Yanthram (English: The Machine) is a Malayalam novel written by Malayatoor Ramakrishnan. The novel is centred on the theme of civil service (Indian Administrative Service) in Kerala. It portrays the pressure exerted on popular governments by big business and the confrontation between the bureaucratic machinery and the political forces. [1] The novel received the Vayalar Award in 1979. [2]
The Kerala Sahitya Akademi or Academy for Malayalam Literature is an autonomous body established to promote the Malayalam language and literature. It is situated in the city of Thrissur, Kerala in India.
Panikkassery Keshavan "P.K." Balakrishnan was an Indian novelist and critic. A doyen of Malayalam literature, he is best known for his novel, Ini Njan Urangatte, a novel based on Mahabharata as well as a number of critical studies which include Chandu Menon Oru Padanam, Novel Siddhiyum Sadhanayum, Kavyakala Kumaranasaniloode, and Ezhuthachante Kala: Chila Vyasabharatha Patanangalum. His Jathivyavasthayum Kerala Charitravum is a work in social history.
Oyyarathu Chandu Menon was a Malayalam language novelist. He is the author of Indulekha, the first major novel in Malayalam published in 1889.
Kerala, called Keralam in Malayalam, is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South Canara, and Travancore. Spread over 38,863 km2 (15,005 sq mi), Kerala is the 21st largest Indian state by area. It is bordered by Karnataka to the north and northeast, Tamil Nadu to the east and south, and the Lakshadweep Sea to the west. With 33 million inhabitants as per the 2011 census, Kerala is the 13th-largest Indian state by population. It is divided into 14 districts with the capital being Thiruvananthapuram. Malayalam is the most widely spoken language and is also the official language of the state.
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.
B. Sandhya is a retired officer of the Indian Police Service and a former Director General of the Kerala Fire and Rescue Services, Home Guard, and Civil Defence. She is also known for her literary contributions which have won her a number of awards including the Edasseri Award in 2007. She retired from the service with the rank of Director General of Police on May 31, 2023.
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.
Moorkkanaat Krishnankutty Menon, better known by his pen name Vilasini, was an Indian writer from Kerala who wrote in Malayalam-language. He is the author of India's longest novel, Avakasikal, for which he won the Kendra Sahitya Akademi Award in 1981 and Vayalar Award in 1983. His first novel Niramulla Nizhalukal won the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award in 1966.
K. V. Ramakrishna Iyer, better known by his pen name, Malayattoor Ramakrishnan, was an Indian writer of Malayalam literature, cartoonist, lawyer, judicial magistrate, and Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer. He was best known for his novels, short stories and biographical sketches and his works include Yanthram, Verukal, Yakshi and Service Story – Ente IAS Dinangal. He received the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Novel in 1967. He was also a recipient of the Vayalar Award in 1979.
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.
N.K.Damodaran (1909–1996) was a writer and translator of Kerala, India. He was born on 3 August 1909 in Aranmula in Pathanamthitta district in Kerala. After taking B.A.B.L. he joined government service as Accounts Officer and later worked in SPCS. He has also worked as Sub editor in Sarvavijnana kosam and as Editor in Kalakaumudi weekly. He has published more than 20 books. He got Kalyani Krishna Menon Prize in 1967 and Sovietland Nehru award in 1974. His prime contribution was in the area of translation and he was the first to translate Fyodor Dostoyevsky's novels into Malayalam.
George Onakkoor is an Indian novelist who writes in Malayalam language. He was a Malayalam professor for over three decades at Mar Ivanios College, Trivandrum, Kerala.
Mancherath Thazhathethil Govindan (1919–1989) was an Indian writer of Malayalam literature and a cultural activist from Kerala, India. He was known for his writings as well as for his efforts in assisting Anand to publish his debut novel, Aalkkottam, and in the production of Swayamvaram, the debut movie of Dadasaheb Phalke laureate, Adoor Gopalakrishnan. His body of work comprises short stories, poems, articles and plays. He also wrote the screenplay for Nokkukuthi, a 1983 film by Mankada Ravi Varma.
Akbar Kakkattil was an Indian short-story writer and novelist from Kerala state.
E. Vasu is a Malayalam language writer from Kerala state, South India. Best known for his 1966 novel Chuvappunada, Vasu has written about forty works, including novels, short stories, travelogues and essays.
Khadija Mumtaz is a Malayalam author from Kerala state, India. She is a medical doctor by profession and is probably best known in the Kerala literary circles for her second novel Barsa which won the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award in 2010.
Smarakasilaka is a Malayalam novel written by Punathil Kunjabdulla in 1977. The story of the novel is woven around a mosque and its surroundings. The key figure is Khan Bahadur Pookkoya Thangal of the rich Arakkal family whose character is a rare mixture of dignity, benevolence and insatiable lust.
Unnikrishnan Thiruvazhiyode is an Indian civil servant and a Malayalam language novelist from the state of Kerala. He received the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award in 1992 for the novel Driksakshi.
Pepita Seth is a British-born writer and photographer, known for her accounts of the temple arts and rituals of Kerala and her photographs of the widely celebrated captive elephant, Guruvayur Keshavan. The Government of India honoured her, in 2012, with the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award, for her services to the field of art and culture.
Nakshathrangale Kaaval is a Malayalam language novel written by P. Padmarajan and published in 1971. The story revolves around the life of a girl as she matures into a woman. It won the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Novel. A film adaptation of the novel was released in 1978 with Jayabharathi and Soman playing the lead characters. It was directed by K. S. Sethumadhavan and scripted by Padmarajan.