Prof. Panmana Ramachandran Nair (13 August 1931 – 5 June 2018) 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, translator, linguist 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 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 ...

. He has received

Sahitya Akademi Translation Prize Sahitya Akademi Translation Prize or Sahitya Akademi Prize for Translation is a literary honour in India, presented by Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, given to "outstanding translations of creative and critical works" in 24 m ...

and

Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Overall Contributions The Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Overall Contributions is an award given every year by the Kerala Sahitya Akademi (Kerala Literary Academy) to Malayalam writers for their overall contributions to Malayalam literature. It is one of the twelve ...

in the field of Malayalam literature. His autobiography ''Smrithi Rekhakal'' was published in 2010.

Biography

Ramachandran Nair was born at Panmana village in

Karunagappally Taluk Karunagappally is a municipality in the Kollam district of Kerala, India. It is 24 km north of Kollam and south of Alappuzha. Karunagappally taluk consists of Alappad, Ochira, Adinad, Karunagappally, Thazhava, Pavumba, Thodiyoor, Kallalibh ...

Kollam district Kollam district (), (formerly Quilon district) is one of 14 districts of the state of Kerala, India. The district has a cross-section of Kerala's natural attributes; it is endowed with a long coastline, a major Laccadive Sea seaport and an in ...

on 13 August 1931 to Kannakathu Kunchu Nair who was a disciple of

Chattampi Swamikal Chattampi Swamikal (25 August 1853 – 5 May 1924) was a Hindu sage and social reformer. His thoughts and work influenced the launching of many social, religious, literary and political organisations and movements in Kerala and for the first ti ...

and Lakshmikutty Amma. He Studied till 10th in a Sanskrit school near Panmana Ashram. While still a student, he wrote poetry in Malayalam and Sanskrit and edited magazines.

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 ...

as his first language till 10th class,

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 de ...

for Intermediate and then degree in

Physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

with Sanskrit as sub-language, he was initially rejected for pursuing a postgraduate degree in Malayalam from

University College, Thiruvananthapuram University College, Thiruvananthapuram (UCT) is a constituent college of the University of Kerala, based primarily in Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of the Indian state of Kerala. The college was awarded 23rd rank by National Institutional Ran ...

. After a qualifying examination he joined the postgraduate degree, and passed masters in Malayalam with first rank in 1957. After post graduation, he started his teaching career at Fathima Matha College, Kollam. He later joined the government service as lecturer in

Government Victoria College, Palakkad The Government Victoria College in Palakkad, is the oldest institution of higher learning in the Malabar region of Kerala. It holds a rich educational heritage in the history of malabar region. It is affiliated to the Calicut University and p ...

. After working as lecturer in government colleges in Chittoor, Thalassery and Thiruvananthapuram he retired from the service in 1987 as Head of the department of Malayalam in

University College Thiruvananthapuram University College, Thiruvananthapuram (UCT) is a constituent college of the University of Kerala, based primarily in Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of the Indian state of Kerala. The college was awarded 23rd rank by National Institutional Ran ...

. He was considered to be the last word in Malayalam grammatical nuances. His Malayalam Grammar books are authentic books that language students and journalists rely on for good language. He answered about 3,000 questions about the Malayalam language in a column in Career Magazine, which later became a book entitled ''Malayalavum Malayalikalum'' (Meaning: Malayalam and

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

s). He wrote many articles on Malayalam language in all major newspapers and gave talks on radio and television also. He was also active in the ''Granthasala prasthanam'' (library movement) and the ''Adyapakaprasthanam'' (teaching movement) and was the Chairman of the P.K. Parameswaran Nair Trust. He was a member of the committees of the Kerala State Library Council,

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 ...

, the

Kerala Kalamandalam Kerala Kalamandalam, deemed to be University of Art and Culture by the Government of India, is a major center for learning Indian performing arts, especially those that developed in the Southern states of India, with the special emphasis on K ...

and the Sahitya Pravarthaka Sahakaranasangham and the

Kerala University 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 ...

Senate. The Trust, of which he is editor and mentor, has published 29 books in the last quarter century and has given awards to the best biographers. He died in Vazhuthacaud on 5 June 2018 at the age of 86.

Family

He and his wife K. N. Gomathi Amma have three children Hareendra Kumar, Mahendra Kumar and Usha Kumari.

Contributions

Linguistic

*Thettillatha Malayalam (Meaning: Malayalam without mistakes) *Thettum Shariyum (Meaning: right and wrong) *Sudha Malayalam (Meaning: Pure Malayalam) *Thetillatha Uchcharanam (Meaning: Pronunciation without mistakes) *Bhasha Suddhi Samsaya Pariharangal (Meaning: Solutions to language purity doubts) *Nalla bhasha (Meaning: good language)

Literary Review books

*Parichayam *Navayugashilpi Rajaraja Varma

Vyakhyanas (commentaries)

*Nalacharitam Attakkatha *Malayavilasam Kavyam

Children's literature

*Mazhavillu (Meaning: Rainbow) *Oonjal (Meaning: Swing) *Poonthen (Meaning: Honey) *Appuppanum Kuttikalum (Meaning: Grandfather and Children) *Deepashikha Kalidasan

Translations

*Acharya Choodamani *Swapnavasavadattam *Narayaniyam

Autobiography

*Smritirekhakal

Awards and honors

for ''

Narayaniyam ''Narayaniyam'' is a medieval-era Sanskrit text, comprising a summary study in poetic form of the ''Bhāgavata Purana''. It was composed by Melputhur Narayana Bhattathiri, (1560–1666 AD) one of the celebrated Sanskrit poets in Kerala. Even thou ...

'' into Malayalam. *

2004. *Godhavarma Award for passing Malayalam Masters with first rank from University college, Thiruvananthapuram.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nair, Panmana Ramachandran 1931 births 2018 deaths Malayalam-language writers Writers from Kerala University College Thiruvananthapuram faculty Government Victoria College, Palakkad faculty Malayalam literary critics People from Kollam district Indian literary critics Indian children's writers 20th-century Indian linguists University College Thiruvananthapuram alumni Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Prize for Translation