Kalki was the most popular Tamil writer of historical novels. His real name was R. Krishnamurthy. He was a great nationalist and took active part in the Indian national movement. He was the editor of two very popular Tamil magazines, Kalki and Anandavikatan.He wrote novels in a simple language, which captivated the hearts and minds of his Tamil readers for an entire generation. His novels were stories of adventure and heroism. His novel Ponniyin Selvan was serialised in the magazine Kalki.