P. Krishnan, born in Johor, Malaysia is a prolific writer, poet, playwright, and radio producer-presenter, who writes under the pseudonym “Puthumaithasan”. A founding member of the Singapore Tamil Writers Association, he was a writer known for his works that depict the aspirations, lifestyles and experiences of Tamils in Singapore. He also enjoyed a distinguished career working for Radio and Television of Singapore. He has received many prestigious awards, both local and international, in recognition of his contribution to Tamil literature and Tamil language, including the Cultural Medallion in 2008.

P. Krishnan, who writes under the pseudonym “Puthumaithasan”, is a prolific writer, poet, playwright, radio producer-presenter. Born in 1932, he came to Singapore in 1947 to sit for his Senior Cambridge examination and stayed on after that. Largely through self-study and visits to the library, he established himself as an authority on Tamil literature and language, eventually becoming an illustrious pioneer of Singapore Tamil literature.

In the early 1950s, Krishnan began his literary endeavour depicting the aspirations, lifestyles and experiences of Tamils in Singapore. He frequently contributed articles and short stories to Singapore Tamil dailies such as Tamil Murasu and Malaya Nanban, and to Malaysia’s Tamil Nesan. In 1953 he, together with fellow writers, founded Singapore Tamil Writers’ Association, which was the predecessor of the current Association of Singapore Tamil Writers. He became the assistant editor of the Tamil magazines Munnetram and Sinthanai the following year.

In 1962, he began what would be a distinguished 31-year career working for Radio Television Singapore, which would later become Singapore Broadcasting Corporation. He started as a radio presenter, eventually rising to become a senior executive producer-presenter.

During his time there, he wrote over 500 short stories, poems, essays and plays for stage, radio, and television. He first gained widespread recognition for the 40-episode weekly serialised play Maadi Veetu Mangalam that ran from 1962-1963, and then for the 52-episode Adduku Veettu Annasamy, a humourous satirical serial about life in Singapore public housing, which was subsequently published as a two-volume book. Other important early works include the short stories Shanthi, Vaazha Mudiyaathaval, and Thanga Sangili.

Besides his original work, Puthumaithasan has also translated and transcreated Shakespeare, Byron, Keats and George Orwell into Tamil, and also dramatised Tamil classics from Sangam literature. Some of his own short stories such as Vaazha Mudiyaathaval (Homecoming), Kaalak Kanakku (Prediction), Verumai (Emptiness) and Uthirigal (Riff-raffs) have been translated into English as well. His short story Uthirigal (Riff-raffs) has also been translated into Chinese and Malay and published by Singapore’s National Library Board in conjunction with READ! Singapore 2006. Many of his works have been included in various anthologies such as The Fiction of Singapore, Modern ASEAN Plays, Supplementary Readers for Schools by the Ministry of Education, Singa, The SEA Write Anthology, Anthology of Tamil Short Stories and Poems from Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Singapore, published by the Sahitya Akademi of India. He has also published the six books: Ilakkia Kaathchigal (Literary Scenes, 1990), Puthumaithasan Kathaigal (Puthumaithasan Stories, 1993), Shakespeare’s Macbeth (1996), Adukku Veettu Annasamy (2000), Sarugu (Dried Leaf, 2006. A collection of 26 plays based on great short stories by writers such as Edgar Allan Poe, O. Henry, Maupasaant, Victor Hugo, Leo Tolstoy, Lu Hsun, Ivan Turgenev and Anton Chekov), and Vilanggup Pannai (2008. A transcreative dramatisation of Orwell’s satirical Animal Farm into Tamil).

Krishnan has received many prestigious awards, both local and international, in recognition of his contributions to Tamil literature and language. These include the Commendation Award from the National Book Development Council of Singapore in 1994, the Thamizhavel award in 1988, the SEA Write Award in 2005, and the Cultural Medallion in 2008.

He is currently working on three books: the 13-episode serialised plays Nalla Veedu and Idea Iaakkanu, and a collection consisting of eight plays. Esplanade commissioned Ravindran Drama Group to adapt P. Krishnan’s radio play Adukku Veetu Annasamy for the stage, and it was presented over three episodes at Esplanade. The first two at Esplanade's Kalaa Utsavam – Indian Festival of Arts, in 2015 and 2016, and the concluding episode as part of Esplanade's Raga series of Indian arts presentations in 2018.