C. N. Sreekantan Nair (1928–1976) was an Indian independence activist, a
Malayalam
Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 2 ...
writer, short story writer, playwright and screenwriter, best known for his ''
Ramayana
The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th ...
'' trilogy – ''
Kanchana Sita
''Kanchana Sita'' (''Golden Sita'') (Malayalam :കാഞ്ചന സീത) is a 1977 Indian Malayalam feature-length film scripted and directed by G. Aravindan. A mythological film, its story was adapted from C. N. Sreekantan Nair's play of ...
'', ''Saketham'' and ''Lankalakshmi''. He wrote 10 plays, 4 short story anthologies, book of non-fiction and collected works.
Kerala Sahitya Akademi
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 City of Thrissur, Kerala in India.
History
The academy was inaugurated on 15 ...
awarded him their
annual award for drama in 1962. He was also a recipient of the
M. P. Paul Prize.
Biography
C. N. Sreekantan Nair was born on March 31, 1928 at
Thiruvananthapuram
Thiruvananthapuram (; ), also known by its former name Trivandrum (), is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala. It is the most populous city in Kerala with a population of 957,730 as of 2011. The encompassing urban agglomeration populati ...
in the south Indian state of
Kerala
Kerala ( ; ) 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 ...
to Madavoor S.Neelakanta Pillai and Madhavikutty Amma.
After schooling at local schools, he did his college education at
Thiruvananthapuram
Thiruvananthapuram (; ), also known by its former name Trivandrum (), is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala. It is the most populous city in Kerala with a population of 957,730 as of 2011. The encompassing urban agglomeration populati ...
during which time he was involved in student politics and served as the secretary of Akhila Thiruvithamcoor Vidyarthi Congress and as the vice president of the Akhilendhya Vidyarthi Congress. He participated in the Vidyarthi Congress of 1947 which was banned by
C. P. Ramaswami Iyer
Sir Chetput Pattabhiraman Ramaswami Iyer (12 November 1879 – 26 September 1966), popularly known as Sir C. P., was an Indian lawyer, administrator and politician who served as the Advocate-General of Madras Presidency from 1920 to 1923, Law m ...
, the then
Diwan of Travancore
The Diwan of Travancore was the head of government of Travancore, a princely state in South India. Appointed by the Maharaja of Travancore, the office of Diwan existed from 1729 to 1948, when it gave way to the office of Prime Minister of Trava ...
, and he had to go into hiding. After the Indian independence, he completed his graduate studies and joined ''Prabhodham'' daily run by
A. P. Udhayabhanu. Later, he worked in a number of publications, such as ''Navabharatham'', ''Kaumudi'', ''Tharapadham'', ''Kathamalika'' and ''Deshabhandhu''.
He also worked as the district information officer of
Department of Information and Public Relations, a job he quit, following a difference with
R. Sankar, the then chief minister of Kerala.
Sreekantan Nair was married to Kanakangi Amma
and the couple has two children.Towards the later part of his life, he turned spiritual and was involved in the running of a press, Sreemudralayam, in
Kottayam
Kottayam () is a municipal town in the Indian state of Kerala. Flanked by the Western Ghats on the east and the Vembanad Lake and paddy fields of Kuttanad on the west. It is the district headquarters of Kottayam district, located in south- ...
which was later shifted to
Ernakulam. He died on December 17, 1976, at the age of 48.
Legacy and honours
Sreekanatan Nair, whose body of work comprises 10 plays, 4 short story anthologies and a book of non-fiction,
is best known for his
Ramayana
The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th ...
-based trilogy,
''Saketham'', ''Lankalakshmi'' and ''
Kanchana Sita
''Kanchana Sita'' (''Golden Sita'') (Malayalam :കാഞ്ചന സീത) is a 1977 Indian Malayalam feature-length film scripted and directed by G. Aravindan. A mythological film, its story was adapted from C. N. Sreekantan Nair's play of ...
''.
Ayyappa Panicker, a noted poet and scholar, observed that ''Lankalakshmi'' brought out the playwright in Sreekantan Nair, while ''Saketham'' and ''Kanchana Sita'' highlighted the poet and the philosopher in the playwright.
His first major play was ''Nashtakachavadam'', which was a short story in the beginning but was later rewritten as a play in 1957 and ''Kali'' a play he wrote in 1967 is known as the first
surrealist
Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to ...
play in
Malayalam literature
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 S ...
.
Nair, who experimented with stage direction and concepts of theatre,
co-founded ''Nataka Kalari'', a Kollam-based forum for the promotion and practice of theatre; several known writers and artists such as
M. Govindan,
Ayyappa Panikkar
Dr. K. Ayyappa Paniker, sometimes spelt "Ayyappa Panicker" (12 September 1930 – 23 August 2006), was a Malayalam poet, literary critic, and an academic and a scholar in modern and post-modern literary theories as well as ancient Indian aesthe ...
,
G. Aravindan
Govindan Aravindan (23 January 1935 – 15 March 1991) was an Indian film director, screenwriter, musician, cartoonist, and painter. He was one of the pioneers of parallel cinema in Malayalam. He was known for his unorthodox way of filmma ...
,
Kainikkara Kumara Pillai
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 ...
and
G. Sankara Pillai were involved with the movement.
"Thanathunatakavedi", the idea of having a theatre involving indigenous art forms of Kerala was first evolved from C.N. He published an article "Thanathunatakavedi" in 1967 detailing his thoughts. He was the organiser of the 5th All India Writers Conference at Eloor, Kerala and The World Parliament of Religions in 1968 at Sasthamkotta, Kerala.
Sreekantan Nair's involvement with Malayalam cinema started with the 1966 film,
Archana, directed by
K. S. Sethumadhavan, and he wrote the story, screenplay and dialogues for the film.
His next venture was for ''Kamuki'', an
Adoor Gopalakrishnan
Adoor Gopalakrishnan (born 3 July 1941) is an Indian film director, script writer, and producer and is regarded as one of the most notable and renowned filmmakers in India. With the release of his first feature film '' Swayamvaram'' (1972), Go ...
film, which was based on Nair's story but the film never released.
Theerangal, a film by
Rajeevnath
Rajeevnath is a National Award-winning Malayalam film director.
Career
Rajeevnath ventured into filmmaking with a short film shot in 16mm camera after finishing his university course. He debuted as a director of feature films with ''Thanal'' (1 ...
in 1978 was based on his story and he wrote the dialogues for the movie and collaborated with the director on the screenplay.
His play, ''Kanchana Sita'' was adapted into a
film with same name by
G. Aravindan
Govindan Aravindan (23 January 1935 – 15 March 1991) was an Indian film director, screenwriter, musician, cartoonist, and painter. He was one of the pioneers of parallel cinema in Malayalam. He was known for his unorthodox way of filmma ...
and the film fetched the
National Film Award for Best Direction
The National Film Award for Best Direction is an honour presented annually at India's National Film Awards ceremony by the Directorate of Film Festivals (DFF), an organisation set up by the Indian Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. Since 1 ...
for its director.
Sreekantan Nair received the
Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Drama
The Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Drama is an award given every year by the Kerala Sahitya Akademi (Kerala Literary Academy) to Malayalam writers for writing a drama of literary merit. It is one of the twelve categories of the Kerala Sahitya A ...
in 1962 for the play, ''
Kanchana Sita
''Kanchana Sita'' (''Golden Sita'') (Malayalam :കാഞ്ചന സീത) is a 1977 Indian Malayalam feature-length film scripted and directed by G. Aravindan. A mythological film, its story was adapted from C. N. Sreekantan Nair's play of ...
''.
He was also a recipient of the M. P. Paul Prize, his play, ''Nashtakachavadam'', fetching him the award.
Works
Plays
* Saketham
* Lankalakshmi
* Kanchana Sita
* Nadakathrayam
* Aa kani thinnaruthu
* Aettile Pasu
* Kali
* Sneham Bhakti
* Nashtakachavadam
* Madhuvidhu
* Manyathayude mara
Short stories
* Thilakkunna mannu
* Pichipoo
* Puliyilakkara neryathu
* Sindoora pottu
Essay
* Randilayum oru thiriyum
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*''Nashtakkachavadam''
*''Aa Kani Thinnaruth''
*''Aettile Pashu''
*''Madhuvidhu''
*''Sindoorappottu''
*''Thilakkunna Ponnu''
*''Pichippoo''
*''Puliyilakkara Neryath''
See also
*
List of Malayalam-language authors by category
The field of Malayalam writers include the following people, from various disciplines and periods.
Art criticism
*Mani Madhava Chakyar (1899–1990)
Poetry
* Arnos Paathiri (1681–1732)
*Cherusseri Namboothiri
*Irayimman Thampi
* Kattakaya ...
*
List of Malayalam-language authors
List of Malayalam-language authors lists writers in Malayalam who already have Wikipedia pages. References for the information appear on the linked Wikipedia pages. The list is incomplete – please help to expand it by adding Wikipedia page-own ...
References
Further reading
*
*
Lankalakshmi – English Translation by Vasanthi Sankaranarayanan*
*
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nair, C. N. Sreekantan
Indian male dramatists and playwrights
Writers from Kollam
Malayali people
Malayalam-language writers
Malayalam-language dramatists and playwrights
1928 births
1976 deaths
20th-century Indian dramatists and playwrights
Dramatists and playwrights from Kerala
20th-century Indian male writers
20th-century Indian short story writers
20th-century Indian non-fiction writers
Screenwriters from Kerala
Malayalam screenwriters
20th-century Indian screenwriters