Chennai: Veteran Tamil writer-journalist Bhakkiam Ramasami, creator of fictional characters Appusami and Seethapaati passed away late Thursday night. He was 87 and is survived by wife Vijayalakshmi and sons Jagan, Kumar and Yogesh. The writer, known for his humorous stories and novels, was suffering from kidney ailment. Many readers and popular personalities including Crazy Mohan, S Ve Shekher, Lena Tamilvanan and Suba paid their last respects at the writer’s residence on Harrington Road at Chetpet here.
Ja Ra Sundaresan was born on June 1, 1932, in Jalakandapuram, Salem district. Bhakkiam Ramasami is his pseudonym. His first breakthrough was the publication of the story Appusami and the African Beauty in Kumudam magazine in 1963. Since then he has published a number of serialized novels, stage plays and short stories featuring the same set of characters. Bhakkiam Ramasami has published his stories under various pen names including Yogesh, Vanamali, Selvamani, Mrinalini, Sivathanal and Jwalamalini. He also worked as a journalist in Kumudam and retired in 1990 as its joint editor.
He was one among the three who were said to be writing Arasu Badhilgal column, with the other two being the magazine’s founder-editor S.A.P. Annamalai and popular writer Ra Ki Rangarajan. His Appusami and Seethapaatti characters became so popular that a humour club in Chennai was named after them. About 30 novels and novellas of Appusami have been published. Many of the stories written by Bhakkiam Ramasami have been made into stage plays and television shows.
