Ayyappa Paniker

Dr. K. Ayyappa Paniker, sometimes spelt "Ayyappa Panicker" (September 12, 1930 – August 23, 2006) was an influential Malayalam poet, literary critic, and an academic and a scholar in modern and post-modern literary theories as well as ancient Indian aesthetics and literary traditions. He was one of the pioneers of modernism in Malayalam poetry, where his seminal works like Kurukshethram (1960), considered a turning point in Malayalam poetry , Ayyappapanikkarude Krithikal and Chintha and several essays were an important influence on the playwrights of his generation.
In an academic career which ran in consonance with his literary one, and spanned four decades, he taught in various colleges and universities before retiring as the Director, Institute of English, University of Kerala. He published over 25 works, translated several important work to Malayalam, including Guru Granth Sahib and a book in French; as a scholarly editor he produced numerous anthologies on Indian literature, he was the chief editor of the Sahitya Akademi’s Indian Literary Encyclopaedia [3]. Another important work by him Indian Narratology, published by IGNCA, was the first of its kind to study various forms of the art of narration, in Indian literature, starting with Vedic and oral literature to Buddhist and contemporary literature.
Paniker (his preferred spelling) was born in Kavalam near Alappuzha to E. Naryanan Namboodiri, a Namboodiri Brahmin of Periyamana Illam, and M. Meenakshiamma. Fourth of the eight children, six of them girls, he grew up without any paternal affection, while his mother died when he was 12 years old, this early anguish and solitude deeply reflected in his poetry, which he started writing when he was in high school.
The Kavalam village, was also home to people like, K. M. Panikkar, historian and administrator, and playwright and poet, Kavalam Narayana Panicker, his cousin .He published his first poem at the age of 16, published in the Mathrubhoomi Weekly. He did his Intermediate at Malabar Christian College, Kozhikode, and B.A. Honours in English Literature from the University College, Thiruvananthapuram in 1951, thereafter he received his Master's degree from the University of Kerala.
Paniker took his doctorate from Indiana University with a doctoral dissertation on the poetry of Robert Lowell, supervised by Prof. Robert E. Gross, subsequently he did post-doctoral research in Yale and Harvard University (1981–82)
Paniker was a recipient of a number of honours including the Padma Shri, Kerala Sahitya Akademi award for poetry and criticism, Kendra Sahitya Akademi Award for poetry, 2005 Saraswati Samman for his collection of writings Ayyappa Panikerude Krithikal, Distinguished Teacher award, Mahakavi Ulloor award for poetry, Kabir Samman, International man of the year (IBC, Cambridge, UK), Indira Gandhi memorial fellowship with lead to the book, Indian Narratology published by IGNCA, Gangadhar Meher National award for poetry, Asan prize and Jana Sanskriti award (Abu Dhabi), Vayalar award, and Vallathol award.

Thirunalloor Karunakaran

Thirunalloor Karunakaran (October 8, 1924 – July 5, 2006) was a renowned poet, scholar, teacher and leftist intellectual of Kerala, India.

Thirunalloor (variously spelt in English as Thirunelloor, Thirunellur and Thirunallur) Karunakaran - 'Thirunalloor',his family name and 'Karunakaran',first name - was born in the village of Perinad in Kollam (Quilon) district in Kerala to P.K.Padmanabhan and N.Lakshmy. He started learning Sanskrit in the traditional way before joining primary school and was associated with the working class political movement early in his life.He published his first book-the Malayalam translation of a poem by Oliver Goldsmith- while in school. During student days he wrote several poems, lyrics and articles in periodicals and made his mark during the Pink Decade in Malayalam poetry.By the time of his joining college his close contacts with Communist leaders like R.Sugathan and M. N. Govindan Nair had made him a staunch sympathiser of the Communist party.

Poetry

Samagamam (Long poem)
Manjuthullikal (Collection of poems)
Premam Madhuramanu Dheeravumanu (Long narrative poem)
Soundaryathinte padayalkal (Collection of poems)
Rani (Long narrative poem)
Rathri (Long narrative poem)
Anthi Mayangumbol (Collection of lyrics)
Tashkent (Long narrative poem)
Thirunalloor Karunakarante Kavithakal (Collection of poems)
Vayalar (Long narrative poem)
Greeshma sandhyakal (Collection of poems)
Puthumazha (Collection of poems for children)
Meghasandesam (Translation of Meghaduta by Kalidasa )
Omarghayyaminte Gadhakal (Translation of Rubaiyat by Omar Khayyam )
Gypsikal (Translation of Gypsiesby Alexander Pushkin)
AbhijnanaShakunthalam(Translation of Abhijnanasakuntalam by Kalidasa )
[edit]Prose
Malayalabhashaparinamam Sidhanthangalum Vasthuthakalum (A study on the origin and evolution of Malayalam language )
Oru Mahayudhathinte Paryavasanam ( The Mahabharata retold through an independent angle)
Praacheena Bharathathile Bhouthikavaadam (Translation of In Defence of Materialism in Ancient India by Debiprasad Chattopadhyaya)
Anusmaranangal (Collection of articles)

Balamani Amma

Nalappat Balamani Amma (19 July 1909 – 29 September 2004) was an Indian poetess who wrote in Malayalam. She was a prolific writer and was known as the Poetess of Motherhood. Amma (Mother), Muthassi (Grandmother), and Mazhuvinte Katha (The story of the Axe) were some of her well known works. She was a recipient of many awards and honors, including Padma Bhushan, Saraswati Samman, Sahitya Akademi Award, and Ezhuthachan Award. She was the mother of the renowned writer Kamala Das.

Balamani Amma was born on 19 July 1909 to Chittanjoor Kunhunni Raja and Nalappat Kochukuttiamma at Nalappat, her ancestral home in Punnayurkulam of Thrissur district in Kerala. Though she received no formal education, the tutelage under her maternal uncle and the poet Nalappat Narayana Menon and his collection of books helped her become a poetess. She was influenced by Nalappat Narayana Menon and poet Vallathol Narayana Menon.
Balamani Amma got married at the age of 19 to V. M. Nair who later became the Managing Director and Managing Editor of Mathrubhumi, a widely-circulated Malayalam newspaper. She had left for Kolkata after her marriage to live with her husband who was employed as a senior officer in the Walford Transport Company that sold Bentley and Rolls Royce automobiles. V. M. Nair died in 1977. Balamani Amma was the mother of the renowned writer Kamala Das who has translated one of her mother's poems, The Pen, which describes the loneliness of a mother. Mohandas, Shyam Sunder, and Sulochana Nalappat are her other children. Balamani Amma died on 29 September 2004 after having suffered from Alzheimer's disease for nearly five years.

Balamani Amma had published more than 20 anthologies of poems, several prose, and translations. She began writing poems at a young age and her first poem Kooppukai was published in 1930. Her first recognition came when she received the Sahithya Nipuna Puraskaram, an award from Parikshith Thampuran, former ruler of Kingdom of Cochin. Nivedyam is the collection of poems of Balamani Amma from 1959 to 1986. Lokantharangalil was an elegy on the death of the poet Nalappattu Narayana Menon.
Her poetry on the love for children and grandchildren earned her the titles of Amma (Mother) and Muthassi (Grandmother) of Malayalam poetry. While delivering the Balamaniyamma remembrance speech at the Kerala Sahitya Akademi, Akkitham Achuthan Namboothiri, described her as the "prophet of human glory" and said that her poetry had been an inspiration to him. She has received many literary honours and awards, including the Kerala Sahithya Akademi Award for Muthassi (1963), Kendra Sahitya Akademi Award for Muthassi (1965), Asan Prize (1989), Vallathol Award (1993), Lalithambika Antharjanam Award (1993), Saraswati Samman for Nivedyam (1995), Ezhuthachan Award (1995), and N. V. Krishna Warrier Award (1997).
She was also a recipient of India's third highest civilian honour Padma Bhushan in 1987.
Collection of poems
Kooppukai (1930)
Amma (1934)
Kudumbini (1936)
Dharmamargathil (1938)
Sthree Hridayam (1939)
Prabhankuram (1942)
Bhavanayil (1942)
Oonjalinmel (1946)
Kalikkotta (1949)
Velichathil (1951)
Avar Paadunnu (1952)
Pranamam (1954)
Lokantharangalil (1955)
Sopanam (1958)
Muthassi (1962)
Mazhuvinte Katha (1966)
Ambalathil (1967)
Nagarathil (1968)
Veyilaarumbol (1971)
Amruthamgamaya (1978)
Sandhya (1982)
Nivedyam (1987)
Mathruhridayam (1988)

Kumaran Asan

N. Kumaran Asan (Malayalam:കുമാരനാശാന്‍) (1873–1924), also known as Mahakavi Kumaran Asan (the prefix Mahakavi awarded by Madras University in the year 1922 means "great poet" and the suffix Asan meaning scholar or teacher), was one of the triumvirate poets of Kerala, South India. He was also a philosopher, a social reformer and a disciple of Sree Narayana Guru.
Kumaran Asan initiated a revolution in Malayalam poetry in the first quarter of the 20th century, transforming it from the metaphysical to the lyrical. Deep moral and spiritual commitment is evident in Asan's poetry. His works are an eloquent testimony of poetic concentration and dramatic contextualization.
Asan was born in a merchant family belonging to the Ezhava community[citation needed] in April 1873 in Kayikkara village, Chirayinkeezhu taluk, north of Thiruvananthapuram district of Kerala, south India. Named Kumaru He was the second son in a family of nine children. His father, Narayanan Perungudi, was well versed in Malayalam and Tamil.His mother, Kaali. Asan inherited his taste for Kathakali and classical music. Kumaru trained in mathematics and Sanskrit for which he had a passion. Even though through his father's efforts, he got a job as a primary school teacher was not before and an accountant to a wholesaler at the age of 14, he quit the job two years later to pursue higher studies in Sanskrit. He undertook a studentship in poetry under Manamboor Govindan Asan. He wished to learn Yoga and Tantra and worked as an apprentice in a Muruga temple at Vakkom. It is said that the Muse of Poetry blessed him during this time. He composed a few devotional songs for the benefit of regular worshippers at this temple.
In 1917 Asan married Bhanumathiamma daughter of Thachakudy Kumaran - younger brother of Dr.P.Palpu's father. Asan had two sons, Prabhakaran and Sudhakaran. Bhanumathiamma, who was an active social worker, later remarried after Asan's untimely death. Bhanumathiamma died in 1975.

Works


Handwriting of Kumaran Asan : From the notebooks of Asan kept at Thonnakkal Asan museum
Sthothrakrithikal (1901)
This is a collection of poems. The poems published in this volume are longer than those published in Manimaala.
Saundaryalahari (1901)
Veenapoovu (1907)
Asan scripted this epoch-making poem in 1907 during his sojourn in Jain Medu, Palakkad.[1] A highly philosophical poem, ‘Veena Poovu’ is an allegory of the transience of the mortal world, which is depicted through the description of the varied stages in the life of a flower. Asan describes in such detail about its probable past and the position it held. It is an intense sarcasm on people on high powers/positions finally losing all those. The first word Ha, and the last word Kashtam of the entire poem is often considered as a symbolism of him calling the world outside "Ha! kashtam".
Oru Simhaprasavam (1909)
Nalini (Subtitle: Allengkil Oru Sneham) (1911)
Leela (1914)
A deep love story in which Leela leaves madanan, her lover and returns to find him in forest in a pathetic condition. She thus realizes the fundamental fact 'Mamsanibhadamalla ragam' (Love is not an artifact of flesh)
Sribuddhacharitham (1915)
This is an epic poem (perhaps Kumaran Asan's longest work), written in couplets and divided into five parts.
Baalaraamaayanam (1916)
This is a shorter epic poem consisting of 267 verses. Most of these verses are couplets, with the exception of the last three quatrains. There are, therefore, 540 lines in all.
Graamavrikshattile Kuyil (1918)
Prarodanam (1919)
Chintaavishtayaaya Sita (1919)
Pushpavaadi (1922)
Duravasthha (1922)
Chandaalabhikshuki (1922)
This poem, divided into four parts and consisting of couplets, describes an untouchable beggar-woman" (also the name of the poem) who approaches Lord Ananda near Sravasti.
Karuna (1923)
Manimaala (1924)
This is a collection of short poems.
Vanamaala (1925)
This is a larger collection of poems of varying length.
Kumaran Asan also wrote many other poems. Some of these poems are listed in the book Asante Padyakrthikal under the name "Mattu Krthikal" (Other Works):
Sadaachaarasathakam
Sariyaaya Parishkaranam
Bhaashaaposhinisabhayodu
Saamaanyadharmangal
Subrahmanyapanchakam
Mrthyanjayam
Pravaasakaalaththu Naattile Ormakal
This is another collection of poems that come from various letters Kumaran Asan wrote over the course of several years. None of the poems were longer than thirty-two lines.
Koottu Kavitha
The other poems are lesser known. Only a few of them have names:
Kavikalkkupadesam
Mangalam
Oru Kathth
This is another one of Asan's letter-poems.
Randu Aasamsaapadyangal