Civic Chandran | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | C. V. Kuttan 5 April 1951 Murikungal, Trichur district, Travancore-Cochin |
| Occupation | Teacher, writer, editor, activist |
| Language | Malayalam |
| Spouse | P. Sridevi |
| Children | 2 |
Civic Chandran (born 5 April 1951) is an Indian playwright, poet, editor, former Naxalite, [1] social activist and political commentator from Kerala. He is the editor of Patabhedam magazine. He was instrumental in popularising street theatre in Kerala and is a strong critic of Kerala's mainstream left.
He was born on 5 April 1951 in Murikungal village near Kodakara in Trichur district. He was the eldest of four children born to Velappan and Lakshmi. His birth name was C. V. Kuttan. [2] From 1968 to 1981, he worked as a teacher in Wayanad and Eranad. In 1981, he was suspended from the job on charges of Naxalite links. Following the acquittal by the High Court, he returned to teaching in 1991. [2] Now retired, he lives in West Hill, Calicut. He was married to P. Sridevi, who died some years before. There were two daughters from the marriage. [2] [3]
In July 2022, a complaint was lodged against Civic Chandran for sexually assaulting a woman activist. [4] [5]
Civic was a member of the editorial board of Yanan magazine. This magazine was later confiscated by the government. He was imprisoned during the Emergency. [6] He edited an anthology of poems titled Thadavara Kavithakal (Poems from Prison). He notes that political prisoners like him started to write poems in prison as part of survival and resistance. [7]
Civic was the secretary of Janakiya Samskarika Vedi and editor of its mouthpiece Prerana. [8] Civic was instrumental in popularising street theatre in Kerala. [2] The magazines Vakku and Patabhedam were published under his leadership. [2] In 1995, he staged the play Ningal Aare Communist Akki (Who did you make a communist), a counter drama based on Thoppil Bhasi's Ningal Enne Communist Akki (You made me a communist). [9] The play sparked off a storm by taking an unsparing look at mainstream communism, calling it anti-Dalit and patriarchal. [10] The play also led to the Civic Chandran v. Ammini Amma case, a landmark case in Indian copyright law.
Civic is a regular columnist in magazines and newspapers and writes about cultural issues. Civic is a distinct voice in Kerala's cultural arena, often clashing with and opposing the traditional left. He handled columns in Madhyamam and India Today . He is now the editor of Pathabhedam magazine. [2]
Vayalar Ramavarma, also known as Vayalar, was an Indian poet and lyricist of Malayalam language. He was known for his poems which include Sargasangeetham, Mulankaadu, Padamudrakal, Aayisha and Oru Judas janikkunnu and for around 1,300 songs he penned for 256 Malayalam films. He received the National Film Award for Best Lyrics in 1972 and was the winner of the Kerala State Film Award for Best Lyricist in its year of inception which he received three more times. He was also a recipient of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Poetry in 1962. His collaborations with G. Devarajan produced the golden era of Malayalam film music and many songs written and composed by these duo remain the ever green classics in Malayalam. Ramavarma is regarded as one of the most successful and critically acclaimed lyricist in the history of Malayalam cinema.
M. R. Ramakrishna Panikkar, popularly known as Kadammanitta Ramakrishnan or Kadammanitta, was an Indian poet. He was born in Kadammanitta province of Pathanamthitta district, Kerala. His childhood experiences, especially the Patayani songs, had a strong influence on his literary work.
Balachandran Chullikkad is an Indian poet, orator, lyricist and actor in Malayalam-language media.
D. Vinayachandran was an Indian Malayalam poet. He is one of the proponents of modern style of prose in Malayalam poetry. He was born in West Kallada, Kollam district and has worked as a Malayalam professor in various colleges for more than thirty years. He had his early education in schools in and around Kallada. After completing his master's in Malayalam literature from Government Sanskrit College, Pattambi, he entered the collegiate education service as a lecture and worked in various government colleges across Kerala. He joined the faculty of Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam, in 1991 and retired from University's School of Letters in 2006.
T. V. Chandran is an Indian film director, screenwriter, and actor, predominantly working in Malayalam cinema. Born in a Malayali family in Thalassery, Chandran worked as a Reserve Bank of India employee before entering the film industry. He started his film career as an assistant director to P. A. Backer. He also acted the lead role in Backer's highly acclaimed political drama Kabani Nadi Chuvannappol (1975). He made his directorial debut with the unreleased feature Krishnan Kutty (1981), and followed this with the Tamil film Hemavin Kadhalargal (1985). Chandran came into prominence after Alicinte Anveshanam (1989), which was nominated for the Golden Leopard at the Locarno International Film Festival. This was followed with Ponthan Mada (1993), his most famous film to date. Chandran is most known for his art-house films which have references to history and undertones of politics and feminism. He is also known for his trilogy on 2002 Gujarat riots, consisting of Kathavasheshan (2004), Vilapangalkappuram (2008) and Bhoomiyude Avakashikal (2012). Other highly acclaimed films include Mangamma (1997), Dany (2001) and Paadam Onnu: Oru Vilapam (2003).
Malayalam poetry is poetry written, spoken, or composed in Modern, as well as Old and Classical, Malayalam.
Payyanat Ravindra Nathan better known by his pen name P. R. Nathan, is a novelist, screenplay writer, dramatist, short story writer, travelogue writer and speaker from Palakkad, Kerala, India. He was awarded with the prestigious Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for overall contribution in 2014. He has written over 55 books in various genres. He is the recipient of 41 major awards across various categories in literature. He is an expert in Naturopathy and Reiki. He has done over 7000 speeches around the world on Vedas, Upanishads and Tantra. His book Vaayikenda oru Pusthakam was selected for the Sri Padmanabha Swamy Bala Sahithya Award instituted by the Gramam Samskarika Vedi. He was born in Kizhayoor, a small village in Pattambi, Palakkad. He was born as the elder son of Prabhakara Menon, a drawing teacher and Sarojiniamma, a music teacher. He took graduation in telecommunication Engineering and was employed in Provident Fund organisation of India. He resigned from the office to concentrate on his literature works and travelling. He was a member of academy of music dance and drama and has been a member of many award juries.
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).
Akkitham Achuthan Namboothiri, popularly known as Akkitham, was an Indian poet and essayist who wrote in Malayalam. He was known for a simple and lucid style of writing, exploring themes of profound love and compassion in his works. Some of his prominent works included Irupatham Noottandinte Ithihasam, Balidarshanam, and Nimisha Kshetram.
Venkiteswaran Chittur Subramanian is an Indian film critic, professor, documentary filmmaker, writer and occasional subtitler from Chalakudi, Kerala, India, who writes predominantly in English and Malayalam. He won the National Film Award for Best Film Critic in 2009 and shared the National Film Award for Best Arts/Cultural Film with M.R. Rajan for directing the documentary film, Pakarnattam in 1995.
Puthussery Ramachandran Pillai was an Indian poet of the Malayalam language. He was a scholar of Dravidian linguistics and a professor of Malayalam for more than three decades. On 14 March 2020, he died of age-related illnesses.
Rafeeq Ahamed is an Indian poet, lyricist and novelist. He has won the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Poetry and is a six-time winner of the Kerala State Film Award for Best Lyrics. With more than 600 songs to his credit, Rafeeq Ahamed is regarded as the most successful and critically acclaimed lyricist of contemporary Malayalam films.
Ashitha was an Indian writer of Malayalam literature, best known for her short stories, poems and translations. She helped popularize haiku poems in Malayalam through her translations. She was a recipient of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Story and other honours including the Padmarajan Award, Lalithambika Anterjanam Smaraka Sahitya Award and Edasseri Award.
Thoppil Anto was an Indian theater, and playback singer, stage performer and music composer. He was prominent during the 1970s in Malayalam movies. He sang in Father Damien in (1963)music by M. S. Baburaj, Anubhavangale Nandi in (1976)music by G. Devarajan, Sneham Oru Pravaham in (1979)music by KJ. Joy, Veenapoovu in (1982)music by Vidhyadharan and "HoneyB2" in (2017)music by Deepak Dev. He served as a light music artist with the All-India Radio Thrissur in the 1960s.
B. Rajeevan is a Malayalam author and literary critic from Kerala, India.
Manamboor Rajan Babu is a Malayalam language poet from Kerala, India. He is the founder and editor of Innu the oldest inland-letter literary magazine publishing from Kerala state. He is the author of fourteen books, including eleven poetry collections. His poems have been translated into English, Hindi, Tamil and other languages.
Aryambika S. V. is a Malayalam language poet from Kerala, India. She received several awards including Yuva Puraskar by Sahithya Akademi and Kanakasree Award by Kerala Sahitya Akademi.
K. P. Sankaran is a Malayalam–language literary critic from Kerala, India. Born on 15 May 1939 in Painkulam in Trichur district of the erstwhile Kingdom of Cochin, he was a teacher at Changanacherry S.B. College, Trichur Kerala Varma College and Mysore Regional Institute of Education from where he retired in 2001. He resides with his wife Kamala Devi in Kottapparambu near Chelavoor, Calicut since 2019. He has authored around 30 books.
Abu Dhabi Sakthi Award is a literary award instituted by UAE-based Abu Dhabi Sakthi Theatres and awarded to writers in Malayalam literature. Instituted in 1987, it is given in various categories such as novel, story, poetry, drama, literary criticism, scholarly literature and children's literature. The award for literary criticism is named Sakthi Thayat Award, the award instituted for overall contributions is named T. K. Ramakrishnan Award, and the award for other categories of literature is named Sakthi Erumeli Award.