V. V. S. Aiyar

2021-07-04T16:42:04Z

92.3.44.40: /* Personal life */

{{Use Indian English|date=May 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2014}}
{{more citations needed|date=April 2012}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Varahaneri Venkatesa Subramaniam Aiyar
| image = [[File:Vvsaiyar.jpg|250px]]
| caption = Portrait of V. V. S. Aiyar
| birth_date = 2 April 1881
| birth_place = [[Tiruchirapalli|Trichinopoly]], [[Madras Presidency]], [[India]]
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|1925|06|3|1881|04|2}}
| death_place = Papanasam Falls, [[Madras Presidency]], [[India]]
| death_cause = Drowned in Papanasam Falls under mysterious circumstances
| nationality = [[India]]n
| other_names = V. V. S. Aiyar
| known_for = [[Indian independence movement|Indian Independence Movement]], [[India House]], [[literary works]]
| education = [[Lincoln's Inn]], [[London]]
| party =
| religion =
| spouse =
| children =
| signature =
}}

'''Varahaneri Venkatesa Subramaniam Aiyar''' (2 April 1881 – 3 June 1925), also known as '''V. V. S. Aiyar''', was an [[India]]n revolutionary from [[Tamil Nadu]] who fought against [[British Raj|British colonial rule in India]]. His contemporaries include [[Subramanya Bharathi]] and [[V.O. Chidambaram Pillai]], who subscribed to militant forms of resistance against the British colonial government. He went into exile in [[Pondicherry district|Pondicherry]], then under [[French India|French rule]], when his militant activities attracted a warrant for his arrest from the British colonial government.

Aiyar was also a [[Tamil language|Tamil]] writer and is considered as the father of modern Tamil short story. He also translated the ''Ramavatharam'' of [[Kambar (poet)|Kambar]] and [[Tirukkural]] into English. V.V.S Aiyar is mentor of [[Vanchinathan]].

== Early life ==
Venkatesa Subramaniam Aiyar was born on 2 April 1881 in the suburb of [[Varahaneri]] in [[Tiruchi]]. After his early education, he studied in St. Joseph's College and took his B.A in History, Politics, and Latin; he studied for the Law profession and passed the Pleader (junior lawyer) examination from the Madras University in 1902. He then practised as the pleader in the District courts of Tiruchi. Aiyar then moved to [[Rangoon]] in 1906 and started practising as a junior in the Chambers of an English Barrister. From Rangoon, he left for London in 1907 and enrolled in [[Lincoln's Inn]] aiming to becoming a [[Barrister|Barrister at Law]]. While in London, Aiyar came into contact with [[Vinayak Damodar Savarkar]], an Indian revolutionary{{Citation needed|date=September 2020}}, at the [[India House]]. Under Savarkar's influence Aiyar began to take an active role in the militant struggle for [[Indian independence movement|Indian independence]]. Aiyar had a son and two daughters.

== Friends ==
Venkatesa Subramaniam Aiyar was a close friend of [[Shuddhananda Bharati]]; he started with him the Bharadwaja Ashram at Cheranmadevi.

== Political activities ==
Aiyar's militant attitude prompted the [[British Raj]] in 1910 to issue a warrant for his arrest for his alleged involvement in an anarchist conspiracy in London and Paris. Aiyar resigned from the Lincoln's Inn and escaped to [[Paris]]. Although he wished to remain in Paris as a political exile, he had to return to India. Aiyar landed in [[Pondicherry (city)|Pondicherry]] on 4 December 1910 disguised as a [[Muslim]] to escape arrest and remained there as exile. Aiyar remained in Pondicherry for over ten years. While in Pondicherry, Aiyar met with fellow revolutionaries [[Subramanya Bharathi]] and [[Aurobindo]]. In Pondicherry, Aiyar was involved in the plot to assassinate Ashe, the Collector of [[Tirunelveli]]. One of his students, [[Vanchinathan]] assassinated Ashe. Thus more trouble arose for Aiyar and his companion Subramanya Bharathi.

On 22 September 1914 the German cruiser {{SMS|Emden|1906|6}} entered the [[Madras]] harbour and bombarded the city. The British colonial government blamed this on the activities of the exiles in Pondicherry, and urged the French Governor to deport Aiyar and his companions to Africa. The French police brought several charges against the revolutionaries, but failed to convict them. During this period Aiyar translated the [[Tirukkural]] into English. He later revealed that he wanted to leave a legacy behind if he were forced to leave the country.

Aiyar returned to Madras after [[World War I]] and worked as the editor of the newspaper ''Desabhaktan'' (''Patriot''). He was arrested in 1921 on [[sedition]] charges and spent nine months in prison. While in prison Aiyar wrote the book ''A Study of Kamba Ramayana''.

As a writer, Aiyar has often been referred to as the "founder" of the short story genre in Tamil.{{sfnp|Ebeling|2010|p=244|ps=}}

==Literary works==
Aiyar translated the entire work of the Kural text in English prose, which became the first complete English translation by a native scholar. Aiyar's work is considered by various scholars, including [[Czechs|Czech]] scholar [[Kamil Zvelebil]], to be the most scholarly of all the English translations made until then, including those by native English scholars.<ref name="Manavalan_Compendium">{{cite book
| last = Manavalan
| first = A. A.
| title = A Compendium of ''Tirukkural'' Translations in English
| publisher = Central Institute of Classical Tamil
| volume = 4 vols.
| date = 2010
| location = Chennai
| language = English
| isbn = 978-81-908000-2-0}}</ref><ref>{{cite book
| last =Zvelevil
| first = K.
| title = Forward. Tirukkural by Tiruvalluvar. Translated by K. M. Balasubramaniam
| publisher = Manali Lakshmana Mudaliar Specific Endowments
| date = 1962
| location = Madras
| pages = 327}}</ref> He also translated the ''Ramavatharam'' written by [[Kambar (poet)|Kambar]] in the 12th century CE.

== Personal life ==
V.V.S. Aiyar married Bhagyalakshmi Ammal and had a daughter named Subhadra.

== Death ==
Aiyar drowned in the Papanasam falls, when trying to save his drowning daughter Subhadra, on 3 June 1925.{{citation needed|date=April 2012}}

==See also==
* [[Tirukkural translations]]
* [[Tirukkural translations into English]]
* [[List of translators into English]]

== References ==
'''Citations'''
{{reflist}}
'''Bibliography'''
{{refbegin}}
*{{citation |title=Colonizing the Realm of Words: The Transformation of Tamil Literature in Nineteenth-Century South India |first=Sascha |last=Ebeling |publisher=SUNY Press |year=2010 |isbn=9781438432014 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_O1X_y_X-98C}}
{{refend}}

{{India House}}
{{Tirukkural}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aiyar, V. V. S}}
[[Category:Tamil-language activists]]
[[Category:Tamil-language writers]]
[[Category:India House]]
[[Category:1881 births]]
[[Category:1925 deaths]]
[[Category:Writers from Tiruchirappalli]]
[[Category:Indian independence activists from Tamil Nadu]]
[[Category:Deaths by drowning]]
[[Category:Tamil–English translators]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian translators]]
[[Category:Translators of the Tirukkural into English]]
[[Category:St Joseph's College, Tiruchirappalli alumni]]

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V. V. S. Aiyar