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P. K. Rajasekharan | |
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Born | Thiruvananthapuram, India | 21 February 1966
Occupation | Literary critic, author, orator, newspaper editor |
Language | Malayalam |
Nationality | Indian |
Genre | Literary criticism, essays |
Notable awards | Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award, Vilasini Award, Thoppil Ravi Award |
P. K. Rajasekharan is a literary critic in Malayalam language, and is the winner of Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Literary Criticism in 1997. Rajasekharan is an orator, [1] author, and editor of various books. He was news editor of the Mathrubhumi newspaper.
P. K. Rajasekharan was born on 21 February 1966 in Karippuru, near Malayinkeezh, in Thiruvananthapuram District. After finishing his graduate and post-graduate schooling in Malayalam from the University College Trivandrum, Rajasekharan obtained his PhD from the University of Kerala.
P. K. Rajasekharan is one of the foremost postmodern literary critics in Malayalam. The anthology of essays titled Novel : bhodhavum prathibodhavum, edited by Rajasekharan and Azad in 1992 is the first book that began debates about post modern turn in Malayalam literature. [2] "The most significant contribution of Rajasekharan is that he analysed post modern literature in Malayalam theoretically and expanded that aesthetics. His contribution is commendable in developing spatial studies in Malayalam. Studies on novels, and studies about the relationship between cyber culture and literature are also significant." [3] In the critical study of the novels of O. V. Vijayan, titled Pitrukhatikaram (1994), Rajasekharan construes the newer questions of genus. Ekantha Nagarangal (2006) presented that the modernism in Malayalam doesn't have a common aesthetic backdrop but rather has a collective of didderent modernisms. [4] Andhanaya Daivam (1999) is a wide-ranging study of Malayalam novel from its beginning in the 1890 s to the end of 20th century. This significant works elicits the caste and class politics underlining the early Malayalam novels. This work focused exclusively on the trajectory of the Malayalam novels which had crossed the centennial mark. An observation that Rajasekharan makes about the history of Malayalam novels buttresses the scope of the argument of this article as well. He states, "In novel [as a genre], we find the continuous process of Malayali self-fashioning, development and instability. This quality, which is incomplete in other literary forms, makes the history of Malayalam novels our own history" (page no 14). This unique characteristic of Malayalam novels is the result of the introduction of realistic narration in the genre to deal with contemporary issues. Therefore, the early Malayalam novels also record:
Moreover, all these aspects were primarily recorded from the reformist perspective of the elite upper class. According to Rajasekharan, the Malayalam novel was a medium in which, since its inception, efforts by the society at defining its Malayali identity is discernible. He extends this argument further to define the notion of the blind God regarding the question of nexus between hegemony and writing. The early Malayalam novels, he argues, revolted against all hegemonies such as the government, patriarchy, merciless fate, aristocracy, and religion – which he equates to the “blind God” (page no. 17). He explains the idea of the blind God thus: The novelists confronted the blind God of power in the light of the transforming society and the search for new narrative models. Aristocracy, the all-powerful patriarch, brutal feudalism and capitalism, the omnipresent narrator, the selffashioned individual, these were the various forms in which the God-symbol made itself present in the novel. It is a totem of power in various realms of society. (page no. 18- 19) This notion of the blind God is visible in most novels of the period. Such a perception of the nexus of power enables to centrally address and engage with the questions of caste, class and gender in the novels. [5] [6]
Rajasekharan and fellow critic P. Venugopalan found that the version of Indulekha , published in 1889 as the first Malayalam novel, Keralites have read for the past several decades was a heavily edited version. [7] The novel, which strongly pushed for women's empowerment, was deeply altered with many such portions removed by later publishers. The last chapter, Chapter 20, was especially edited. [8] They then found the original version of the novel, from the British Library in London, after several years of searching. In 2016 Rajasekharan and Venugopalan published a definitive variorum edition of Indulekha with notes and a critical Introduction. [9]
Paul Zacharia, popularly known mononymously as Zacharia, is an Indian writer of Malayalam literature. Known for his body of literary works composed of short stories, novellas, travelogues, screenplays, essays, columns and children's books, Zacharia is a distinguished fellow of Kerala Sahitya Akademi. He is also a recipient of the Ezhuthachan Puraskaram, Kendra Sahitya Akademi Award and the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Story.
Koloth Thattarath Sukumaran, popularly known as Sukumar Azhikode was an Indian academic, orator, critic and writer of Malayalam literature, known for his contributions to Malayalam language and insights on Indian philosophy. He was a scholar in Sanskrit, Malayalam, and English languages and his work, Tatvamasi, published in 1984, is a notable work for its detailed interpretation of Indian philosophy, Vedas and Upanishads. He was a recipient of several honours including Sahitya Akademi Award, Kerala Sahithya Akademi Award, Vayalar Award, Vallathol Award and Ezhuthachan Puraskaram, the highest literary award of the Government of Kerala. The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest civilian honour of the Padma Shri in 2007, which he refused citing the award was a discrimination.
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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.
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.
Manoj Kuroor is an Indian poet and lyricist who writes in Malayalam.
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P. Kunjanandan Nair, better known by his pseudonym, Thikkodiyan, was an Indian playwright, novelist, lyricist and screenwriter of Malayalam. He was known for his contributions to the genre of radio plays and his autobiography, Arangu Kaanatha Nadan, which detailed the socio-cultural development of Malabar in the post-independent period, fetched him a number of awards including the Kendra Sahithya Academy Award, Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Biography and Autobiography, Vayalar Award and the Odakkuzhal Award.
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.
S. Guptan Nair was an Indian scholar, academic, critic and writer of Malayalam literature. Known for his literary works as well as for his oratorical skills, Nair was a prolific writer with over 35 books to his credit. He was a distinguished fellow of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi and a recipient of several honours including Kendra Sahitya Academy Award, Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award, Vayalar Award, Vallathol Award and Ezhuthachan Puraskaram, the last one being the highest literary award of the Government of Kerala.
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U. A. Khader was an Indian author. He published in Malayalam, including novels, novellas, short stories, travelogues and non-fiction. His works have been translated to various languages including English, Hindi and Kannada. He was a recipient of the Sahitya Akademi Award in 2009 for his novella Thrikkottur Novellakal and had earlier received the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award in 1984 for Thrikkottur Peruma.
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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.
N. Prabhakaran is a noted short story writer, novelist, poet, playwright, essayist, educationist, editor and columnist in Malayalam. The eldest of the five children born to N Kunhambu and A Kalliani, Prabhakaran was born at Parassinikkadavu in Kannur district of Kerala on 30 December 1952. He spent his childhood days at Madayi. Prabhakaran studied at Madayi L P School, Govt. High School, Madayi, Payyannur College and Government Brennen College, Thalassery. He served as a lecturer at the Dept. of Malayalam of Lekshmipuram college of Arts and Science, Neyyoor, Kanyakumari District, Tamil Nadu, University College, Thiruvananthapuram, CKG Memorial Govt College, Perambra, and Govt Brennen College, Thalassery, and retired while serving as the Head of the Malayalam Department of Brennen College. The writer also served as a visiting professor of Malayalam at the University of Calicut. Prabhakaran resides at Dharmadam in Thalassery.
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