Thakkathu Amayankottu Rajalakshmi (June 2, 1930 – January 18, 1965), better identified as Rajalakshmi, was an Indian novelist, short story writer and poet 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 ...

. She was the author of three novels, two poetry anthologies and a short story anthologies. Kerala Sahitya Akademi awarded her their annual award for novel in 1960, making her the third recipient of the award. Her novel, ''Oru Vazhiyum Kure Nizhalukalum'', has been adapted into a tele-series as well as into a play by the

All India Radio All or ALL may refer to: Language * All, an indefinite pronoun in English * All, one of the English determiners * Allar language (ISO 639-3 code) * Allative case (abbreviated ALL) Music * All (band), an American punk rock band * ''All'' (All ...

Biography

Rajalakshmi was born on June 2, 1930 at Cherpulassery, Palakkad district of the south Indian state of Kerala to Marath Achutha Menon and Thakkathu Amayankottu Kuttymalu Amma as their youngest daughter;

T. A. Sarasvati Amma T. A. Sarasvati Amma (Tekkath Amayankottukurussi Kalathil Sarasvati, also spelled as T. A. Saraswathi Amma; 26 December 1918 – 15 August 2000) was a scholar born in Cherpulassery, Palakkad District, Kerala, India. She has contributed to the fi ...

, who would later become a noted mathematician and scholar, was her elder sister. She graduated in Physics from

Maharaja's College, Ernakulam The Maharaja's College is a government college of higher education located in Kochi, Kerala. Established in 1875, it is one of the oldest colleges in India. Located in the heart of the city, the college is spread over a campus of on the ba ...

and joined the

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 ...

for MA Malayalam but discontinued to move to

Banaras Hindu University Banaras Hindu University (BHU) IAST: kāśī hindū viśvavidyālaya IPA: /kaːʃiː hɪnd̪uː ʋɪʃwəʋid̪jaːləj/), is a collegiate, central, and research university located in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India, and founded in 1916 ...

from where she earned a master's degree in Physics. Subsequently, she started her career as a lecturer and worked in different colleges of the

Nair Service Society The Nair Service Society (NSS) is an organisation created for the social advancement and welfare of the Nair community that is found primarily in the state of Kerala in Southern part of India. It was established under the leadership of Mannathu ...

Perunthanni Perunthanni is a suburb of Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of the Indian state of Kerala. This place is situated on Vetti Muricha Kotta-Westfort-Enchakkal Road. Geography It is located at. Places near Perunthanni Perunthanni surrounded by Palk ...

Pandalam Pandalam is a municipal town in Pathanamthitta district Kerala, India. Pandalam is considered a holy town due to its connection with Lord Ayyappa and Sabarimala. Rightly recognised to be the ''educational and cultural capital of Central Trava ...

and

Ottappalam Ottapalam, (also spelled Ottappalam) is a town, taluk and municipality in the Palakkad District, Kerala, India. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ottapalam taluk. Ottapalam is located about 36 km from district headquarters Palakkad. ...

. On January 18, 1965, Rajalakshmi started from home to College in the morning but returned home and committed suicide; her dead body was found in her room, hanging from the roof on a

saree A sari (sometimes also saree or shari)The name of the garment in various regional languages include: * as, শাৰী, xārī, translit-std=ISO * bn, শাড়ি, śāṛi, translit-std=ISO * gu, સાડી, sāḍī, translit-std= ...

. She was aged 34 at that time.

Legacy and honours

She is known as Emily Brontë of Malayalam. ''Makal'', a short story 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 ...

in 1956 was her first notable work, which was followed by a number seven short stories and a poem in prose. Besides the short stories and two poetry anthologies, she wrote three novels, starting with ''Oru Vazhiyum Kure Nizhalukalum'' (A Path and a Few Shadows) where she portrayed the delicate emotions of women. ''Oru Vazhiyum Kure Nizhalukalum'' fetched her the

Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Novel The Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Novel is an award given every year by the Kerala Sahitya Akademi (Kerala Literary Academy) to Malayalam writers for writing a novel of literary merit. It is one of the twelve categories of the Kerala Sahitya ...

in 1960, making her the third recipient of the honour. It later became a TV serial and was broadcast as a play by

. Her other novels are ''Njaneenna Bhavam'' and ''Uchaveyilum Ilam Nilavum'' while her notable poetry anthology is "Ninne Njan Snehikkunnu".

Anita Nair Anita Nair (born 26 January 1966) is an Indian novelist who writes her books in English. She is best known for her novels '' A Better Man'', ''Mistress'', and '' Lessons in Forgetting''. She has also written poetry, essays, short stories, crime ...

, the

Crossword Book Award The Crossword Book Award (formerly known as the Crossword Book Award (1998–2003), the Hutch Crossword Book Award (2004–07), the Vodafone Crossword Book Award (2008–10), the Economist Crossword Book Award (2011–13), Raymond & Crossword Bo ...

winning author, has based her 2018 novel, ''Eating Wasps'', on the life on Rajalakshmi. '' Abhayam'', the 1970 movie by

Ramu Kariat Ramu Kariat (1 February 1927 – 10 February 1979) was an Indian film director for almost three decades from the 1950s to the 1970s, who directed many acclaimed films in the Malayalam cinema. His noted films include '' Neelakkuyil'' (1954), '' ...

, was also inspired by Rajalakshmi's life.

Bibliography

Novels

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Short stories

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Poetry

* * dasdadwadadw

Translations

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rajlakshmi, T. A. Indian women novelists Indian women poets People from Palakkad district 1930 births 1965 suicides Malayalam-language writers Malayalam poets Government Victoria College, Palakkad alumni Recipients of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award 20th-century Indian women writers 20th-century Indian novelists 20th-century Indian poets Poets from Kerala Novelists from Kerala Women writers from Kerala Maharaja's College, Ernakulam alumni