Shankarlal

Created by Tamilvanan
Pseudonym of Lakshmanan Ramanathan Chettiar

The U.S. was certainly not the only country to periodically go gaga over pulp fiction. In the forties, the libraries of the Indian province of Tamil were crammed with “thuppariyum kathaigal” (detective stories) and a steady flood of crime and detective  flicks swamped local cinemas in the 1960s and 70s.

These laid the foundation for SHANKARLAL, a globetrotting Tamil private detective who couldn’t seem to make up his mind if he was Sherlock Holmes or James Bond.

Nonetheless, he would bounce around the world, clad in his trademark hat and shades–even now, books in the series use them as a logo. He was often accompanied by his wife Indra and their bumbling servants, Karthikai and Manickam, weaving in and out of danger, battling criminals and seeing that justice was done–all while drinking copious amounts of tea. 

In true pulp tradition, no villain ever escaped his clutches, and more than one of his intallments (most of the novels were serialized) would end in an often puzzling cliffhanger. According to Indian columnist V. Gangadhar, who has fond memories of the character, his creator, Tamilvanan was “a master in leading you towards a thrilling climax, before letting you down with a thump. And he did this again and again… The books were pure fantasy. But I was only eight or nine then, and did not need the help of a psychiatrist to follow them.”

Part of the appeal for the stories was the author’s use of  Tamil exclusively– he refused to use “loan” words from other languages, or dialect. Another was his use of exotic foreign settings (Paris, Tokyo, Beijing, New York, etc.) for many of Sandarlal’s exciting exploits; always well researched and no doubt eye-opening to his many fans. Tamilvanan did his research.

Indeed, Shankarlal proved so popular that in 1981, Indian filmmaker Kamal Haasan would make a no-holds-barred action flick  titled Sankarlal just to cash in on the name–it had absolutely zilch to do with Tamilvanan’s character.  And stories abound of fan mail for the character  with just a hat and spectacles drawn on the envelope  would somehow still find its way to the author.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Tamilvanan was a Tamil language author, publisher and the founding editor of the widely influential magazine Kalkandu.  It published fiction (including some of Sankarlal’s serialized adventures), articles about state politics and Tamil cinema, and assorted trivia.

NOVELS

• Manjal Araiyain Marmam (aka “Mystery of the Yellow Room”)
• Ratta Sottu (aka “Blood Drops”)
• Marma Manidhan (aka “Mystery Man”)
• Sankarlal Thupparikirar
• Cairovil Tamilvanan
• Tokyovil Tamilvanan
• Sankarlal Vandhu Vittar!
• Naplesil Sankarlal
• Irumbu Kai Mainthan
• Unna Koduthittan Uyirgalai!
• Manimozhi Nee Ennai Maranthu
• Inbavalli Ithuva Un Mudivu?
• Iyarkai Vaithiyam
• Pathu Pergal Thediya Pathu Kodi

FURTHER INVESTIGATION

• The Case of the Poetic Detective
  A column by V. Gangadhar that includes some fond childhood memories of Shanker Lal, and the current Indian crime fiction scene..
• Of Detectives and Square Tomatoes
  More nostalgia from Gangdadhar, looking back fondly on the Tamil pulp scene of the 1940’s.
• Subcontinental Ops
  Indian Eyes

Respectfully submitted by Kevin Burton Smith. Given how rusty my Tamil is, any help here clearing out any gaffes would be greatly appreciated.