Vasupurath Unnikrishnan Nair (9 January 1893 – 19 May 1985) was 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 S ...

, best known as a contemporary and associate of

Vallathol Narayana Menon Vallathol Narayana Menon (Malayalam: വള്ളത്തോൾ നാരായണ മേനോൻ) (16 October 1878 – 13 March 1958) was a Malayalam poet and one of the triumvirate of modern Malayalam poetry, along with Asan and Ulloor ...

. He was the author of a number of books which include ''Tagorinte Nadakangal'', the translation of three plays written by

Rabindranath Tagore Rabindranath Tagore (; bn, রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer and painter. He resh ...

into Malayalam. Nair honoured by the

Kerala Sahitya Akademi The Kerala Sahitya Akademi or Academy for Malayalam literature is an autonomous body established to promote the Malayalam language and literature. It is situated in City of Thrissur, Kerala in India. History The academy was inaugurated on 15 ...

with the distinguished fellowship in 1981.

Biography

Madras Christian college Chennai - gate1

V. Unnikrishnan Nair was born on 9 January 1893 at

Pallikkunnu Kannur North is a suburb of Kannur city in the state of Kerala, India. Commercial Area Kannur North is a busy commercial area of Kannur city. Many transport companies and wholesale dealers have opened their offices here. Marble merchants an ...

, a small village in the present-day Kannur district of the south Indian state 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 ...

to Sankaranveettil Rama Kurup and Madhavi Amma. After early schooling at

Tirur Tirur is a Municipality in Malappuram district in the Indian state of Kerala spread over an area of . It is one of the business centers of Malappuram district and is situated west of Malappuram and south of Kozhikode, on the Shoranur–Manga ...

Lower Primary School, he completed high school education at two schools in

Ottapalam 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. ...

and Kannur and joined the

Government Brennen College, Thalassery Brennen College is an educational institution in Kerala, affiliated to the Kannur University. It is located in Dharmadam, Thalassery of Kerala state, India. The college evolved from a school established by the English philanthropist Edward Br ...

from where he completed the pre-university course. Subsequently, he graduated with honours from Madras Christian College and returned to Brennen College as a faculty. However, his stay there lasted only two months as he was appointed at the Central Revenue Department in

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 ...

in 1920. He held various posts to reach the position of the deputy director of inspection and when the commercial taxation department was established in

Odisha Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...

, he was selected to head the department. He superannuated from service in 1950. Nair, who was married to Gauri Amma, died on 19 May 1985, at the age of 92, at

Kozhikode Kozhikode (), also known in English as Calicut, is a city along the Malabar Coast in the state of Kerala in India. It has a corporation limit population of 609,224 and a metropolitan population of more than 2 million, making it the second l ...

Legacy and honours

Unnikrishnan Nair published over ten books, including two biographies of

and Mahakavi Kuttamath. It was he who translated three plays of

viz. ''Visarjan'', ''Chira Kumar Sabha'' and ''Dakghar'' into Malayalam which were compiled as the first volume of the series, ''Tagorinte Natakangal''. Besides, he translated three more Bengali works, ''Vinodini'' of Tagore and ''Rajani'' and ''Kapalakundala'' of

Bankim Chandra Chatterjee Bankim Chandra Chatterjee (also Chattopadhayay) CIE (26 or 27 June 1838 – 8 April 1894) was an Indian novelist, poet, Essayist and journalist. Staff writer"Bankim Chandra: The First Prominent Bengali Novelist" ''The Daily Star'', 30 June 201 ...

. He presided over the Kerala Kala Parishad during 1954–56 and sat in the executive councils of the

Sahitya Akademi The Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, is an organisation dedicated to the promotion of literature in the languages of India. Founded on 12 March 1954, it is supported by, though independent of, the Indian government. Its of ...

and Kerala Sahitya Parishad. The Government of Madras honoured Nair with their annual award in 1952 and he received the Puthelan Award in 1977. In 1989, he was inducted as a distinguished fellow by the

Bibliography

Biographies

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Other works

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Translations

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References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nair, V. Unnikrishnan 1893 births 1985 deaths Writers from Kerala 20th-century Indian poets Recipients of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award 20th-century Indian non-fiction writers 20th-century Indian translators People from Kannur district 20th-century Indian essayists 20th-century Indian biographers