C. P. Surendran is an

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others aspire to ...

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

columnist A columnist is a person who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Column (newspaper), Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs. They take the fo ...

and

screenplay writer A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. T ...

. He writes in English and is based out of

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...

Early life and education

Surendran was born on 9 June 1958 in

Ottapalam Ottapalam, (also spelled Ottappalam) is a town, taluk and municipality in the Palakkad district, Palakkad District, Kerala, India. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ottapalam taluk. Ottapalam is located about 36 km from district head ...

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 ...

. His father,

Pavanan Puthan Veetil Narayanan Nair, fondly called and popularly known by his pen name Pavanan (പവനൻ) who was born on 26 October 1925 and died on 22 June 2006, was a well-known rationalist, literary critic and left wing political activist fro ...

(a.k.a. Puthanveettil Narayanan Nair) was a pioneering rationalist, a

leftist Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam was des ...

writer and an

activist Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fro ...

. His mother, Parvathy Pavanan, is an acclaimed author and a winner of the

Kerala Sahitya Academy Award Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award is given each year, since 1958, by the Kerala Sahitya Akademi (Kerala Literary Academy), to Malayalam writers for their outstanding books of literary merit. The awards are given in various categories.

. After schooling in

Trivandrum 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 ...

and

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

, Surendran graduated from a college in

Thrissur Thrissur (), formerly Trichur, also known by its historical name Thrissivaperur, is a city and the headquarters of the Thrissur district in Kerala, India. It is the third largest urban agglomeration in Kerala after Kochi and Kozhikode, and t ...

, and went on to receive his Master's in

English Literature English literature is literature written in the English language from United Kingdom, its crown dependencies, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, and the countries of the former British Empire. ''The Encyclopaedia Britannica'' defines E ...

from

Delhi University Delhi University (DU), formally the University of Delhi, is a collegiate university, collegiate Central university (India), central university located in New Delhi, India. It was founded in 1922 by an Act of the Central Legislative Assembly and ...

Career in journalism

Surendran had a brief stint as a teacher of English Literature at

Calicut University The University of Calicut, also known as Calicut University, is a state-run public university headquartered at Tenhipalam in Malappuram district of the state of Kerala, India. Established in 1968, it is the first university to be set up in nor ...

in Kerala before moving to Mumbai in 1986 to work as a journalist, in the footsteps of his uncle, the late C.P. Ramachandran. Surendran began his career in print media as a

with leading English newspapers including ''

The Times of India ''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the third-largest newspaper in India by circulation and largest ...

'', '' Times Sunday Review'' and ''

Bombay Times The ''Bombay Times'' is a free supplement of ''The Times of India'', in the Mumbai (formerly Bombay) region. It covers celebrity news, news features, international and national music news, international and national fashion news, lifestyle and ...

''. He was a resident editor of ''

'' in

Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million ...

for three years from 2003 to 2006. He was the editor of '' Open Magazine'' in New Delhi from 2009 to 2012. He went on to serve as the senior editor with ''

'' in Delhi and later, as chief editor of '' Daily News and Analysis '' (a.k.a. DNA). He is currently a

contributing editor A contributing editor is a newspaper, magazine or online job title that varies in its responsibilities. Often, but not always, a contributing editor is a "high-end" freelancer, consultant, or expert who has proven ability and has readership dra ...

and ''

media consultant A media consultant is a marketing agent or public relations executive that is hired by businesses or political candidates to obtain positive press coverage. Media consultants usually draft press releases to highlight positive achievements of a ...

'' with ''

Khaleej Times ''Khaleej Times'' is a daily English language newspaper published in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Launched on 16 April 1978, ''Khaleej Times'' is the UAE's longest-running English daily newspaper. History and profile A partnership between the U ...

''. He is a columnist for Indian and international papers like ''

The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the secon ...

'', ''

The Hindustan Times ''Hindustan Times'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper based in Delhi. It is the flagship publication of HT Media, an entity controlled by the KK Birla family, and is owned by Shobhana Bhartia. It was founded by Sunder Singh Lyall ...

'', ''

Outlook Outlook or The Outlook may refer to: Computing * Microsoft Outlook, an e-mail and personal information management software product from Microsoft * Outlook.com, a web mail service from Microsoft * Outlook on the web, a suite of web applications ...

'', ''

'', and ''

Gulf News ''Gulf News'' is a daily English language newspaper published from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It was first launched in 1978, and is currently distributed throughout the UAE and also in other Persian Gulf Countries. Its online edition was launch ...

''. In 2018, a range of allegations of sexual harassment were leveled against him, with several women accusing him of making sexually colored remarks and suggestive comments. In the wake of the allegations, Surendran stepped down from his position on the board of directors of the Matrubhumi International Festival of Letters.

Poetry

Surendran's poems have been internationally anthologized, and he has received recognition for writing and journalism including Reuters International Fellowship at Oxford, Wolfson Press Fellowship at Cambridge and British Council Literature Fellowship at Cambridge. A selection of his poems was included in ''Gemini II'' (1994). His first independent collection was "Posthumous Poems." His other volumes of poetry include "Canaries on the Moon" (2002), "Portraits of the Space We Occupy" (2007) and "Available Light: New and Collected Poems"(2017) "Available Light" is a collection of 360 poems written over 25 years and includes new poems appended with those from his previous 4 volumes in poetry. Stark and often caustic, his poems reflect his preoccupation with love, death and loneliness. Home, I tell the man turning away in the mirror, My captive. Let him go? Cut my wrist and set off a little sunset. Let him go.

Fiction

His books of fiction include "An Iron Harvest" (2006), "Lost and Found" (2010) and "Hadal" (2015). His novel "One Love and the Many Lives of Osip B", was released in July 2021.

Screenplay

Surendran is also a screenplay writer, having written scripts for Gour Hari Dastaan, which was released in 2014 and "Mai Ghat" (2019) which was screened online at the 73rd ''

Festival de Cannes The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...

''.

Bibliography

Novels * ''An Iron Harvest'' (Indiaink) * '' Lost And Found'' ( HarperCollins, 2010) * '' Hadal'' (HarperCollins 2015) * '' One Love and the Many Lives of Osip B'' (Niyogi Books) Poetry * ''Gemini II'' (Penguin Viking) * ''Posthumous Poems'' (Penguin Viking) * ''Canaries On The Moon'' (Yeti Press) * ''Portraits Of The Space We Occupy'' (HarperCollins) * ''Available Light: New and Collected Poems'' (HarperCollins) Screenplay * ''Gour Hari Dastaan'' (2014) * ''Mai Ghat'' (2019)

References

External links

* Hi
poetry review
got featured in

encyclopedia.com Encyclopedia.com (also known as HighBeam Encyclopedia) is an online encyclopedia. It aggregates information from other published dictionaries, encyclopedias and reference works including pictures and videos. History The website was launched by ...

by Bruce King
Review of ''An Iron Harvest''
from ''Biblio'' by

Vinod Jose Vinod K. Jose, or Vinod Kizhakkeparambil Joseph, (born 1980) is a journalist, editor, and magazine founder from India. In 2009, Jose was hired by Delhi Press to re-launch the company's 70-year-old title ''The Caravan'', which was discontinued ...

* https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10277744/ * https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4513812/ *https://www.hindustantimes.com/books/surendran-s-book-a-comical-critique-of-society/story-KCiHLE8863hPw4n5js5POO.html *https://www.thecommononline.org/september-2018-poetry-feature-cp-surendran/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Surendran, C. P. Academic staff of the University of Calicut Poets from Kerala Indian male novelists English-language poets from India Living people 1958 births Indian male poets