V. Balakrishnan (13 February 1932 in Katappattoor near

Pala Pala may refer to: Places Chad *Pala, Chad, the capital of the region of Mayo-Kebbi Ouest Estonia * Pala, Kose Parish, village in Kose Parish, Harju County * Pala, Kuusalu Parish, village in Kuusalu Parish, Harju County *Pala, Järva County, vi ...

– 2 August 2004 at Pala) was a prolific

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 ...

writer and translator of texts between Malayalam,

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 ...

and English. He participated in the

Indian independence movement The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British rule in India. It lasted from 1857 to 1947. The first nationalistic revolutionary movement for Indian independence emerged ...

, which resulted in his expulsion from college.

Biography

In 1960, his

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...

, entitled ''Neelakoduveli'' ('നീലക്കൊടുവേലി'), was awarded first place in a competition conducted by the Kerala Dhwani ('കേരള ധ്വനി') newspaper. The children's book, ''Ithu Nammute Naatanu'' ('ഇതു നമ്മുടെ നാടാണ്‌'), came first in the competition held by Sahitya Pravarthaka Sahakarana Sangam ('സാഹിത്യപ്രവര്‍ത്തക സഹകരണ സംഘം'). Later, in 1962, his story about a rogue elephant, ''Ottayan ('ഒറ്റയാന്‍'), won first prize in the contest held by Southern Language Book Trust (ദക്ഷിണഭാഷാ ബുക്ക്‌ ട്രസ്റ്റ്‌). It was later translated to all South Indian languages. After his marriage to Dr.

R. Leela Devi Dr. R. Leela Devi (13 February 1932 – 19 May 1998) was an Indian writer, translator, and teacher who wrote in English, Malayalam, and Sanskrit. She was from the state of Kerala. Profession Writer and translator Dr. R. Leela Devi wrote an ...

, they started their literary career together. As he required more time for his writing endeavours, he resigned his job as a high school teacher. They compiled the first Malayalam Encyclopedia in 1967. Thereafter he continued his activities together with his wife until her death in 1998. Together they translated most of the

Vedic upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''. The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the ...

works; including the

Veda FIle:Atharva-Veda samhita page 471 illustration.png, upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the ''Atharvaveda''. The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Co ...

Purana Purana (; sa, , '; literally meaning "ancient, old"Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature (1995 Edition), Article on Puranas, , page 915) is a vast genre of Indian literature about a wide range of topics, particularly about legends an ...

Aranyaka The Aranyakas (; sa, आरण्यक; IAST: ' ) are the part of the ancient Indian Vedas concerned with the meaning of ritual sacrifice. They typically represent the later sections of the Vedas, and are one of many layers of the Vedic texts. ...

s, Upanishads, Dharsanas,

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuruk ...

Valmiki Ramayana The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th to 4th centuries BCE, and later stages ...

Devi Devī (; Sanskrit: देवी) is the Sanskrit word for 'goddess'; the masculine form is ''deva''. ''Devi'' and ''deva'' mean 'heavenly, divine, anything of excellence', and are also gender-specific terms for a deity in Hinduism. The conce ...

and

Bhagavata Purana The ''Bhagavata Purana'' ( sa, भागवतपुराण; ), also known as the ''Srimad Bhagavatam'', ''Srimad Bhagavata Mahapurana'' or simply ''Bhagavata'', is one of Hinduism's eighteen great Puranas (''Mahapuranas''). Composed in Sa ...

. He has 11,394 printed pages (D1/8 size) in 67 books in the genre of children's literature alone. ''Amir Hamsa'' ('അമീര്‍ ഹംസ'), a book for children, has 1148 pages with 500 illustrations. Together, he and his wife authored sixteen books related to

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

, including an Encyclopedia on the religion, as well as publications related to Hinduism and Christianity. In total, they have eleven publications in the English language.

Published works

#7 Encyclopedias including a Hindu Encyclopedia #21 Novels #24 Dictionaries #Various travelogues, short stories, biographies, studies, translations, study guides etc. numbering around 290 #''From Representation to Participation'' (First book on

Panchayat The Panchayat raj is a political system, originating from the Indian subcontinent, found mainly in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal. It is the oldest system of local government in the Indian subcontinent, and historical ment ...

iraj) #''Sarojini Naidu'' (Biography) #''Blue Jasmine'' (Fantasy novel) #''Saffron'' (a novel exploring the myths of

Kashmir Kashmir () is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. Today, the term encompas ...

) #''Mannatthu Padmanabhan and the Revival of

Nair The Nair , also known as Nayar, are a group of Indian Hindu castes, described by anthropologist Kathleen Gough as "not a unitary group but a named category of castes". The Nair include several castes and many subdivisions, not all of whom histor ...

s in

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 ...

'' #''An Epoch in Kerala History'' #''History of Malayalam Literature'' #''Kerala History'' #''Influence of English on Malayalam Literature'' #''Indian National Congress - Hundred Years'' (History of the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Em ...

published for its centenary)

References

*''Mathrubhumi Daily'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Balakrishnan, V. 1932 births 2004 deaths English-language writers from India Malayali people Malayalam-language writers 20th-century Indian poets Novelists from Kerala Indian Sanskrit scholars 20th-century Indian translators People from Pala, Kerala Indian children's writers 20th-century Indian short story writers 20th-century Indian novelists Indian historical novelists Scholars from Kerala