Malayalam,the lingua franca of the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puduchery,is one of the six classical languages of India. Malayalam literature comprises those literary texts written in Malayalam,a South-Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala. The first travelogue in any Indian language is the Malayalam Varthamanappusthakam,written by Paremmakkal Thoma Kathanar in 1785. Malayalam literature has been presented with 6 Jnanapith awards,the second-most for any Dravidian language and the third-highest for any Indian language.
Kerala Socialist Party (KSP) is a political party in India founded under the leadership of Mathai Manjooran on 21 September,1947 at Kozhikode. It began as a small party,but its front-line leaders compelled the party deep into the public imagination. The party became part of the coalition that formed the first democratically elected communist government in the world after San Marino.
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 7 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.
Akathoot Balakrishna Pillai (1889–1960),better known as Kesari Balakrishna Pillai,was a Malayalam writer,art and literary critic and journalist,considered by many as one of the most influential thinkers of modern Kerala. He was the eponymous founder of the newspaper,Kesari and was one of the three major figures in modern Malayalam literary criticism,along with Joseph Mundassery and M. P. Paul. Besides works such as Kesariyude Lokangal,Navalokam,Sankethika Nirupanangal Sahitya Nirupanangal,Rupamanjari,he also wrote a text in English under the title,Outlines of the Proto-Historic Chronology of Western Asia.
Cannankara Velayudhan Raman Pillai,also known as C. V.,was one of the major Indian novelists and playwrights and a pioneering playwright and novelist of Malayalam literature. He was known for his historical novels such as Marthandavarma,Dharmaraja and Ramaraja Bahadur;the last mentioned considered by many as one of the greatest novels written in Malayalam.
Sooranad P. N. Kunjan Pillai was an Indian researcher,lexicographer,poet,essayist,literary critic,orator,grammarian,educationist,and scholar of the Malayalam language,best remembered for his contributions in compiling Malayala Maha Nighantu,a lexicon. The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest civilian honour of the Padmashri in 1984 for his contribution to Malayalam literature and education. He was also a recipient of the Vallathol Award in 1992 and when the Government of Kerala instituted the Ezhuthachan Puraskaram,their highest literary honour in 1993,he received the inaugural award.
Thirunalloor Karunakaran was a poet,scholar,teacher and leftist intellectual of Kerala,India.
Keezhedathu Damodaran was an Indian Marxist theoretician,writer and one of the leaders of the Communist Party of India in Kerala,India.
Krishna Chaitanya was the pen name of Krishnapillai Krishnankutty Nair,known as K.K. Nair. He is an author of about 40 books on the subjects of art,literature,philosophy and education,and an art critic,musicologist and photographer.
Kainikkara Kumara Pillai (1900–1988) was an Indian teacher,actor,short story writer,essayist and playwright of Malayalam literature,best known for his plays such as Harichandra,Mathruka Manushyan and Mohavum,Mukhtiyum. He was the younger brother of Kainikkara Padmanabha Pillai,a noted author and thinker. An author of 18 books,Kumara Pillai was awarded the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Drama in 1970. The Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi inducted him as a distinguished fellow in 1975 followed by the Kerala Sahitya Akademi in 1986.
C. N. Sreekantan Nair (1928–1976) was an Indian independence activist,a Malayalam writer,short story writer,playwright and screenwriter,best known for his Ramayana trilogy –Kanchana Sita,Saketham and Lankalakshmi. He wrote 10 plays,4 short story anthologies,book of non-fiction and collected works. Kerala Sahitya Akademi awarded him their annual award for drama in 1962. He was also a recipient of the M. P. Paul Prize.
Chandrika Balan is an Indian writer who has published books in English and Malayalam,under the pen name Chandramathi,ചന്ദ്രമതിin 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.
Kayar is a 1978 Malayalam epic novel written by Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai. Widely considered one of the most seminal works in Malayalam literature,Kayar received many major literary awards,including the Vayalar Award.
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.
R. Narayana Panickar was an Indian essayist,playwright,translator,lexicographer,novelist and historian of Malayalam. He was credited with over 100 books but the best known among them are the seven-volume work,Kerala Bhasha Sahitya Charitram,a comprehensive history of Malayalam literature up to 1951 and Navayuga Bhasha Nighantu,a lexicon. He also wrote a number of novels and translated several works including Purananuru,Akanaṉūṟu and Silappatikaram. He was also a historian and published works such as Thiruvithamkoor Charitram and Kerala Charitram. Sahitya Akademi honoured him with their annual award in 1955.
T. N. Gopinathan Nair,was an Indian dramatist,novelist,poet,screenwriter and biographer of Malayalam language. One of the prolific among Malayalam playwrights,Nair published 39 plays,besides his four novels,four poetry anthologies and five biographies. He was a member of the council of Kerala Sahitya Akademi and held the char of the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi. His drama,Pareeksha,received the Vikraman Nair Trophy for the best drama and the Kerala Sahitya Akademi selected his work,Sakshi,for their annual award for drama in 1979.
P. K. Narayana Pillai,better identified as Sahitya Panchanan P. K. Narayana Pillai,was an Indian literary critic,essayist,scholar,grammarian and poet of Malayalam language. One of the pioneers of literary criticism in Malayalam,he wrote more than 25 books which include Panchananante Vimarssthrayam,a critique of the writings of Thunchaththu Ezhuthachan,Cherusseri Namboothiri and Kunchan Nambiar and two books on Malayalam grammar,Leghuvyakaranam and Vyakarana Pravesika. He was a judge of the High Court of Kerala,a member of the Sree Moolam Popular Assembly and the founder president of the Samastha Kerala Sahithya Parishad.
V. Parameswaran Nair was an Indian politician from Kerala who served as a member of Lok Sabha,representing Chirayinkil and Quilon Lok Sabha constituencies.
Sudhanshu Chaturvedi is a writer,translator and academic from Uttar Pradesh,India. He has authored or translated over 120 books in Malayalam,Hindi,Sanskrit and English. Even though his mother tongue is Hindi,he has written most of his books in Malayalam.
Malayalam drama,known as Natakam (നാടകം) in Malayalam,is an important genre of Malayalam literature. The origin of Malayalam drama can be traced back to various performing arts of Kerala such as Kathakali. Drama,as is understood now,is a borrowed art form in Kerala and started with the publication of the Malayalam translation of Abhijnana Shakuntalam in 1882. The field of Malayalam theatre and drama became active by the end of the 19th century. It played an active role in the early-20th-century Kerala reform movement.
