Sujatha (May 3, 1935 – February 27, 2008) was the pseudonym of the Tamil writer S. Rangarajan, author of over 100 novels, 250 short stories, ten books on science, ten stage plays, and a slim volume of poems. He was one of the most popular writers in Tamil literature, and a regular contributor to topical columns in Tamil periodicals such as Ananda Vikatan, Kumudam and Kalki. He had a wide readership, and served for a brief period as the editor of Kumudam, and has also written screenplays and dialogues for several Tamil movies.

Biography

Sujatha Rangarajan was born in Triplicane, Chennai but spent his childhood in Srirangam near Tiruchirapalli under the care of his paternal grandmother owing to his father's frequent transfers in his job.


Education
He did his schooling in Srirangam Boys High School, Srirangam. He attended St. Joseph's College, Trichy, where he was a classmate of Abdul Kalam (who later became the President of India). Sujatha graduated in the 1954 class with a B.Sc. in Physics (1952–54). Later he studied engineering in Electronics from the Madras Institute of Technology.
His writing interests were largely inspired by the short stories and serials published in popular Tamil magazines.


Early writings
Srirangathu Devathaigal (Angels of Srirangam) is a series of short stories based on incidents in that part of the world in the 1940s and 50s. Sivaji, a minor magazine from Trichy, published a story during his student days. His first short story was published in Kumudam magazine in 1962. His Kolaiyuthir Kalam was an exciting ghost-themed novel.


Engineering career
He worked first in Civil Aviation Department of Government of India and later for Bharat Electronics Limited in Bangalore, India before his retirement to Chennai, India, where he lived till his last days. As an engineer, he was a forward thinker and he was the key person behind the development of the Electronic Voting Machine in India. He initiated the development of advanced word processing before the days of personal computers.