Palanivelu, N

Natesan Palanivelu (1908 - 2000), one of the pioneer writers of Singapore, worked as a playwright, short story writer, and poet for 50 years and also as a broadcaster for 20 years. He was conferred the Cultural Medallion for his literary excellence. Palanivelu, born in Sikkal, India, received his primary and high school education there. In 1927, he  arrived in Malaya and began working as a plantation clerk in Telok Anson. He also worked as a part-time Tamil teacher in a plantation school there. In 1930, he settled in Singapore and joined the Singapore Traction Company as a clerk. During this period, he developed his literary interests. His debut poem was published in Navaneetham, a Tamil weekly, in 1931. Since he was also interested in social work, he joined the Tamils Reform Association in 1932, inspired by its leader G Sarangapany. Palanivelu offered lessons in singing and writing to association members and organised plays to raise funds for the association. His first play was staged in 1934, followed by a series of reform dramas in subsequent years. When Sarangapani took charge of Tamil Murasu in 1935, Palanivelu started writing stories and articles for it. In 1947, Sarangapani published a collection of selected poems of Palanivelu.

That same year, he joined Radio Malaya's Singapore division (later known as Radio Television Singapore) as a part-time writer and then became a full-time employee in 1949. He worked there continuously for 20 years and retired in 1969. He later became a full-time writer and published a collection of short stories in 1977. In 1997, another collection of his works was published in two volumes. Palanivelu, who remained a writer and critical reader till the end, passed away at the age of 92. V T Arasu, an eminent editor and translator, commented that his works are a documentation of the everyday language of the people in his time. Palanivelu was awarded the Cultural Medallion in 1987 for his contributions to theatre and literature. Some of his poems have been featured in Singapore textbooks. A collection of his poems with English translations, titled A Selection of Na Palanivelu’s Poems, was published by the National Library Board in 2013.



For more information
Balasubramaniam, Sundari. “N. Palanivelu.” Singapore Infopedia. National Library Board Singapore. Accessed on 1 August 2025. https://www.nlb.gov.sg/main/article-detail?cmsuuid=fe27640b-4a0b-4aec-b78c-1bc8f55767c3
The Straits Times, “Living by his pen,” The Straits Times, 9 November 1984. https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/straitstimes19841109-1.2.91.37.7
“N.Palanivelu,” Off Stage, 12 October 2016. https://www.esplanade.com/offstage/arts/n-palanivelu
Natesan, Palanivelu. Oral History Interview by Daniel Chew (Dr.), 10 October 1985. Transcript and MP3 audio, 06:06:57. National Archives of Singapore (accession no. 000588). https://www.nas.gov.sg/archivesonline/oral_history_interviews/record-details/71576ffc-115f-11e3-83d5-0050568939ad 

தமிழில் வாசிக்க

Return to home page

About the Encyclopedia

The information in this article is valid as of August 2025 and correct as far as we are able to ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history of the subject. If you have any feedback on this article, please submit here.