From Kannadasan’s songs to basketball: How his grandson is carrying the Tamil poet’s legacy

Legendary poet Kannadasan wrote songs that created an impact in every Tamilian’s life.

Decades later, his grandson, Murali Kannadasan, is creating another sort of impact: in the basketball court.

Every evening, Murali trudges his way to the T Nagar Basketball Court on Venkatnarayana Road, where several young girls train. With the Kannadashan Academy, opened four years ago, he wishes to give back to the sport that once gave him hope and determination.

“I learnt basketball for free, and I continue to do the same, teaching it for free” he says, even as a toddler walks up to him, giving him a hi-fi before heading for a practice session.

Murali has long nurtured his love for basketball, even representing the city, but his tryst with coaching is more relatively recent. “It started with me joining as an assistant [to veteran coach Sridhar]. I figured that as I was anyway coming to the ground to drop my children, I would support with training the children.”

Today, his academy teaches girls – while the boys train nearby, as part of the Sridhar Academy. “It took us a long time to get here, but we are producing some of Chennai’s basketball stars,” he says.

Murali Kannadasan during a basketball training session at T Nagar, Chennai
| Photo Credit:
Johan Sathyadas

The Academy follows a hierarchy system, consisting of K3 (below 10 years), K2 and K1, in order to motivate the players to aim higher. While Kavinaya, in Class III, is part of the K3, her friend, Shivani Shreyas is in Class VI and has been playing for more than two years. “I had no interest in basketball when I initially joined, but now, I play more than three hours. Jumping from K3 to K2 was a huge leap – I had to work hard for it – and now, I hope to become a professional player,” says Shivani.

As the sun sets on the T Nagar ground and lights come on, the players are still at it, dribbling and assisting in getting the ball into the hoop. “Basketball is a stylish game; people sometimes play for the shoes…,” says Murali.

Here, they also play for the jersey – the Kannadasan Academy, named after the Tamil poet whose signature is splattered across the back. “It’s also a method of reaching the works of Kannadasan to children. For me, it is a big responsibility to take my grandfather’s legacy into various areas – be it in the publishing industry or in other areas of interest.” The poet’s legacy is not being preserved through his words alone; it is being carried onto a basketball court.