Perumal Krishnan

Perumal Krishnan (b. 1932), also known as P Krishnan and Puthumaithasan, is a leading light in Tamil broadcasting and Tamil literary writing. There are very few writers in Singapore’s Tamil literary circle who have been writing continuously for over 70 years. He has written hundreds of radio plays, short stories, and essays. His translation of  Shakespeare's plays into Tamil is considered outstanding. Krishnan was born in Johor Bharu, Malaysia, and his primary education was disrupted during the Japanese occupation (1942-45) when he was in the third grade. He moved to Singapore in 1947 and taught himself Tamil by reading books at night and on weekends, while working in grocery stores and textile shops. He started writing articles for the press during this period. Krishnan wrote several articles in Tamil Murasu as part of the ongoing debate (1951-52) about a controversial novel by the preeminent Indian Tamil writer Puthumaipiththan. Krishnan became such an ardent fan of the writer that he adopted the pen name Puthumaithasan, which implies he is a devotee of the writer.  In 1952, he joined a British Army base in Singapore as a technical assistant. The following year, in his spare time, he began writing short stories in Tamil Murasu. He attended the Anglo-Malay Evening School starting with the fifth grade and, despite the many disruptions to his studies due to work, he managed to obtain the Senior Cambridge Certificate in 1967. He worked as a part-time writer and performer in the Schools Broadcasting Division of Radio Singapore for about a decade (1951-61) and also served as an Associate Editor (1954-55) in the magazines Munnetram and Sindhanai. In 1962, he joined Radio Singapore full-time as an announcer and rose through the ranks, retiring in 1992 as a senior executive producer.

During his time in broadcasting, Krishnan not only wrote hundreds of plays but also proved to be one of the most versatile broadcasters, covering the entire gamut of broadcast genres – news reading, storytelling, live commentary for sports and National Day parades, acting, singing, radio production, and management. In his retirement, Krishnan compiled and published a collection of his short stories titled "Puthumaithaasan Short Stories" in 1993. The collection was awarded the Singapore Book Council's Commendation Award in 1994 and is now part of the  Singapore Tamil Literature curriculum for schools. In addition to writing short stories, Krishnan also began translating Shakespeare's plays into Tamil in verse form, akin to the originals, which have been hailed as brilliant translations. He is also noted for his translations of some of the world’s leading short stories and novels, including George Orwell’s Animal Farm. 

Krishnan has been honoured with numerous awards for his contributions to broadcasting and writing, including the Long Service Award in 1987, Tamizhavel Award in 1998, S.E.A. Write Award in 2005, and the Cultural Medallion, which is the highest award for excellence in the arts, in 2008. Despite having no tertiary education, Krishnan is regarded as a mentor to the next generation of broadcasters and literary writers who have followed in his footsteps for over 30 years in broadcasting and over 70 years in literature.



For more information
Singapore: The Encyclopedia, edited by Tommy Koh, Timothy Auger, Jimmy Yap, Ng Wei Chian, published by Editions Didier Millet and National Heritage Board, 2006
Prasad, Vina Jie-Min, Ho, Lee-Ling “S. R. Nathan.” Singapore Infopedia. Published 22 December 2014. https://www.nlb.gov.sg/main/article-detail?cmsuuid=e7f37953-d4c0-496f-9b47-4e023eef141c 
P. Krishnan. “P. Krishnan@90.” YouTube video, 1:24:36, Singapore Tamil. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lf2AxdGzFYw
Vallinam. Accessed 1 August 2025. https://vallinam.com.my/version2/?p=8835

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