Shri J K Sivan, who is 79 years old, is a popular name at Nanganallur in the city.
Not just a spiritualist but a writer par excellence, Sivan has penned several books that are a huge hit among children.
Affectionately called Thatha sir by students in Nanganallur, his books aim to teach moral and spiritual values to young minds. The rich culture and traditions of our land form the crux of his works.
Sivan, a former shipping executive, says, in today’s busy world, nuclear families have become the order of the day, Children need to be told about our spiritual values.
Hence, I thought of writing books in a simple manner that can be understood by them. Thanks to philanthropists, I have managed to come out with many books that were distributed free of cost to children.
Sivan has been living in Nanganallur since 1994 after his overseas career. He has been actively engaged in serving the residents of Kannika Colony and its suburbs through Kannika Colony Residents Welfare Association as its president for many years and has also been the secretary of Senior Citizens Forum.
He had organised many pilgrimages with residents and friends covering thousands of temples.
“These days, children fail to appreciate the values of our two great epics Ramayana and Mahabharata as well as our other traditional values. They must understand that the epics are a rich source of information and that there are lessons to be learnt and there are hidden solutions for many problems.”
“Thus, I started writing on various deities and saints,” adds Sivan.
Along with his friends, Sivan started Sree Krishnarpanam Seva Society (SKSS), Nanganallur ,in 2013 and began writing in English and Tamil about our legends, acharyas, holy scriptures in the form of short stories for children which was well-received by people around the world.
Says Sivan, ”Through SKSS, in the last four years, we brought out 32 books in English and Tamil and distributed them free of cost to students. They include works on Ramayana, Gita, Adi Sankara slokas, about Lord Krishna, Sri Andal, Sri Pandurangan, Kanchi Mahaperiyava, Seshadri Swamigal and Sri Ramanuja. We also distributed them to hospitals, libraries and senior citizens.”
Age does not weigh him down. He reads and writes 21 hours a day. He says, I thank Almighty for giving me the strength. I have a passion to write a lot and ensure that our children get benefitted. I never feel tired.
Shri Sivan can be contacted at 9840279080, 22240797 and 22241855.
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What a Noble Soul!
Source: News Today Net
Shankara! 
My late cousin’s husband frequently forwards your blogs which I find interesting and share with my circle via emails. Recently, I read your blurb about late Dr. C. Sundararamamurti. A Blessed Soul indeed. I’m sharing some updates about him. I knew him and his family quite well. We called him by his “pet” name Chandra. His younger brother’s “pet” name was Surya. His scholar father Dr. C. Sivaramamurti was our next door neighbor in New Delhi from 1966 to 1971. Chandra visited from Chennai as he lived with his aunt and uncle. The uncle’s older brother was HH Sri Bharathi Tirtha, the distinguished Sankaracharya of Puri. The only Jagadguru to date to have come to America in the 1950s. Chandra was a bubbly and gregarious person, and never at a loss for words! Just like his father a talking encyclopedia of people and culture. Anecdotes flew in rapid fire mode! He then moved to Bombay and visited often at my sister’s home. He worked to live and it was obvious that position and money had no attraction for him. I obtained his phone number from Mr. Sivaraman after listening to the Mahaperiyava experiences. We had a very long chat some months before he passed away, possibly over 2 hours after the last one in 1973 when I moved to the US. He was living with his wife and son in Avadi. He freely shared his personal and religious experiences. He had become an earnest and advanced Sri Vidya adept. His two gurus were familiar to me and I had met one of them in Dec. 2003 at Chennai. That was late Sri Narayana Vadhyar or Sastri who was then in his 90s.* Chandra recounted in his chatty and yet innocent manner his guidance from Sri Narayana Sastri. He disclosed that Sastri was still communicating with him from the subtle plane. Chandra’s Sri Vidya ritualism took him several hours of puja followed by pancadasAksari Japam . He had finished in English his few thousand pages magnum opus – a commentary on his great grand father Paruthiyur Krishna Sastri’s Tarangini! Many thought him to be rather eccentric, but few if ever questioned his scholarship and sincerity. I recall on a visit to Bombay in my teens going to see him with my sister. We knocked the locked door since we heard him inside. He sheepishly came to the window and said he can’t let us in! His kindly wife had locked him to keep him safe and out of trouble and run errands ! Even then he had begun his long Japa meditations! The filial piety he had for his aunt/uncle and parents was incredible for these times.
* Mrs Sarasvati Thiagarajan, a Mahaperiyava devotee also mentions Narayana Sastri I think
Venki Venkatesh
Dayton, Ohio
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