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Edasseri Govindan Nair ( ml, ഇടശ്ശേരി ഗോവിന്ദൻ നായർ; 23 December 1906 – 16 October 1974) was an Indian poet and playwright of
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 ...
. Known as one of the major poets of Malayalam, Edasseri was a recipient of the
Sahitya Akademi Award The Sahitya Akademi Award is a literary honour in India, which the Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, annually confers on writers of the most outstanding books of literary merit published in any of the 22 languages of the ...
and the
Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Poetry The Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Poetry is an award given every year by the Kerala Sahitya Akademi (Kerala Literary Academy) to Malayalam writers for writing poetry of literary merit. It is one of the twelve categories of the Kerala Sahitya A ...
. He was also a recipient of Asan Smaraka Kavitha Puraskaram, which was awarded posthumously.


Biography

Edasseri Govindan Nair was born on December 23, 1906 at
Kuttippuram Kuttippuram is a town and a block headquarters, which is situated in the Tirur Taluk, Malappuram district of Kerala state, India. The town is located 34 kilometres south-west of Malappuram. The Bharathappuzha river flows through Kuttippuram. A ...
, in
Malapuram district Malappuram (), is one of the 14 districts in the Indian state of Kerala, with a coastline of . It is the most populous district of Kerala, which is home to around 13% of the total population of the state. The district was formed on 16 June 196 ...
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 Ca ...
to P. Krishna Kurup and Edasseri Kunjukutti Amma in a family with poor financial means. He did not have much formal education due to the death of his father in 1921 when he was only 15 years old and started his career early as an assistant to a relative, who worked in
Alappuzha Alappuzha or Alleppey () is the administrative headquarters of Alappuzha district in state of Kerala, India. The Backwaters of Alappuzha are one of the most popular tourist attractions in India which attracts millions of domestic and interna ...
. However, he compensated for the lack of formal education with hard work with voracious reading, learning Sanskrit and English on his own taking help from his friends, constantly engaging in debates on literature, criticism, science, astronomy and even astrology. He spent 7 years in Alleppey before moving to Kozhikode. In early 1930, he moved to Ponani. It was during this time that he married Janaki Amma, the wedding taking place in 1938. He continued with his learning, debates and discussions in Ponani also. Edasseri was associated with various literary and cultural forums. He sat in the general council of
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 ...
,
Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Academy is located in Thrissur city, of Kerala, in India. It was established on 26 April 1958, inaugurated by then Indian Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. The academy started a cultural centre at the Bahrain Ker ...
and Samastha Kerala Sahitya Parishad and was a member of the board of directors of the
Sahithya Pravarthaka Co-operative Society Sahithya Pravarthaka Co-operative Society (SPCS) or Sahithya Pravarthaka Sahakarana Sangham is a cooperative society of writers in the south Indian state of Kerala for publication and sales of books. It was founded in 1945 by a group of twelve wri ...
. He presided Kerala Sahithya Samithi and Kendra Kala Samithi during various periods and was instrumental in founding a local library, ''Krishna Panikkar Vayana Sala''. Edasseri's works include 19 books and over 300 poems in 10
anthologies In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs or excerpts by different authors. In genre fiction, the term ''anthology'' typically categ ...
, 6 books of plays and a collection of essays. He was among the poets who changed the romantic traits of Malayalam poetry to realism. His narrative style, as shown in his poems such as ''Poothapattu'', ''Panimudakkam'', ''Kalyana Pudava'', ''Karutha Chettichikal'' and ''Kavile Pattu'', was reported to reflect strong humanism. Govindan Nair - Janaki Amma couple had eleven children, though only eight survived infancy. He died on October 16, 1974, at the age of 67.


Awards

Edasseri received two awards from the
Government of Tamil Nadu Government of Tamil Nadu is the subnational government for the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is seated at Fort St George, Chennai. The legislature of Tamil Nadu was bicameral until 1986, when it was replaced by a unicameral legislature ...
(the known as Government of Madras), the first one for his play, ''Koottukrishi'' and the other, for his poem anthology, ''Puthan Kalavum Arivalum''. He received the
Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Poetry The Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Poetry is an award given every year by the Kerala Sahitya Akademi (Kerala Literary Academy) to Malayalam writers for writing poetry of literary merit. It is one of the twelve categories of the Kerala Sahitya A ...
in 1969 for the poem anthology ''Oru Pidi Nellikka'' and a year later,
Sahitya Akademi The Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, is an organisation dedicated to the promotion of literature in the languages of India. Founded on 12 March 1954, it is supported by, though independent of, the Indian government. Its of ...
awarded him their annual award for 1069 for ''Kavile Pattu'', another of his anthology. He was awarded Asan Smaraka Kavitha Puraskaram posthumously in 1979, five years after his death, for the anthology, ''Anthithiri''.


Literary works


Poem anthologies

* ''Alakavali (Ornations)''(അളകാവലി) -1940 * ''Puthankalavum Arivalum Poothappattum'' (പുത്തൻ കലവും അരിവാളും പൂതപ്പാട്ടും)(New Pot and Sickle) - 1951 * ''Laghu Ganangal'' (Simple Songs) - 1954 * ''Karutha Chettichikal'' (Dark Nomad Women) - 1955 * ''Thathwa Shastrangal Urangumbol'' (As Philosophies Sleep) -1961 * ''Kavile Pattu'' (Song of the Grove) - 1966 * ''Oru Pidi Nellikka'' (A handful of Gooseberries) - 1968 * ''Thrivikramannu Munnil'' (In front of Thrivikrama) - 1971 * ''Kunkuma Prabhatham'' (The Vermilion Dawn) - 1975 * ''Anthithiri'' (Ritual Wick of Dusk) – 1977 * ''Edasseriyude Sampoorna Kavithakal'' (Complete Poetic Works of Edasseri) - 1988 * ''Malayalathinte Priya Kavithakal'' (Endearing poems of Malayalam) - 2013.


Plays

* ''Noolamala'' (The Entanglement) -1947 * ''Koottu Krishi'' (Co-operative Faming) - 1950 * ''Kaliyum Chiriyum'' (Fun and Laughter) - One-act plays- 1954 * ''Ennichutta Appam'' ( Limited Means) - One-act plays- 1957 * ''Chaliyathi'' (The Weaver Woman) - One-act plays- 1960 * ''Njediyil Padaratha Mulla'' (Jasmine Vine that does not climb the prop) - 1964 * ''Jarasandhante Puthri'' (Daughter of Jarasandhan) - Radio Play- 1970s * ''Khatolkachan'' 1970s * ''Edasseriyude Naadakangal'' - 2001


Other books

* ''Edasseriyude Prabandhangal;; (Essays of Edasseri) - 1988 * ''Edasseriyude Cherukathakal'' (Short stories of Edasseri) – 2015


Books on Edasseri Govindan Nair

* ''Edasseri - Navabhavukathwathinte Kavi'' (Literary criticism by
Prof. P. Meerakutty Pareeth Mammy Meerakutty (28 February 1930 – 24 August 2017) was a Malayalam writer, literary critic, and teacher. He taught Malayalam language and literature at various levels of educational institutions in a teaching career spanning over 44 ...
) * ''Edasseri Govindan Nair'' (book in English on the poet by
M. Leelavathi Mundanat Leelavathy (born 16 September 1927) is a Malayalam writer, literary critic, and educationist. She taught at various colleges in Kerala before retiring as Principal from Government Brennen College, Thalassery. During her long literary c ...
) * ''Edasseriyude Kavyalokam'' (book on Edasseri poems by K. P. Saraschandran) * ''Itha Oru Kavi'' (essays on Edasseri by eminent writers) * ''Edasserikkavitha - Shilpavicharam'' by K. P. Mohanan * ''Edasserikkavitha'' - a collection of essays by various writers compiled by Kavadayar Ramachandran * ''Edasseri Ninavil Varumpol'' - (Essays on Edasseri) * ''Edasserikkavitha'' (Literary criticism by Melath Chandrasekharan) * ''Edasserikavithayile Premeyaghatana'' (Literary criticism by Chathanath Achuthanunni)


Notes


References


External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nair, Edasseri Govindan 1906 births Indian male poets Malayalam-language writers 1974 deaths Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Award in Malayalam Malayalam poets Recipients of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award 20th-century Indian poets Poets from Kerala People from Malappuram district 20th-century Indian male writers Indian dramatists and playwrights