Kalki Krishnamurthy
Ramaswamy Krishnamurthy (9 September 1899 – 5 December 1954), better known by his pen name Kalki, was an Indian writer, journalist, poet, critic and Indian independence activist. He chose the pen-name "Kalki", the tenth and last avatar of the Hindu God Vishnu. He founded a magazine, which was also named Kalki, with T Sadasivam being the co-founder, in 1941. Kalki's writings include over 120 short stories, 10 novellas, 5 novels, 3 historical romances, editorial and political writings and hundreds of film and music reviews. Early life. Ramaswamy Krishnamurthy was born in a Tamil Brahmin family on  9th September 1899 in Puthamangalam, near Manalmedu. Krishnamurthy's father was Ramaswamy Aiyar, an accountant in Puttamangalam village in the old Tanjore district of erstwhile Madras Presidency. He began his primary education in his village school and later attended Municipal High School in Mayavaram but quit in 1921, just short of completion of his Senior School Leaving Certificate, in response to Mahatma Gandhi's 1921 call for non-co-operation joining the Indian National Congress instead. Bibliography. Critical work. Kalki was also a film and music critic who wrote under the pseudonym "Karnatakam". He also penned many lyrics for many  songs, most of which were adapted into Carnatic Music. Death. Kalki died in Chennai on 5 December 1954 aged 55 years from tuberculosis. Kalki magazine's special issue dated 5 December 1954 (the day he died) for Annai Sarada Devi was his last editorial work. The magazine shared the information that his health was improving prior to his demise.