When Tamil and Malayalam writer Kamaladevi Aravindan was inducted into the Singapore Women’s Hall of Fame this year, it marked a major milestone in her decades-long literary journey.
But behind this public honour lies a quiet, unconventional creative partnership, one that turns the typical mother-daughter dynamic on its head.
A prolific bilingual writer, the 75-year-old Mrs Kamaladevi is best known for her novels, short stories and children’s literature. She is also an accomplished playwright and screenwriter. Yet, she’s quick to credit much of her success to someone else – her daughter.
“My literary success is my daughter,” said Mrs Kamaladevi. “She’s my harshest critic and my greatest pride.”
Her daughter, Dr Anitha Devi Pillai, is an applied linguist and teacher educator at the National Institute of Education. But in Mrs Kamaladevi’s creative world, she is also an editor, translator and an unwavering supporter.
Their most significant collaboration is titled Sembawang – Mrs Kamaladevi’s first attempt at historical fiction – which Dr Anitha translated into English. The novel, which tells the story of a migrant woman’s life in Sembawang over five decades from the 1960s, was shortlisted for the Singapore History Prize.
Set against key historical events like the Pulau Senang prison uprising in 1963 and a rape case at a maternal and child health clinic in 1968, the novel offers a vivid portrayal of life in a rapidly changing Singapore.
Mrs Kamaladevi, who moved from Malaysia to Singapore in the 1970s after marriage, said she wanted to capture the beauty and character of the place she called home. She began writing the novel in 2015, conducting interviews with former residents – some she knew, others she found through word-of-mouth.
It was this sense of nostalgia that prompted Dr Anitha to step in and offer to translate the work into English.
“My mother has been writing stories for as long as I can remember,” said Dr Anitha. “But this one was different. It was about a place my parents often spoke about. I wanted others to also understand the deep sense of kinship that exists in Sembawang.”
But the process was far from simple. Rather than translating line by line, Dr Anitha spent months reading and researching to understand the historical and emotional weight behind her mother’s words.
“I didn’t treat it as a direct translation. I wanted to convey the spirit of the story,” she said. Over two years, she verified historical details and even sourced for old photos from former residents to visualise scenes more accurately.
The book was published in both Tamil and English in 2020.
“If it became a document worth preserving,” said Mrs Kamaladevi, “it’s because my daughter made it one.”
But Dr Anitha insists the credit goes to her mother. She attributes her love for languages, storytelling, and education to growing up surrounded by her mother’s literary world.
Raised in a multilingual household – Malayalam at home, English in school and Tamil in the community – she often accompanied her mother to Tamil literary events.
“I’d be this small child stuck on a chair, legs not reaching the floor, listening to poetry and speeches I didn’t fully understand. But those moments shaped me,” she said with a laugh.
For the family, Mrs Kamaladevi’s induction into the Hall of Fame was deeply moving. “I cried when I found out,” said Dr Anitha. “It’s one of the highest honours a writer can receive in Singapore.”
What made it even more meaningful was the recognition of writers, particularly Tamil writers, who often work quietly, away from the spotlight.
“Writers create in silence and are read in solitude,” said Dr Anitha. “To see someone like my mother honoured in this way is not just about her – it’s a win for all women who work behind the scenes, who tell stories and preserve culture.”
