite whiskey every evening, which he consumed after an evening walk on the walking track of the Madras Club. He was not averse to the limelight under which he found himself very often. Being a heritage activist, he was a fighter for causes and made no bones about confronting people on controversial issues. For all his aggressive stance, he was a very friendly and helpful person. He was a great mentor not only to his students but also scores of aspiring writers (like me).

Charukesi never enjoyed being a public speaker, often restricting it to a few minutes of prepared talk laced with his customary humour, which he would deliver with a dead pan face. On the other hand Muthiah was a popular public speaker on Madras, its heritage and its people. He readily accepted any invitation to give a talk on Madras by any institution. He was a good story-teller who revelled in recapitulating many interesting anecdotes about famous people & places of Madras. He was also a popular teacher of journalism in many colleges. Many writers in English based in Chennai today were his erstwhile students.

* * *

Both Charukesi and Muthiah had become legends, in their respective fields, during their own life time. While they might have been poles apart as personalities, their contribution to Chennai and its culture or heritage can never be underestimated. I believe both their inspiring life stories must be recorded for posterity, so that the future generations can use them as their role models in life.

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