N. Krishna Pillai (22 September 1916 – 10 July 1988) was an Indian

dramatist A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

literary critic Literary criticism (or literary studies) is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of literature's goals and methods. Th ...

, translator and historian of

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 ...

. Known for his realism and dramatic portrayal of psycho-social tensions, Pillai's plays earned him the moniker, ''

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 ...

Ibsen Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright and theatre director. As one of the founders of modernism in theatre, Ibsen is often referred to as "the father of realism" and one of the most influential playw ...

''. He was a recipient of the

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 ...

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

Odakkuzhal Award ''Odakkuzhal'' is a 1975 Indian Malayalam-language film, directed by P. N. Menon and produced by M. P. Navakumar. The film stars Sheela, Jose Prakash, P. J. Antony and Alummoodan in the lead roles. The film has musical score by M. K. Arjunan ...

Vayalar Award The Vayalar Award is given for the best literary work in Malayalam. The award was instituted in 1977 by the Vayalar Ramavarma Memorial Trust in memory of the poet and lyricist Vayalar Ramavarma (1928-1975). A sum of 25,000, a silver plate and ce ...

and

Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award is an award given by the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi, an autonomous organisation for the encouragement, preservation, and documentation of the performing arts of Kerala, set up by the Department of Cultur ...

, besides other honours. The

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

inducted him as a distinguished fellow in 1979.

Biography

N. Krishna Pillai was born on September 22, 1916, at Muthana, a small village in

Chirayinkeezhu taluk Chirayinkeezhu Taluk is a Taluk (tehsil) in Thiruvananthapuram district in the Indian state of Kerala. It is shares border with Varkala Taluk in North and with Thiruvananthapuram Taluk in South. It comprises 12 panchayats and Attingal Munici ...

Thiruvananthapuram district Thiruvananthapuram District (), is the southernmost district in the Indian state of Kerala. The district was created in 1949, with its headquarters in the city of Thiruvananthapuram, which is also Kerala's administrative centre. The present d ...

of the south Indian state of

to Kakkattu Matom Kesavar Kesavan and Chekalavilakkathuveettil Parvathy Amma. After schooling at the local schools in Sivagiri and

Attingal Attingal is a municipality in Thiruvananthapuram metropolitan area in Thiruvananthapuram district of Kerala state, India. It was the location of the Attingal kingdom, under Travancore. It is the headquarters of Chirayinkeezhu Taluk, and the ...

, he studies at Maharaja's College, Thiruvananthapuram, now known as

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 ...

from where he graduated with

honours Honour (British English) or honor (American English; see spelling differences) is the idea of a bond between an individual and a society as a quality of a person that is both of social teaching and of personal ethos, that manifests itself as a ...

in Malayalam in 1938 and started his career as a teacher of Malayalam at Sivagiri Malayalam School. He quit the job in 1940 to pursue research at the

University of Kerala University of Kerala, formerly the University of Travancore, is a state-run public university located in Thiruvananthapuram, the state capital of Kerala, India. It was established in 1937 by a promulgation of the Maharajah of Travancore, Chit ...

and in 1943, he joined The Madurai Diraviyam Thayumanavar Hindu College as a lecturer but when he received a posting as a lecturer at the University College, the next year, he returned to Thiruvananthapuram to take up the post. Later, he worked in a number of other institutions such as

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 Bre ...

as a professor, Intermediate College, Thiruvananthapuram as the principal, and as the professor of Malayalam at the University College. N. Krishna Pillai was married to Azhakattu Saraswathy Kunjamma, the marriage taking place in 1943, and the couple had four daughters, Sahiti, Kala, Madhuri and Nandini, and a son, Hari. Pillai died on July 10, 1988, at

Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences & Technology (SCTIMST), Trivandrum, is an Institution of National Importance established by an Act of Parliament in 1980. It is under the aegis of Department of Science and Technology, Governm ...

, at the age of 71.

Legacy

Krishna Pillai's oeuvre consists of 14 plays of which three were written for radio, 13 one-act plays, 7 books of children's literature, literary criticisms, historical essays and research papers. He was credited with introducing social issues into Malayalam theatre at a time when mythological operas were the standard practice. Pillai brought a new outlook to the Malayalam drama, by omitting the farcical humour and concentrating on detailed studies of the character and the society, portrayed in drama, which earned him the moniker, ''

''. ''Bhagna-Bhavanam'' (Broken Home) published in 1942, ''Kanyaka'' (Spinster) (1944), ''Balabalam'' (Might against might) (1946), ''Anuranjanam'' (Compromise) (1954), ''Mutakkumutal'' (Investment) (1960) and ''Kutathile Vilakku'' (Lamp inside the pot) published in 1972 are some of his notable works. He also published 11 essay compilations, two books of memoirs and interviews and 9 books of children's literature. His book, ''Pratipathram Bhashanabhedham'', is a detailed study of the novels of C. V. Raman Pillai and the book has won a number of awards.

Awards and honours

When

introduced an annual award for drama in 1958, Krishna Pillai received the inaugural award, for the work, ''Azhimukhathekku''. His essay compilation, ''Theranjedutha Prabhandangal'' was selected for the

in 1972 and he received the

in 1973.

inducted him as a distinguished fellow in 1979 and he received the

in 1987; he also received the

and C. V. Sahitya Puraskar, in 1987. He was also a recipient of the Father Abraham Vadakkel Award. ''N. Krishna Pillai Foundation'', an eponymous organization, organized a three-day arts festival 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 ...

in memory of Krishna Pillai in 2018 on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of ''Kanyaka'' one of Pillai's works. ''N. Krishna Pillai Memorial Cultural Center'', an institution in Pillai's honour, is situated at

Palayam, Thiruvananthapuram Palayam or Cantonment, as it is locally known, one of the busiest localities in Thiruvananthapuram (also known as rivandrum), the capital of Kerala State in India">Kerala_State.html" ;"title="rivandrum), the capital of Kerala State">rivandrum) ...

, and houses a 250-seat mini theatre and N. Krishna Pillai Memorial library, a research centre with over 8000 titles. The Foundation also organizes an annual theatre festival in his honour.

Bibliography

Plays

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Essays

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Translations

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Memoirs

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pillai, N. Krishna 1916 births 1988 deaths People from Varkala Indian male dramatists and playwrights Malayalam-language dramatists and playwrights Indian literary critics Indian literary historians Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Award in Malayalam Recipients of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award 20th-century Indian dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Indian historians Dramatists and playwrights from Kerala 20th-century Indian male writers Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Recipients of the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award