Shreekumar Varma is an Indian author, playwright, poet and columnist who has worked for The New Indian Express, Madras Economic Times, Ritz Magazine and Deccan Herald. He is the author of several notable works, including Mohini’s Elegy (2000), Maria’s Room (2010), Kipling’s Daughter (2018) and The Devil’s Garden: Papdo Tom’s Story” (2006). Shreekumar Varma has also worked as a radio announcer and a lecturer at the School of Creative English at the School of Mathematics, Chennai.
Wiki/Biography
Shreekumar Varma was born in 1955 (68 years old; as of 2023) in Satmund Palace, Pujapuram, Thiruvananthapuram. In 1959, his parents left Kerala and moved to Madras. Shreekumar Varma studied at Good Shepherd Convent School and Madras Christian College High School. He once participated in a program designed by the school for All India Radio. He received his MA and MA in English Literature from Madras Christian College. He did journalism course at Bhawan Institute of Journalism and Mass Communication.
family
He belonged to the royal family of Travancore. After Moolam Thirunal Rama Varma and Revathi Thirunal Balagopal Varma, he is now a senior member of the Travancore royal family. In an interview, when asked what inspired him to write, he talked about the inspiration he got from his family, saying –
I’m really proud to belong to this family. I believe my cousins and I both inherited a certain artistic sensibility, as well as the mythology of the story as a whole, some of which found its way into my first novel, The Lamentations of Mohini,”
Parents and siblings
Shreekumar Varma’s mother Karthika Tirunal Indira Bai was born in 1926. She was the matriarch of the Travancore royal family and died in 2017. His father Kilimanoor Kerala Varma was an advocate, translator, novelist and industrialist. Shreekumar Varma’s grandmother Sethu Lakshmi Bayi was the last Maharani ruler of Travancore, an Indian painter and Great-grandson of artist Raja Ravi Varma. He is the cousin of artist Rukmini Varma.
Shreekumar Varma’s grandmother – Pooradam Thirunal Sethu Lakshmi Bayi
Shreekumar Varma’s great-grandfather, Raja Ravi Varma
wife and children
Shreekumar Varma lives in Chennai with his wife Geeta, an educationist and former journalist. She also published a collection of poems, “To My Violin.” He has two sons Vinayak Varma and Karthik Varma and daughter-in-law Yamini Vijayan.
Shrikumar Varma and his wife
Profession
Shreekumar Varma teaches English Literature and Journalism at Madras Christian College. He has also taught at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), JBAS College, DG Vaishnav College and Meenakshi College, Chennai. He has worked for The Indian Express and Film Industry Magazine (Cinema Today) in Mumbai. In Madras, he published a magazine called The Trident. He teaches English Literature and Journalism at Madras Christian College. Shreekumar Varma has been teaching Creative English at the Chennai Mathematics Institute for 13 years. He is the President of the Rotary Club of South West Madras. He is writer-in-residence at the University of Stirling, Scotland. He is a past president of the Rotary Club of South West Madras. He enjoys teaching students and sharing knowledge and experience. In an interview, he said –
I do enjoy teaching, and I find that science students often come up with more creative ideas than liberal arts students. I love encouraging people who I think have a talent for writing—in fact, I actually push them to write! “
Two award-winning plays, Dark Lord and Rama’s Bow, were performed by the British Council and Madras Actors in 1986 and 1993 respectively. His play Nathu’s Dream was produced as a musical in September 2010. He has translated poetry and novels for the British Council. OUP Selections of Malayalam Dalit Writings (translated from original Malayalam into English).
novel
- Mohini’s Elegy (Penguin, 2000)
- Maria’s Room (HarperCollins, 2010)
- Kipling’s Daughter (AngloInk, 2018)
children’s books
- The Devil’s Garden: The Story of Pabdom (Puffin, 2006)
- Nu-Cham-Vu’s Magic Shop (Penguin, 2009)
- Pazhassi Raja (Macmillan, 1997)
drama
- Five and Other Plays and Midnight Hotel and Other Plays (a collection of three plays each, both published by Adisakrit, 2019)
poetry
- He has written poems such as “Projector,” “Let Me,” “Love Song,” “Night in the Navy,” “The Big Three,” “Unknown,” and “Beyond the Senses.”
Awards
- In 2015, Shreekumar Varma won the RK Narayan Award for Excellence in English Writing.
- In 2004, Shreekumar Varma was awarded the Charles Wallace Scholarship.
- Shreekumar Varma won the second prize in the British Council South Indian Playwrights Competition for his play “Dark Lord”.
- His play “Bow of Rama” won the first prize in the Hindu All-India Script Competition.
- His children’s book The Magic Store of Nu-Cham-Vu was shortlisted for the 2009 Vodafone Crossword Book Award.
Facts/Trivia
- In 2009, Shreekumar Varma’s play Deep Inside was shortlisted for the inaugural MetroPlus Playscripts competition.
- Shreekumar Varma’s play Platform has been selected to launch the 50th anniversary celebrations of the Madras Theater Company, India’s oldest British theater company.
- In an interview, Shreekumar Varma explained his journey in writing:
I started out writing just a few short stories, but when my play The Dark Lord (1986) won second place in the British Council competition, Bow of Rama (1993) Years) I was safely in contest mode when I won the Hindu-Madras Players script contest. “
- Shrikumar is a supporter of the Right to Read movement and has made available free audio formats of the children’s book “The Devil’s Garden” and the novel “Maria’s Room”.
- His debut novel, Lament of Mohini, was shortlisted for the 2007 Crossword Book Award and was included in the Asian Age Top Ten list.
- His play “Midnight Hotel” had ten performances in Chennai and Bangalore in March, April, May and August 2009, raising approximately $4 million for the social service projects of the Christian Medical College, Vellore.
- Shreekumar Varma’s novel Maria’s Room was longlisted for the first Mann Asian Literary Award (2007) and featured in India Today’s Top 20 list in 2007.
- On January 23, 2016, Shreekumar Varma was kidnapped while traveling in West Africa.
Shreekumar Varma, award-winning Kerala novelist, playwright and scion of the former royal family of Travancore, who was taken hostage while traveling in West Africa on January 23, has been rescued, the MEA confirmed on Friday.
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education