Poomani

On 12th July 2026, Sahitya Akademi Award-winning Tamil writer Poomani passed away at the age of 79.

Born as Manickavasagam in Andipatti near Kovilpatti, Tamil Nadu, he adopted the pen name Poomani early in his literary career.
He was widely regarded as one of the foremost chroniclers of the karisal bhoomi (rain-fed black-soil region) of southern Tamil Nadu, portraying the lives, struggles, and aspirations of rural communities with realism and empathy.
He was awarded the Sahitya Akademi Award (2014) for his acclaimed novel Agnaadi, an epic narrative based on the Sivakasi (1899) and Kazhugumalai (1895) communal riots.