V. Anandakuttan Nair (2 March 1920 – 1 February 2000) 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, 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 got many notable awards including

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 ...

. Anandakuttan is best known for his poetic play ''Chitha''.

Biography

V. Anandakuttan Nair was born on 2 March 1920 at Vattaparambil,

Thirunakkara Thirunakkara () is a locality of Kottayam city in Kerala, India. It is best known for Thirunakkara Sree Mahadevar Temple, dedicated to Shiva. The temple hosts an annual ten-day festival ending with the aaraattu ritual of dipping an idol of a d ...

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 ...

to Nanikutty Amma and Achuthan Pillai. After graduation, Anandakuttan Nair started his career as a journalist 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 ...

. He graduated with honors in 1949 and became a Malayalam lecturer at University College Thiruvananthapuram. In 1953, he started his Ph.D. research in Champu literature, but after a year and a half he stopped is research as he got a job as a research assistant in the Press Commission. After working in

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

and

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

, he returned to the University College. As a university college student, he was involved in the running of the newspapers ''Pauraprabha'' and ''Pauradhvani''. He later became the editor of ''Prabodham weekly'' and published ''Kuttanadan Weekly''. After passing Ph.D. in Malayalam from the University of Madras he worked as professor in various government colleges and retired from service in 1976. While working as college professor he was appointed to the

Kerala secretariat The Kerala Government Secretariat ( ml, Saṁsthāna Sarkkār Sirākēndraṁ) is the seat of administration of the Government of Kerala, in Thiruvananthapuram, housing important ministries and bureaucratic offices. It is the highest echelon of ...

on the basis of his language skills. He was appointed to the newly created post of linguist, as a part of the creation of a special section in the Secretariat to intensify the process of making

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 ...

the official administrative language of Kerala. In addition to this post, many other posts were created along with it. When he was appointed to the University College Thiruvananthapuram, he resigned from the job at Secretariat. He served as the President of the Sahitya Pravarthaka Sahakarana Sangham and founding vice chairman of Prof. N. Krishna Pillai Foundation. The song ''Koottukar ninne vilippathenthe'' from the movie Snehaseema was written by him. He died on 1 February 2000 at the age of 79.

Works

*''Chitha'', poetric play *''Aradhana'' (Meaning: worship) *''Deepavali'', poems *''Amruthaanjanam'' *''Paapikalute Thaazhvara'' (Meaning: valley of sinners), Stories *''Chiriyum punchiriyum'' (Meaning: Laugh and smile), (Narrative Articles) *''Kadalasu manthri'' (Meaning: Paper Minister) *''Mullukal''(Meaning: Thorns) *''Bhava saurabham'', Essays *''Ashareeri'', Plays *''Veluthampi Dalava'', based on life of Veluthampi Dalava *''Jnanappana'', Children's literature *''Sri buddhan'', based on life of

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was ...

, Children's literature *''Sree Narayana Guru'', based on life of

Narayana Guru Narayana Guru, , (20 August 1856 – 20 September 1928) was a philosopher, spiritual leader and social reformer in India. He led a reform movement against the injustice in the caste-ridden society of Kerala in order to promote spiritual ...

, Children's literature *''Jayaprakash Narayanan'', based on life of Jayaprakash Narayan *''Pathumuthal nalu vare'' (Meaning: Ten to four), Play *''Anandakkuttante thiranjedutha kruthikal'' (Selected works of Anandakuttan) *''Kerala bhasha ganangal'' (Meaning: Kerala Language Songs) 2 Volumes, Edited by him *Sindhi Sahithya Charithram, Translation of ''History of Sindhi literature''

Awards and honors

*Distinguished Membership of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi *

, 1997 *Bheema Smaraka Baala Sahitya Award in children's literature *Fellowship of the Central Department of Culture *State Children's Literature Institute Award (1995)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nair, V. Anandakkuttan 1920 births 2000 deaths Malayalam-language writers Writers from Kerala Academic staff of the University College Thiruvananthapuram People from Kottayam district Indian children's writers 20th-century Indian linguists Recipients of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award