He first became known to non-Tamil speaking readers after a review of his short story collection Pathukai.
At that time, he was fascinated by Mahatma Gandhi, and the policies of Indian Congress Party.
During this period he became acquainted with Tampo Rajagopal, who inspired him to read books, taught him to write and introduced him to other writers such as S. Ponnumdurai (author of the novel Sadangu).
Later, Jeeva leaned towards leftist political movements and spoke in trade union meetings.
[citation needed] Jeeva was the author and publisher of many books and short stories.