Tamil literature has a long tradition of work spanning over 2,000 years. The works heavily comprise social, political, and cultural trends of various periods.
Chennai: Samuel Vedanayagam Pillai’s liberating novel ‘Prathapa Mudaliar Charithram’ written in 1857 is considered to be a landmark in Tamil literature. It is the first novel in the Tamil language. The novel paved the way for a new genre that began to be recognised as an increasingly important part of the language.