Vadakkke Koottala Narayanankutty Nair, commonly known as V.K.N. (7 April 1929 – 25 January 2004), was a prominent
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, noted mainly for his
highbrow
Used colloquially as a noun or adjective, "highbrow" is synonymous with intellectual; as an adjective, it also means elite, and generally carries a connotation of high culture. The term, first recorded in 1875, draws its metonymy from the pseudo ...
satire
Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming ...
. He wrote novels, short stories and political commentaries. His works are noted for their multi-layered humour, trenchant criticism of the socio-political classes and ability to twist the meanings of words contextually and lend a touch of magic to his language.
[
]
Biography
A native of 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 ...
in south India, V.K.N. was born on 7 April 1929 in Thiruvilwamala
Thiruvilwamala is a hilly village in the northern terrain of Thrissur district of Kerala state in southern India. It is located 47 kilometres northeast of district headquarters Thrissur.
Location
The village, which is more of a temple town, ...
in Trichur district (now Thrissur). (C. P. Nair, one of his close friends, tells that V.K.N's correct date of birth is 7 April 1929.) After completing his matriculation, he joined the Malabar Devaswom Board and worked there for 9 years. Like a number of modern Malayalam writers such as O. V. Vijayan, V.K.N. spent many years in New Delhi (from 1959 to 1969) as an English journalist. The experiences he gained during these years, which coincided with the nascent post-independent India, are reflected in his book, ''Pitamahan'' (The Great Grandfather). V.K.N.'s first story ''Parajithan'' was published in the October 1953 issue of ''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 ...
''.
Personal life
V.K.N was married to Vedavathi Amma. They had a son Balachandran & a daughter Ranjana.
Literary life
VKN's entry into 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 ...
was in 1950s. Like for many others, his first love had been poetry. Though, before long, he gave it up, he kept up this adolescent infatuation all through his life. And he could quote from the Megasandesha or the Ramayanam chambu as quickly and effortlessly as he could from a new generation poet. This textual proficiency did not confine to poetry or literature alone. It was generic. Anything from under the sun, from contemporary politics to primitive occultism, from modern astrophysics
Astrophysics is a science that employs the methods and principles of physics and chemistry in the study of astronomical objects and phenomena. As one of the founders of the discipline said, Astrophysics "seeks to ascertain the nature of the h ...
to Chanakya
Chanakya (Sanskrit: चाणक्य; IAST: ', ; 375–283 BCE) was an ancient Indian polymath who was active as a teacher, author, strategist, philosopher, economist, jurist, and royal advisor. He is traditionally identified as Kauṭilya o ...
's Arthashastra
The ''Arthashastra'' ( sa, अर्थशास्त्रम्, ) is an Ancient Indian Sanskrit treatise on statecraft, political science, economic policy and military strategy. Kautilya, also identified as Vishnugupta and Chanakya, is ...
, or from Das Kapital
''Das Kapital'', also known as ''Capital: A Critique of Political Economy'' or sometimes simply ''Capital'' (german: Das Kapital. Kritik der politischen Ökonomie, link=no, ; 1867–1883), is a foundational theoretical text in Historical mater ...
to Kamasutra
The ''Kama Sutra'' (; sa, कामसूत्र, , ; ) is an ancient Indian Sanskrit text on sexuality, eroticism and emotional fulfillment in life. Attributed to Vātsyāyana, the ''Kama Sutra'' is neither exclusively nor predominantly ...
, was a narrative device for him, which he brought into play in his stories and novels.
It was in the 1960s that VKN came to prominence as a writer. But, by then he had left 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 ...
for New Delhi, where he spent about 10 years as a journalist. The New Delhi of the 1960s had a defining role in modern Malayalam literature. It was the group of young writers who happened to come together on various professional engagements in the country's capital that made 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 ...
literature, fiction in particular, what it is today. Prominent among whom were O.V. Vijayan, M. Mukundan, George Varghese Kakkanadan and M. P. Narayana Pillai
Malikathazhathu Pulluvazhy Narayana Pillai ( ml, എം.പി. നാരായണപിള്ള) (22 November 1939 – 19 May 1998), affectionately known as Nanappan among his friends, was a journalist and writer of Malayalam literature. Know ...
. VKN "landed" in this circle. These writers used to meet regularly to thrash out literature, politics or whatever else was the topic of the day – a preparation that capacitated them to accomplish new heights in writing.
As might be expected, VKN became an unfailing member of that collective. Those interactions, evidently, helped him be conversant with the latest developments in literature and consummate his style that is full of vim and vigour. Also, it could be that it was from those gatherings that he picked out many of his prototypical characters, especially the quick-witted, but hard-up "hero", Payyan (The Guy) of his seminal work, Payyan Kathakal (The Stories of Payyan), who made inroads into the higher echelons of power and wealth using nothing but his sharp intelligence and winning demeanour.
The Delhi life in 1960s had significantly contributed to framing VKN's social outlook as well. The institutionalisation of unscrupulous political manipulations, power brokerage, corruption and the murky dealings in the corridors of power; all that to which he became a silent, nonetheless alert, head-on witness deepened his distrust of the entire social and political order. And, what he did was to make them materials for a laugh that begot another laugh, which finally spread across our body, mind and intellect. For that reason, he was labelled "humorist".
He called his novels "Pennpada", "Manchal" and "Pithamahan" "historical satires", a new genre he created.
VKN's important works are Pithamahan (The Great Grandfather), Arohanam, which literally means "The Ascend" but "Bovine Bugles" in the author's own translation, Adhikaram (The Power), Payyan Kathakal (The Stories of Payyan), Sir Chathuleecock, Kavi (The Saffron), Chathans, and Chitrakeralam (Kerala Pictures). "Humour", in none of these works, did mean just a laugh. Certainly, he made use of all that is available in the repertoire of humour: irony, satire, parody and burlesque. But, be it about the misuse of power, the abuse of female body, the libertinism of the affluent, or about the fate of the poor of the day; his narration was historically and politically many-voiced. Nothing escaped his keen-eyed scrutiny by which he puzzled readers as to how they should take it; laugh, cry or get agitated. His humour, in substance, was a lamentation on human fallacies. And, just like that, a resistance to authoritarianism of all sorts. He dispassionately chronicled the transition of society from one phase to another. And "laughed" because, like his favourite character Payyan, "he could not cry".
Positions held
Death
He died on 25 January 2004 at his residence in Thiruvilwamala
Thiruvilwamala is a hilly village in the northern terrain of Thrissur district of Kerala state in southern India. It is located 47 kilometres northeast of district headquarters Thrissur.
Location
The village, which is more of a temple town, ...
. He was 74. He was ailing for some time. The last rites were performed at Pambadi on the banks of the Bharathappuzha
Bharathappuzha ("River of Bhārata"), also known as the Nila or Ponnani River, is a river in India in the state of Kerala. With a length of 209 km, it is the second longest river that flows through Kerala after the Periyar. It flows throu ...
.
Works
Novels
*'' Arohanam'' (V.K.N. himself translated this work into English with the title ''Bovine Bugles
''Arohanam'' (meaning, Ascent) is a Malayalam-language political satire novel written by V. K. N. in 1969. V. K. N. himself translated the novel into English under the title ''Bovine Bugles''. The author follows his trademark style in this nove ...
'')
*''Pithamahan''
*''Adhikaram''
*''Anantharam''
*''Asuravani''
*''Penpada''
*''Kaavi''
*''General Chathans''
*''Manchal''
*''Syndicate''
*''Orazhcha''
Collections of short stories
*''Payyan Kathakal''
*''Sir Chathuvinte Ruling''
*''Hajyaru''
*''Mananchira Test''
*''V. K. N. Kathakal''
*''Ambathu Kathakal''
*''Oru Nooru Mini Kathakal''
*''Ayyaayiravum Kooppum''
*''Naanuaru''
*''Payyan''
*''Kaalaghattathile Payyan''
*''Mandahasam''
*''Cleopatra''
*''Payyante Samaram''
*''Payyante Rajavu''
*''Mangalapuram Pootham''
*''Kozhi''
*''prathal''
Awards
*1969: Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award
Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award is given each year, since 1958, by the Kerala Sahitya Akademi (Kerala Literary Academy), to Malayalam writers for their outstanding books of literary merit. The awards are given in various categories. – '' Arohanam''"Literary Awards"
. Government of Kerala
Government of Kerala is the subnational government of the Indian state of Kerala. The government is led by a chief minister, who selects all the other ministers. The chief minister and their most senior ministers belong to the supreme decision ...
. Retrieved 1 July 2013.
*1978: M. P. Paul Award – overall contributions for Malayalam literature
*1982:
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 ...
– ''Payyan Kathakal''
*1987: Religious Harmony Award (instituted by the Organisation of Understanding and Fraternity, New Delhi
*1997:
Muttathu Varkey Award
Muttathu Varkey Award for contributions to the field of Malayalam literature is instituted by the Muttattu Varkey Foundation in memory of novelist Muttathu Varkey. The award was instituted in 1992 and as of 2012, it carries a purse of 50000, a c ...
– ''Pitamahan''
References
Further reading
* Ravi Sankar S. Nair, ''Haasyattinre Rastantram (The Chemistry of Humour)''. Kerala Bhasha Institute, 2011. (A critical study of V.K.N.)
''Mathrubhumi Books Journal'' ''
Mathrubhumi
''Mathrubhumi'' is a Malayalam newspaper that is published from Kerala, India. It was founded by K. P. Kesava Menon, an active volunteer in the Indian independence movement, Indian freedom struggle against the British Raj, British. The word "M ...
'', January–February 2014. (Special issue on VKN)
{{DEFAULTSORT:V. K. N.
1929 births
2004 deaths
People from Thrissur district
Indian male novelists
Indian male short story writers
20th-century Indian translators
Malayalam-language writers
Malayalam novelists
Malayalam short story writers
Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Award in Malayalam
Recipients of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award
20th-century Indian novelists
Novelists from Kerala
20th-century Indian short story writers
20th-century Indian male writers