Kudiyirikkal Narayanan Ezhuthachan (21 May 1911 – 28 October 1981), commonly known as Dr.K.N.Ezhuthachan was an Indian writer and scholar 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 ...

. He was one among the principal followers of the idea of social impact on

literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

. Ezhuthachan supported

Marxist literary criticism Marxism was introduced by Karl Marx. Most Marxist critics who were writing in what could chronologically be specified as the early period of Marxist literary criticism, subscribed to what has come to be called " vulgar Marxism." In this thinking ...

and interpreted Indian literary works based on

Marxist aesthetics Marxist aesthetics is a theory of aesthetics based on, or derived from, the theories of Karl Marx. It involves a dialectical and materialist, or dialectical materialist, approach to the application of Marxism to the cultural sphere, specifically a ...

. He won 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 ...

for his work '' Keralodayam'', a long narrative poem written in

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

. He is the first

Malayali The Malayali people () (also spelt Malayalee and also known by the demonym Keralite) are a Dravidian ethnolinguistic group originating from the present-day state of Kerala in India, occupying its southwestern Malabar coast. They are predomin ...

to win

sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

literature. He died on 28 October 1981 while delivering a lecture 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 ...

Early life

K. N. Ezhuthachan was born in the village Cherpulassery in Palakkad district,

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 ...

, as the son of eye specialist and

scholar Kudiyirikkal Krishnan Ezhuthachan and Lakshmi amma on 21 May 1911. He studied basics of

from father's Sanskrit school. After passing the '' Vidwan examination'' Ezhuthachan began his career as a teacher and taught at two schools. He also worked as a clerk and stenographer in

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second-m ...

for a brief period. Later, he took his master's degrees in

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 ...

, and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

. Besides he learned languages like

Hindi Hindi ( Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...

Kannada Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...

and

Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people *Palaiosouda, also known as Marathi, a small island in Greece See also * * ...

. In 1953, he joined

Madras University The University of Madras (informally known as Madras University) is a public state university in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Established in 1857, it is one of the oldest and among the most prestigious universities in India, incorporated by an a ...

as Lecturer and simultaneously worked for his PhD in the same university. After completing his PhD on ''Bhashakautaleeyam'', Ezhuthachan joined

University of Calicut 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 n ...

as a Lecturer. He also served as a Senior Research Officer at Kerala State Institute of Languages, Research Fellow of

Dravidian Linguistics Association The Dravidian Linguistics Association is a learned society of scholars of Dravidian languages, based in Thiruvananthapuram. It holds the annual "Conference of Dravidian Linguists". The president is P.T. Murugaretnam (Madurai Kamaraj University). ...

and Visiting Professor at University of Calicut. K. N. Ezhuthachan had worked for the formation of institutions like ''Thaaliyola grantha library'': a library for old

Palm-leaf manuscript Palm-leaf manuscripts are manuscripts made out of dried palm leaves. Palm leaves were used as writing materials in the Indian subcontinent and in Southeast Asia reportedly dating back to the 5th century BCE. Their use began in South Asia and ...

, Which was established in 1971 under Malayalam Departement of the

. And ''Vallathol educational trust'', A trust formed in 1977 in memory of

Vallathol Narayana Menon Vallathol Narayana Menon (Malayalam: വള്ളത്തോൾ നാരായണ മേനോൻ) (16 October 1878 – 13 March 1958) was a Malayalam poet and one of the triumvirate of modern Malayalam poetry, along with Asan and Ulloor ...

Literary career

Dr.K. N. Ezhuthachan was the author of many books in Malayalam, including short stories, poems, and essays. His book, ''The history of the grammatical theories in Malayalam'' published in 1975, is considered to be a seminal work in the field of Malayalam grammar. He has also authored a research thesis on Thunchath Ezhuthachan's '' Adhyathma Ramayanam'' and scholarly article about Kilippattu.

Works

Biography

*''Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar''

Stories

*''Kadhamalika'' *''Kadhabhooshanam'' *''Kadhamanjusha'' *''Kadhasowdham'' *''Mahilaaramam'' *''Veerahuthi''(Translation of '' Venisamhara'')

Poems

*''Pratheeksha'' *''Kusumopaharam'' *''Prathijna'' *'' Keralodayam Mahakavyam'' (long narrative poem in

)

Essays

*''Ilayum Verum''(6 Articles) *''Kathirkkula''(13 Articles) *''Uzhutha Nilangal''(6 Articles) *''Ezhilampala''(7 Articles) *''Kiranangal''(21 Articles) *''Deepamala''(13 Articles) *''Kaaladippaathakal''(7 Articles) *''Sameeksha''(12 Articles) *''Muththum pavizhavum''(7 Articles): Won

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 ...

''C.B.Kumar endowment award'' in the year 1976. *''Saahithee chinthakal'' *''Thiranjedutha prabandhangal''(2 Volumes) In addition to these about twenty articles which published in

Mathrubhumi weekly ''Mathrubhumi Azhchappathippu'' ( en, Mathrubhumi Illustrated Weekly) is an Indian general interest weekly magazine published by the Mathrubhumi Printing and Publishing Company in Calicut. The Malayalam language magazine started publishing on 18 ...

Deshabhimani ''Deshabhimani'' is a Malayalam newspaper and the organ of the Kerala State Committee of the Communist Party of India (Marxist). It started as a weekly in Calicut on 6 September 1942 and converted to a daily in 1946. The paper now has ten diffe ...

etc. The essence of Ezhuthachan's essay is radical thinking, logic and simplicity. His essays are best examples for presenting most things in least words with obvious manner. He was co-author for a

Dictionary also.

Main Translations

*''Saarthavahan''(Translation from

hindi Hindi ( Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...

) *''Vaanisamaharam'' *''Kalayute saamoohyaverukal''(Translation of Louis Harap's ''Social Roots of Arts'') *''

Lilatilakam ''Lilatilakam'' (IAST: ''Līlā-tilakam'', "diadem of poetry") is a 14th century Sanskrit-language treatise on the grammar and poetics of the Manipravalam language form, a precursor of the modern Malayalam language spoken in the Kerala state of I ...

English translation''(From Four to Eight parts, Not published) *''

Tolkāppiyam ''Tolkāppiyam'', also romanised as ''Tholkaappiyam'' ( ta, தொல்காப்பியம், ''lit.'' "ancient poem"), is the most ancient extant Tamil grammar text and the oldest extant long work of Tamil literature. The surviving manus ...

''(

Translation) *''

Purananuru The ''Purananuru'' (, literally "four hundred oemsin the genre puram"), sometimes called ''Puram'' or ''Purappattu'', is a classical Tamil poetic work and traditionally the last of the Eight Anthologies (''Ettuthokai'') in the Sangam literatu ...

'' *''

Kuṟuntokai Kuṟuntokai ( ta, குறுந்தொகை, meaning ''the short-collection'') is a classical Tamil poetic work and traditionally the second of the Eight Anthologies (''Ettuthokai'') in the Sangam literature. The collection belongs to the ...

'' *''

Naṟṟiṇai ''Naṟṟiṇai'' ( ta, நற்றிணை meaning ''excellent tinai''), is a classical Tamil poetic work and traditionally the first of the Eight Anthologies (''Ettuthokai'') in the Sangam literature. The collection – sometimes spelled a ...

'' *''Aasiayum paasthaathya medhavithwavum''(Translation of ''Asia and western dominance'', From English) *''Manushyanum prakruthiyum''(Translation of ''

Man and Nature A man is an adult male human. Prior to adulthood, a male human is referred to as a boy (a male child or adolescent). Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chromos ...

'') *''Kavithakkoru Sadhookaranam''(Translation of Sir Philip Sidney's ''

An Apology for Poetry ''An Apology for Poetry'' (or ''The Defence of Poesy'') is a work of literary criticism by Elizabethan poet Philip Sidney. It was written in approximately 1580 and first published in 1595, after his death. It is generally believed that he was ...

'')

Other research papers

*''Kilippattu prasthanam - dheerghapadanam'' In the book ''Saahithyacharithram prasthaanangaliloode'' *''Randu bhagavat geethakal''- A comparison of Madhava panikkar's Bhagavad Gita and Pattanar's thamizh Bhagavad Gita *''Tharoor swaroopam'' (Annals of Oriental research,

1954) *''Ramacarita and its Metres'' (Annals of Oriental research, Madras University 1957) *''A study of Ramayana Themes in Malayalam'': Ramayana seminar,S. V. University 1965 *''The morphology of Lilatilakam'': Linguistic seminar, Trivandrum 1965 *''The problem of meaning'': International symposium, Madras 1965 *''Modern trends in poetry'': International symposium, Madras 1965 *''Nationalistic Trends in Indian Poetry'': Vallathol - Bharathi Symposium, Madras 1965

Articles which added in encyclopedia

*''Thunchaththezhutahchan'' (In Encyclopedia published by

Government of Kerala Government of Kerala is the Subnational administrative division, subnational government of the Indian state of Kerala. The government is led by a chief minister, who selects all the other ministers. The chief minister and their most senior mini ...

) *''The Artisan Classes of Kerala'' (Social history of Kerala).

K. N. Ezhuthachan Smaraka puraskaram

''K. N. Ezhuthachan Smaraka puraskaram'' is an award given by organisation ''Samskara pattambi'' in memory of K. N. Ezhuthachan. It was first given in 2014 to Sunil P. Ilayidom. Malayalam short story writer T. P. Venugopalan received ''K. N. Ezhuthachan Smaraka puraskaram'' in the year 2016 for his work ''Kunnumpuram kaarnival''(A compilation of

short stories).

References

External links

History Of Gramatical Theories In Malayalam(Part 1)Keralodayam Mahakavyam
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ezhuthachan, K. N. Scholars from Kerala Malayali people Indian male short story writers Malayalam-language writers Indian Marxist writers Indian Sanskrit scholars Indian Communist writers People from Palakkad district Malayalam short story writers Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Award in Sanskrit 1911 births 1981 deaths University of Calicut faculty Writers from Kerala Indian political writers 20th-century Indian educational theorists 20th-century Indian short story writers