Paul Zacharia, popularly known mononymously as Zacharia, is an Indian writer 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 Sou ...
. Known for his body of literary works composed of short stories, novellas, travelogues, screenplays, essays, columns and children's books, Zacharia is a distinguished fellow of
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 ...
. He is also a recipient of the
Ezhuthachan Puraskaram
The Ezhuthachan Puraskaram is the highest literary honour is given by the Kerala Sahitya Akademi, Government of Kerala. The award is named after Thunchaththu Ezhuthachan, the father of the Malayalam language and consists of a cash prize of 5,00,00 ...
,
Kendra 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 Story
The Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Story is an award given every year by the Kerala Sahitya Akademi (Kerala Literary Academy) to Malayalam writers for writing a story of literary merit. It is one of the twelve categories of the Kerala Sahitya A ...
.
Biography
Born Mundattuchundayil Paul Scaria (M.P. Scaria) on June 5, 1945, in
Urulikunnam, near Kottayam , then in
Travancore
The Kingdom of Travancore ( /ˈtrævənkɔːr/), also known as the Kingdom of Thiruvithamkoor, was an Indian kingdom from c. 1729 until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, and later Thiruvananthapuram. At ...
,
Zacharia was the youngest of the three children of M. S. Paul Mundattuchundayil, a farmer, and his wife, Thresiakutty Paul. His early education was at Sree Dayananda Primary School, a local school in Urulikunnam and later he continued his studies at St Joseph's High School, Vilakumadom from where he matriculated in 1960. Subsequently, he completed the pre-University course at
St. Thomas College, Palai in 1961 and moved to
St. Philomena's College, Mysore to earn his bachelor's degree in English Literature, History, and Economics in 1964. His post-graduate education was at the
Central College of Bangalore
Central College Bengaluru (1858) is one of the oldest colleges in India. This college was originally affiliated to University of Mysore in Mysore State. Rev. John Garrett was the first principal of the Central High School, which was afterwards re ...
and after earning a master's degree in English literature in 1966, he started his career as a lecturer of English at MES College,
Malleswaram
Malleshwara (also referred as Malleshwaram) is a northwest neighborhood and one of the zones of Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike in Bengaluru, India. It was planned in 1889 after the great plague of 1898, developed as a suburb in 1892 and h ...
where he worked for a year.
Returning to his home state, Zacharia joined
St. Dominic's College
St. Dominic's College is an arts and science college in Kanjirappally, Kerala, India. It is affiliated to the Mahatma Gandhi University and is reaccredited A grade by NAAC.
Campus
St. Dominic's College (also known as SD College) is locate ...
,
Kanjirappally
Kanjirappally is a taluk and a town in Kottayam district situated about away from the district capital, in the state of Kerala, India.
Climate
Kanjirappally has the highest number of rainy days in Kerala. It receives the highest amount of su ...
in 1967 as a lecturer and stayed there until his move to
Coimbatore
Coimbatore, also spelt as Koyamputhur (), sometimes shortened as Kovai (), is one of the major metropolitan cities in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of the Noyyal River and surrounded by the Western Ghats. Coimbato ...
in 1971 to take up the position of the area manager of Ruby Tyre and Rubber Works,
Bengaluru. His stay in Coimbatore lasted only a year and shifted his base to New Delhi to spend the next two decades there, working with various media and publishing houses such as Affiliated East-West Press,
All India Management Association
All India Management Association (AIMA) is the national apex body of the management profession in India. A not for profit, non-lobbying organisation, working closely with Industry, Government, Academia and students to further the cause of the m ...
(AIMA),
Press Trust of India
The Press Trust of India Ltd., commonly known as PTI, is the largest news agency in India. It is headquartered in New Delhi and is a nonprofit cooperative among more than 500 Indian newspapers. It has over 500 full-time employees , including abo ...
(PTI) and the Malayalam edition of the
India Today
''India Today'' is a weekly Indian English-language news magazine published by Living Media India Limited. It is the most widely circulated magazine in India, with a readership of close to 8 million. In 2014, ''India Today'' launched a new onl ...
. He returned to Kerala in 1993
and was a part of the group that founded
Asianet Asianet may refer to:
Disney Star channels
*Asianet Communications, an Indian media company wholly owned by Disney Star
**Asianet (TV channel), a Malayalam language general entertainment channel
**Asianet Plus, a Malayalam language general entertai ...
. There, he also co-hosted a show, ''Patravisesham'', the first television program review, along with a senior journalist, B. R. P. Bhaskar,
which ran for 7 years.
Zacharia lives in
Thiruvananthapuram
Thiruvananthapuram (; ), also known by its former name Trivandrum (), is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala. It is the most populous city in Kerala with a population of 957,730 as of 2011. The encompassing urban agglomeration populati ...
.
Literary career
Zacharia has been compared to
Jorge Luis Borges
Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo (; ; 24 August 1899 – 14 June 1986) was an Argentine short-story writer, essayist, poet and translator, as well as a key figure in Spanish-language and international literature. His best-known bo ...
as he has limited his creative writing to short stories and novellas.
He writes regularly for Kerala's leading newspapers and magazines, has been a public speaker for over two decades airing his non-conformist stance in politics, and his writing is marked by humour and unconventional themes.
His columns and articles in English have also appeared in national periodicals such as ‘India Today’, ‘Outlook’, ‘The Week’, ‘The Hindu’ ‘The Deccan Herald,’ ‘The Pioneer’, ‘The Times of India’ ‘The Economic Times’, ‘The Hindustan Times,’ ‘Tehelka’, ‘The New Indian Express’ and ‘The Indian Express’.
A keen traveller, Zacharia has published travelogues on Africa, England, Saudi Arabia, and China, as well as the Kumbh Mela. In his writing career spanning six decades, he has been the recipient of several awards and honours such as the Kendra Sahitya Akademi (Indian Academy of Literature) Award and Kerala Sahitya Akademi (Kerala Academy of Literature) Award. In November 2013 he was elected a Distinguished Fellow of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi.
Paul Zacharia is a member of the Press Club of India, New Delhi and Trivandrum Club, Thiruvananthapuram. He lives in Thiruvananthapuram, and is married to Lalitha. They have a daughter and a son.
Works
Short story Collections
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*
*
*
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Novellas
*
*
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*
*
*
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Travelogues
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*
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*
*
*
Collections of Essays
* ''Govindam Bhaja Moodamathe'' – Current Books, Kottayam, 1992
*
*
* ''Matha Amrithanandamayi: Bhagyavathiyum Nirbhagyavathiyum'' – Current Books, Thrissoor, 1999
*
* ''Matham, samskaram, Mathamoulikavaadam'' – Current Books, Thrissoor, 2001
*
* ''Amrithanandamayi: Khattam Randu'' – Haritham Books, Kozhikode, 2003
* ''Kayyoppukal'', Haritham Books, Kozhikode, 2003
*
* ''Sthuthiyayirikkatte'' – Rainbow Books, Chengannoor, 2004
* ''Italian Connection'' – Sankeerthanam Publications, Kollam, 2006
* ''Chavattukuttakal Undakunnathu'' – Pulari Books, Chennai, 2007
* ''Njan Ezhuthunnathu Enthukondu?'' – Sankeerthanam Publications, Kollam, 2008
* ''Bhakthiyum Pathrapravarthanavum'' – Olive Books, Kozhikode, 2009
*
*
* ''Ezhuthukaaranu Parayanullathu'', Green Books, 2017
* ''Maayaasooryan'', Green Books, 2017
* ''Ezhuthukaarkku Indiakku Vendi Enthu Cheyyan Kazhiyum?'' Olive Books. 2017
Memoirs
*
Children’s Literature
* 'Vaayanasaala'', – Kearal State Institute of Children’s Literature, Trivandrum, 2008''
* ''Padayaali'' – Kerala State Institute of Children's Literature, Trivandrum, 2009
* ''Shanthanuvinte Pakshikal'' – Kerala State Institute of Children's Literature, Trivandrum, 2011
*
Translations into Malayalam
* ''Bhavanayude Anthyam'' – Arundhathi Roy, DC Books, Kottayam, 1999
* ''Njangal Ningalkku Bhoomi Vittaal'' – Chief Seattle's speech, DC Books, Kottayam, 2010
* ''Oru Enthinenthinu Penkutty'' – Mahaswetha Devi, Tulika, Chennai, 2003
Screenplays
*
* ''Janani'' – Sign Books, Trivandrum, 2005
TV Serials
* ''Kairalivilasam Lodge'',
Doordarshan
Doordarshan (abbreviated as DD; Hindi: , ) is an Indian public service broadcaster founded by the Government of India, owned by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and one of Prasar Bharati's two divisions. One of India's largest bro ...
, Thiruvananthapuram, 1988''
Translations of Works into Other Languages
English
*
*
*
*
* This is My Name - The Little Magazine, New Delhi, 2002 (extract from full translation)
German
*
Kodava
* ''Babu Patela- Karnataka Kodava Sahitya Academy, Madikeri, 1996''
Awards
*
Kendra 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 ...
(Indian Academy of Literature)
*
Ezhuthachan Puraskaram
The Ezhuthachan Puraskaram is the highest literary honour is given by the Kerala Sahitya Akademi, Government of Kerala. The award is named after Thunchaththu Ezhuthachan, the father of the Malayalam language and consists of a cash prize of 5,00,00 ...
2020
*
Vallathol Award
Vallathol Award is a literary award given by the Vallathol Sahithya Samithi for contribution to Malayalam literature. The award was instituted in 1991 in memory of Vallathol Narayana Menon
Vallathol Narayana Menon (Malayalam: വള്ളത ...
2019
*
Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Story
The Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Story is an award given every year by the Kerala Sahitya Akademi (Kerala Literary Academy) to Malayalam writers for writing a story of literary merit. It is one of the twelve categories of the Kerala Sahitya A ...
(Kerala Academy of Literature)
* Distinguished Fellowship 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 ...
References
Further reading
*
*
External links
*
Paul Zacharia(Library of Congress web-page)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zacharia, Paul
1945 births
Living people
Malayalam-language writers
Writers from Kottayam
Malayalam novelists
Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Award in Malayalam
Recipients of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award
Malayalam short story writers
Indian male short story writers
Indian male novelists
20th-century Indian short story writers
20th-century Indian novelists
Novelists from Kerala
20th-century Indian male writers
People from Pala, Kerala