Prapanchan a Tamil, writer and critic from Pondicherry, India. Prapanchan was born in Pondicherry and did his schooling there. His birth name was Vaidyalingam. His father ran a toddy shop. He attended the Karandhai College and graduated as a Tamil Vidwan. He started his career as a Tamil teacher in Thanjavur. He also worked as a journalist in Kumudam, Ananda Vikatan and Kungumam. In 1961, he published his first short story Enna ulagamada in the magazine Bharani. He was influenced by the Self-Respect Movement. He has published 46 books so far. In 1995, he was awarded the Sahitya Akademi Award for Tamil for his historical novel Vaanam Vasapadum set in the times of Ananda Ranga Pillai. His works have been translated into Hindi, Telugu, Kannada, German, French, English and Swedish. His play Muttai is part of the curriculum in Delhi University and his short story collection Nerru Manidhargal is a text book in many colleges. He is married to Pramila Rani and they have three sons. He lives in Chennai and Pondicherry.