P. Narendranath (18 July 1934 – 3 November 1991) was a

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 ...

author. He is best known for his contributions in

children's literature Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. Modern children's literature is classified in two different ways: genre or the intended age of the reader. Children's ...

. He wrote more than 35 works including novels, plays and children's books.

Early life

P. Narendranath was born in Nellaya, a village near

Pattambi Pattambi is a town taluk and municipality in the Palakkad district of the state of Kerala, India. It is also the administrative headquarters of the Pattambi Taluk. Pattambi is located along the banks of Bharathappuzha river. A Mini Civil Station ...

Palakkad District Palakkad District () is one of the 14 districts in the Indian state of Kerala. It was carved out from the southeastern region of the former Malabar District on 1 January 1957. It is located at the centre of Kerala. It is the largest district i ...

, in the 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 ...

, on 18 July 1934. He did not complete his basic education due to financial difficulties. At 19, he joined Cochin Commercial Bank as a clerk and later earned a Bachelor's degree in Economics and Banking. Cochin Commercial Bank was acquired by

Canara Bank Canara Bank is an Indian public sector bank under the control and ownership of Ministry of Finance, Government of India. Established in 1906 at Mangalore by Ammembal Subba Rao Pai, the bank also has offices in London, Dubai and New York. Hist ...

in 1963. A banker by profession, he moved into children's literature. His first work was published when he was 18. He continued publishing books and made an impact on

children's literature. Some of his works were translated into both Tamil and Hindi.

Recognition

Throughout his life, P. Narendranath earned awards for his contributions to children's literature. They are listed below. * Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award **

Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Children's Literature The Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Children's Literature (also known as Sree Padmanabhaswamy Award for Children’s Literature) is an award given every year by the Kerala Sahitya Akademi (Kerala Literary Academy) to Malayalam writers for writin ...

* National Award by the Department of Culture * SPC Award * Indian Council for Child Education Award

Family

P. Narendrantha married Smt Amrutha Kumari. They had four children, son Mohandas and daughters Anitha, Vinitha, and Sunitha. Sunitha Nedungadi is a

ghazal The ''ghazal'' ( ar, غَزَل, bn, গজল, Hindi-Urdu: /, fa, غزل, az, qəzəl, tr, gazel, tm, gazal, uz, gʻazal, gu, ગઝલ) is a form of amatory poem or ode, originating in Arabic poetry. A ghazal may be understood as a ...

singer. Vinitha Nedungadi is a dancer. P. Narendranath died on 3 November 1991. P. Narendranath Memorial Sree Vidya Academy is a dance academy named after him in

Palakkad Palakkad (), formerly known as Palghat, historically known as Palakkattussery is a city and municipality in the Indian state of Kerala. It is the administrative headquarters of the Palakkad District. Palakkad is most densely populated municipal ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Narendranath, P. Indian children's writers Malayalam-language writers 1934 births 1991 deaths