Ashtamoorthi K V is a Malayalam novelist and short story writer from Kerala, India. He commenced his literature career as a novelist but later on made his own mark in the field of Malayalam short stories. Ashtamoorthi won the Kerala Sahithya Academy award in 1992 for the best short story "Veedu Vittu Pokunnu". [1]
Ashtamoorthi was born to K K Vasudevan Nambudiripad and Sreedevi Antharjanam in Arattupuzha village, Thrissur district, Kerala. After his education he moved to Bombay as an accountant from where he started his writing career seriously. He wrote his first novel, Rehearsal Camp (1982) when he was in Bombay. The novel received Kumkumam Award in 1982. Then he returned to Kerala, and settled in his hometown Arattupuzha, a village near the cultural capital Thrissur. Now he is working as an accountant in SNA Oushadhasala Pvt. Ltd, Thrissur.
Ashtamoorthi's literature is strongly influenced by Indian city life which he had gained from his early Mumbai days. Malayalam writer M T Vasudevan Nair also inspired him.
Madath Thekkepaattu Vasudevan Nair, popularly known as M.T., is an Indian author, screenplay writer and film director. He is a prolific and versatile writer in modern Malayalam literature, and is one of the masters of post-Independence Indian literature. At the age of 20, as a chemistry undergraduate, he won the prize for the best short story in Malayalam at World Short Story Competition conducted by The New York Herald Tribune. His first major novel Naalukettu, written at the age of 23, won the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award in 1958. His other novels include Manju (Mist), Kaalam (Time), Asuravithu and Randamoozham. The deep emotional experiences of his early days have gone into the making of MT's novels. Most of his works are oriented towards the basic Malayalam family structure and culture and many of them were path-breaking in the history of Malayalam literature. His three seminal novels on life in the matriarchal family in Kerala are Naalukettu, Asuravithu, and Kaalam. Randamoozham, which retells the story of the Mahabharatha from the point of view of Bhimasena, is widely credited as his masterpiece.
E. Harikumar was an Indian Malayalam novelist and short story writer and novelist in Malayalam, the language of Kerala in South West India. Born on 13 July 1943 in Ponani a coastal town between Calicut and Kochi. Harikumar's parents were Edasseri Govindan Nair, a well-known poet and playwright, and E. Janaki Amma, who in her early years had written poems and stories and translated Tagore's Fruit Gathering into Malayalam. Married Lalitha. Son Ajay, married. Wife: Subha.
Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai, popularly known as Thakazhi after his place of birth, was an Indian novelist and short story writer of Malayalam literature. He wrote over 30 novels and novellas and over 600 short stories focusing on the lives of the oppressed classes. Known for his works such as Kayar and Chemmeen, Pillai was a recipient of the Padma Bhushan, the third highest Indian civilian award. He was also a recipient of the Jnanpith, India's highest literary award, awarded in 1984 for the novel Kayar.
Parutholli Chalappurathu Kuttikrishnan, popularly known by his pen name Uroob was an Indian writer of Malayalam literature. Along with Basheer, Thakazhi, Kesavadev, and Pottekkatt, Uroob was counted among the progressive writers in Malayalam during the twentieth century. He was known for his novels such as Sundarikalum Sundaranmarum and Ummachu, short stories like Rachiyamma and the screenplays of a number of Malayalam films including Neelakuyil, the first Malayalam feature film to receive the National Film Award. He was a recipient of several honours including Kendra Sahithya Academy Award and the inaugural Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Novel.
Kandanisseri Vattamparambil Velappan Ayyappan or V. V. Ayyappan, better known by his pen name Kovilan, was an Indian Malayalam language novelist and freedom fighter from Kerala. He is considered one of the most prolific writers of contemporary Indian literature. In all, he had authored 11 novels, 10 collections of short stories, three essays and a play.
M. Sukumaran was an Indian writer of Malayalam literature, best known for his novels and short stories with political undertones. Marichittillathavarude Smarakangal, Seshakriya, Chuvanna Chihnangal and Janithakam feature among his works and five of his stories have been adapted into films. A two time recipient of the Kerala State Film Award for Best Story, Sukumaran received the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Story in 1976 and the Sahitya Akademi Award in 2006.
P. C. Gopalan, popularly known by his pseudonym, Nandanar was an Indian writer of Malayalam literature. He was known for his novels and short stories which had the backdrop of the Indian Army barracks of the 1940s and 1950s as well as for his children's literature. Anubhavangal, Ira, Thokkukalkkidayile Jeevitham, Athmavinte Novukal, Ariyappedatha Manushyajeevikal, Anubhoothikalude Lokam and a series of stories with Unnikkuttan as the lead character are some of his better known works. He received the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Novel in 1964 for his work, Athmavinte Novukal.
George Varghese Kakkanadan, commonly known as Kakkanadan, was an Indian short-story writer and novelist in the Malayalam language. His works broke away from the neo-realism that dominated Malayalam literature through the 1950s and 1960s. He is often credited with laying the foundation of modernism in Malayalam literature. He is a recipient of Kendra Sahitya Akademi Award and Kerala Sahitya Akademi Awards in addition to numerous other awards and recognitions.
Muttathu Varkey was an Indian novelist, short story writer, and poet of Malayalam. He was best known for a genre of sentiment-filled romantic fiction known as painkili (janapriya) novel in Malayalam literature.
N. P. Mohammed, popularly known by his initials N. P., was an Indian novelist, short story writer and screenwriter of Malayalam language. Along with his contemporaries like M. T. Vasudevan Nair, O. V. Vijayan, Kakkanadan, and Madhavikutty, he was known to have been one of the pioneers of modernist movement in Malayalam fiction. He was the president of Kerala Sahitya Akademi and a recipient of several awards including Kendra Sahitya Akademi Award, Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Story, Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Novel, Lalithambika Antharjanam Award, Padmaprabha Literary Award and the Muttathu Varkey Award.
Kizhakkepainummoodu Easo Mathai, better known by his pen name Parappurath (1924–1981), was an Indian novelist, short story writer and screenwriter who wrote in the Malayalam language. His body of work comprises 20 novels, 14 short story anthologies and 15 screenplays. He was a recipient of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Story (1966), Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Novel (1968) and Kerala State Film Award for Best Story, amongst other honours.
Subhash Chandran is a Malayalam novelist, short story writer and journalist from Kerala, India. His work includes the 2010 novel Manushyanu Oru Aamukham and the stories "Vadhakramam", "Sanmargam", "Parudeesa Nashtam" and "Guptham", which have been adapted into films. Chandran is the only writer to receive Kerala Sahitya Akademi Awards for both his debut story collection (2001) and debut novel (2011).
Akbar Kakkattil was an Indian short-story writer and novelist from Kerala state.
A. Sethumadhavan, popularly known as Sethu, is a Malayalam fiction writer. He has published more than 35 books. He won the Kendra Sahitya Akademi Award in 2007 for the work Adayalangal. He received the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Awards in 1982 and 1978 for his works Pandavapuram and Pediswapnangal; and Vayalar Award for Adyalangal in 2006. He also won Odakkuzhal award for his novel Marupiravi. Sethu's other literary works include Velutha Koodarangal, Thaliyola, Kiratham, Niyogam, Sethuvinte Kathakal and Kaimudrakal. He also served as the chairman and CEO of the South Indian Bank. In 2022, he won the Ezhuthachan Puraskaram, highest literary honour of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi.
Chandrika Balan is an Indian writer who has published books in English and Malayalam, under the pen name Chandramathi, ചന്ദ്രമതി in Malayalam. She is a writer of fiction, a translator, and critic in English and Malayalam. Chandramathi has published four books in English and 20 in Malayalam, including 12 collections of short stories, an anthology of medieval Malayalam poetry, two collections of essays, two memoirs, and five books translated from English. The Malayalam film Njandukalude Nattil Oridavela was based on her book.
The Malayalam novel is an important part of Malayalam literature. This article focuses on novels, written in Malayalam language, a Dravidian language spoken predominantly in the Indian state of Kerala and the Lakshadweep islands.
T. V. Kochubava (1955–1999) was an Indian writer of Malayalam literature, known for his novels and short stories. He published twenty three books covering the genres of novels, short stories, translations and plays and was a recipient of a number of awards including the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Novel in 1996, besides several other honours.
Joseph Raphael, better identified as Ponjikkara Rafi, was an Indian essayist, playwright, short story writer and a novelist of Malayalam literature. His oeuvre consists of short story anthologies, novels, philosophical works and screenplays but he is best remembered for two novels, Daivadhoothan, regarded as the first Malayalam novel written in stream of consciousness narrative style, and Ora Pro Nobis, a historical novel based on the Dutch colonial rule. He was also the author of Kaliyugam, a philosophical work jointly written with his wife, Sabeena Rafi, which fetched him the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Miscellaneous Works in 1972.
P. R. Shyamala was an Indian novelist and short story writer of Malayalam literature. Known for novels such as Sararanthal and Makayiram Kayal and short stories compiled in Harishri and Ariyapedatha Peedanangal, she was a member of the Sahitya Pravartaka Sahakarana Sanghom, the general council of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi and the advisory board of the Central Board of Film Certification. Three of her stories have been adapted into films and Sararanthal was an award winning television series made in 1991, based on her novel of the same name.
Socrates Krishnan Valath, is an Indian novelist and short story writer, working in Malayalam literature. His short story anthology, Nyayavithi, was selected for the Padmarajan Award in 2014. He is also a recipient of the Kerala State Television Award in 2003, C. Ayyappan Award in 2015 and a Certificate of Merit at the Annual Akashvani Awards in 2017.