the time of his death, he was survived by his wife and three sons. Writing style His works are characterized by simplicity and clarity of thought and drew from his professional and personal experiences. His novel Karainta nizhalkal (Star-Crossed), for instance, drew from his experiences working in public relations in the film industry at Gemini Studios. He has cited a number of writers as influencing his style, including Tamil writers B.R. Rajam Iyer, Subramania Bharti,Kothamangalam Subbu and K N Subramaniam. Most of his stories revolve around the life of middle class people. Other than Karaintha nizhalkal; Thanneer, Otran, and Pathinetaavathu atchakodu are his masterpieces. He was first to set his story in a non-Tamil milieu and “pull it off”, said Venkatachalapathy. His essays were no pushovers either, he said, adding that Ashokamitran had a flat style of writing. “He was also a voracious reader, especially of American writings,” he said. “Another standout quality was the wry humor. Today, with over 200 short stories, nine novels, and several non-fiction essays and translations, Ashokamitran is seen as a major contributor to the modern history of Tamil literature. His nonlinear and non-preachy creative works are critically seen for their subdued aesthetics and absence of extravaganza. Legacy Ashokamitran's life and work have been the subject of three documentary films, made by Amshan Kumar, Kandasamy, and Gnani. His novel Thanneer is being adapted for film by the director, Vasanth. Honours and awards Ashokamitran was given many awards and honors. Some of them are: The K.K. Birla Fellowship to do a study in comparative Indian literature. 1973-74: The University of Iowa Creative Writing Fellowship. 1992: Lily Memorial Award. 1993: Ramkrishna Jaidayal Harmony Award by the Dalmia Trust for promoting religious harmony. 1996: Akshara Award. 1996: Sahitya Akademi Award for Appavin Snegidhar, a collection of short stories. January 2007: The MGR Award. May 2012: NTR National Literary Award by NTR Vignan Trust. 10 February 2013: The inaugural Kaa Na Su award at a function in Chennai. 30 March 2013: National award instituted by the Bharatiya Bhasha Parishad at Kolkata. Works Novels Anbin Parisu (1953) Thanneer Manasarovar 18-vadhu Atchakkodu (1977) - (This has been translated into English in the name "The Eighteenth Parallel"). This novel is a kind of biographical look back at his early years at Secunderabad. It describes the life of a young man set against the backdrop of the political unrest that was developing in