Named after one of south India’s powerful kings, Arunmozhivarman has forged his own path. Growing up and studying in a Tamil medium school in Kankoduthavanitham, a small village in Tiruvarur district in Tamil Nadu, he did not just want to be a writer, but specifically wanted to be a writer in English. His fascination for the language saw the 34-year-old rise above multiple challenges to publish half a dozen books in English in the span of just five years.
His first book, an anthology of essays Reflection of Human Relations , published as an E-Book in 2018, caught the attention of Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau who, through his office, sent him an appreciative note. The book published by Prowess Publishing had 1500 downloads and was priced at ₹189. “One of my friends, Ranjit Kumar, who works for a software company in the US published it on various websites. That is how it caught the attention in the western countries,” says Arun, adding, “I have discussed the significance of human values and relationships in my first work. Every writer wants to convey a useful message to society. I am not an exception.”
The journey
Arun lost his father when he was in 12th standard. Realising that Kankoduthavanitham offered little scope to pursue his dreams, he moved to Chennai at the age of 18 . Once there, he enrolled at Annamalai University, Chidambaram and completed MA in History through the university’s distance education programme. He went on to do MBA in Human Resource Management from GEMS B School, Bengaluru. Life in Chennai was an uphill task. With a need to look after his mother and sister and fund his education, Arun worked as a machine operator with Wintech Precision Engineering, a company at Ekkaduthangal, Chennai, for ten years. His obsession with the English language saw him attending English-speaking classes back in Tiruvarur while never missing a chance to pick up newspapers and periodicals regularly to read.
“I have been interested in English since I was in school and I wanted to improve my knowledge. Reading Rabindranath Tagore’s Gitanjali was a turning point. That’s when I decided I wanted to become a writer in English,” he says. The warm reception he got for his first book inspired him to write more.
“The themes of my next books are drawn from Nature and the milieu I grew up, like farming, landscaping and my travels,” he says. His second book Quotable Quotes , published by Sangami Publishers is a compilation of his observations and a take on daily experiences of life, especially documented during his train and bus travels. He keeps them simple and relatable.
The third and the fourth books Creations of Mind and Roots of Heart are anthologies of poems, while his fifth book, The Treasure of Intention is an anthology of Haiku and is to be published shortly by Magizham Publishers.
Arun is open to advising and encouraging budding writers who seek his help. During the pandemic, a few schools and colleges in Thiruvarur conducted webinars and invited Arun to share his experience in writing with the students. “I would like to see more youngsters take up writing as it helps them build their concentration and create ideas,” he says adding that he aspires to write the Civil Service exam and become a government official.
