Mathew Ulakamthara was a

Malayalam language 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, literary critic and academic from

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 ...

, India. He received several awards including ''Sabha Rathnam'', the highest honor of the

Syro-Malabar Church lat, Ecclesia Syrorum-Malabarensium mal, മലബാറിലെ സുറിയാനി സഭ , native_name_lang=, image = St. Thomas' Cross (Chennai, St. Thomas Mount).jpg , caption = The Mar Thoma Nasrani Sl ...

Biography

Mathew Ulakamthara was born on June 6, 1931, in Chungam Ulakamthara house in present-day Arattukulam in

Vaikom Vaikom, , is a municipal town and a capital town of Vaikom Taluk, situated in the northwest of Kottayam district in the state of Kerala, India. The town is also noted for its role in the Indian independence movement for being the venue of Vaikom ...

Kottayam district Kottayam (), is one of 14 districts in the Indian state of Kerala. Kottayam district comprises six municipal towns: Kottayam, Changanassery, Pala, Erattupetta, Ettumanoor, and Vaikom. It is the only district in Kerala that neither borders the ...

of Kerala to Ulakamthra Varkey and Anna. In 1954, he obtained a degree in Malayalam from the

University of Kerala University of Kerala, formerly the University of Travancore, is a state-run public university located in Thiruvananthapuram, the state capital of Kerala, India. It was established in 1937 by a promulgation of the Maharajah of Travancore, Chit ...

and later did his Post Graduate Degree from the

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

. He served as Malayalam lecturer at Thevara SH College for three decades and retired as head of the department in 1986. After retirement he worked as teacher at

Mananthavady Mananthavady is a municipality and ''taluk'' in the Wayanad district of Kerala, India. Etymology The popular view on the etymology is that the word is derived from "Maane Eytha Vady" (English: "The place where an arrow was shot at the deer"). T ...

Newman's College. He was later appointed Honorary Professor of Sree Sankaracharya Sanskrit University. He also served as the sub-editor of ''Thananthu'' magazine and Editor-in-Chief of Deepika Weekly (1988-1990). Mathew has also served as the Chief Examiner, Chairman of the Examination Board, Textbook Committee Member, Oriental Faculty and chairman of the Board of Studies of Kerala and MG Universities.

Personal life and death

Mathew was an

Eastern Rite Catholic The Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches, also called the Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches, Eastern Rite Catholicism, or simply the Eastern Churches, are 23 Eastern Christian autonomous (''sui iuris'') particular churches of th ...

affiliated with the

. He and his wife Thresiamma have four children. He died on 24 February 2022, at a private hospital in Thellakam, Kottayam district.

Literary contributions

When he was 12 years old, his first work was published in Deepika Weekly Children's page. At the time of writing the articles in ''Kerala Pamkthi'' magazine under the name Vaikkom V. Mathew, its editor, Father C. K. Mattam, suggested that the family name be added to his name. After that he started writing under the name Mathew Ulakamthara. Mathew has authored over fifty works in various genres including Literary Criticism, Poetry, Drama, Biography and Religious Thought. His introductions to the works of many authors including

Vaikom Muhammad Basheer Vaikom Muhammad Basheer (21 January 1908 – 5 July 1994), popularly referred to as Beypore Sulthan, was a writer of Malayalam literature. He was a writer, humanist, freedom fighter, novelist and short story writer, noted for his path-breaking, ...

Pala Narayanan Nair Pala Narayanan Nair (11 December 1911 – 11 June 2008) was an Indian poet and lyricist, best known for his work, ''Keralam Valarunnu'', written in 1953, comprising eight volumes, which earned him the title of ''Mahakavi''. He wrote more than 5 ...

and

Mary John Thottam Mary John Thottam (24 June 1901 – 20 May 1985), also identified as Sister Mary Benigna, was an Indian Catholic nun and a poet who wrote in Malayalam. She authored two mahakavyas, ''Marthoma Vijayam'' and ''Gandhi Jayanthi'', a poetry anthology ...

are also noteworthy. These will be published in book form soon. Mathew's main literary work is the epic ''Christugatha'' (meaning: The Story of Christ), which is a poem that gives a comprehensive and aesthetic account of the life and teachings of

Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

from his birth to his ascension to heaven. Six editions of this book have been released. He has also authored several Christian devotional songs. His literary criticism books have been made textbooks by three universities in Kerala. The books used as texts were ''Vimarshasopanam'', ''Alochanamritham'', and ''Sahithyapeedika''. Mathew has been a member of the

Kerala Sahitya Akademi The Kerala Sahitya Akademi or Academy for Malayalam literature is an autonomous body established to promote the Malayalam language and Malayalam literature, literature. It is situated in City of Thrissur, Kerala in India. History The academy ...

, Secretary of the

Kerala Sasthra Sahithya Parishad Kerala Sastra Sahitya Parishad (KSSP) (meaning: ''Kerala Science Literature Movement'') is a progressive outfit in the state of Kerala, India. It was conceived as a people's science movement. At the time of its founding in 1962 it was a 40-membe ...

and a member of the advisory board of the

Kerala Bhasha Institute The Kerala Bhasha Institute is an academic publishing house in India that was established on 11 March 1968 as a part of the fourth five-year plan. Twelve years later, on 1 November 1980, a regional center was set up in Kozhikode. It is located ...

Selected works

Christian philosophy

Poetry

*''Christugatha'' *''Velichathinte Makal'' (meaning: Daughter of Light) *''Adyathe Maranam'' (meaning: First Death)

Literary criticism

*''Vimarshasopanam'' * *

Religious

* (meaning: Universal light). Poetic Drama on life of Jesus Christ. *''Veerambana Kathakal'' * (meaning: Hinduism and Christianity) *''Mar Apreminte Mariya Geethangal'' *''Christu Bimbangal Malayalathil'' (meaning: Christ Images in Malayalam) *

Biography

* * Based on life of

Johann Ernst Hanxleden Johann Ernst Hanxleden (1681–1732), better identified as Arnos Pathiri, was a German Jesuit priest and missionary, best known for his contributions as a Malayalam and Sanskrit poet, grammarian, lexicographer, and philologist. He lived in Indi ...

. * *''Indira Gandhi'', life of former Indian Prime Minister

Indira Gandhi Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (; Given name, ''née'' Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and a central figure of the Indian National Congress. She was elected as third prime minister of India in 1966 ...

Essays

* (meaning: Bitter and Sweet)

Others

* * (meaning: Heaven of Cowards)

Awards and honors

*K. V. Simon Award *A.K.C.C. Award *Athansius Award *Marthoma Award *Vanisseri Award *

Ulloor Award Ulloor S. Parameswara Iyer was one of the modern triumvirate poets of Malayalam poetry. There are two major annual literary awards instituted in his memory, both known by the name Ulloor Award. The older among the two awards was instituted by Ma ...

*Mahakavi Kattakkayam Gold Medal *KCBC Award *Catholic Congress Award *KCYM Award *Kudumbadeepam Award *LRC Award *Sr Mary Baneenja Award *IC Chacko Award *Syro-Malabar Research Center Award 2011 *In 2019, he received the title ''Sabha Rathnam'' (meaning: gem of the church) the highest honor of the Syro-Malabar Church.

Works on him

* (meaning: Ulakamthara, poet and critic:studies). Study on works of Mathew Ulakamthara.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ulakamthara, Mathew 1931 births 2022 deaths Eastern Catholic poets Malayalam-language writers Indian literary critics Malayalam literary critics Indian male poets Malayali people Poets from Kerala Malayalam poets 20th-century Indian poets 20th-century Indian male writers People from Kottayam district University of Madras alumni University of Kerala alumni Syro-Malabar Catholics