Writer, scribe NV Sankaran passes away in Chennai

Multifaceted personality NV Sankaran, popularly known as Gnani (64), who was well known as a writer, journalist and political commentator, died here on Monday morning due to illness.

He was suffering from kidney ailment for quite some time and had been taking dialysis regularly. He is survived by his wife Padmavathi, who is also a writer, and son Manush Nandan, a cinematographer. His family, as per his wishes, has decided to donate his body to a city hospital.

Gnani was forthright in his views when queried about the current political climate and parties in Tamil Nadu.

He began his career at ‘The Indian Express’. Later, he edited a number of journals in Tamil. His column O Pakkangal in popular Tamil weeklies was a big hit. He has authored and published about 20 books in Tamil on various social issues, current affairs and fiction.

Gnani was involved in alternative theatre for several years. He was one of the founder members of the prominent theatre group Koothu Pattarai. He ran a theatre group called Pareeksha. He was instrumental in getting rid of the rules that required police permission to stage plays by filing a petition in the Madras High Court.