Panikkassery Keshavan Balakrishnan (March 2, 1925 – April 3, 1991) was an Indian

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others asp ...

and critic. A doyen 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 ...

, he is best known for his novel, '' Ini Njan Urangatte'' (''And now, Let me Sleep''), a novel based on

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the s ...

as well as a number of critical studies which include ''Chandu Menon Oru Padanam'', ''Novel - Siddhiyum Sadhanayum'', ''Kavyakala Kumaranasaniloode'' and ''Ezhuthachante Kala : Chila Vyasabharatha Patanangalum''. His work 'Jathivyavasthayum Kerala Charitravum is a work in social history.

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 ...

awarded him their annual award for novel in 1974. He was also a recipient of the

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 other honours.

Biography

P. K. Balakrishnan was born on March 2, 1925, at

Edavanakad Edavanakad is a part of Vypin islands, which comes under the Ernakulam district of Kerala, India. It is a suburb of Kochi city. The Vypin - Munambam state highway passes through the village. Its western border is Arabian Sea, the eastern Border ...

, in

Vypin Vypin (Malayalam: വൈപ്പിന്‍, Cochin Portuguese: Isla Santa) is one of the group of islands that form part of the city of Kochi (Cochin), in the Indian state of Kerala. Vypin forms a barrier island which lies between the Ar ...

island in

Ernakulam district Ernakulam, ; ISO: ''Eṟaṇākuḷaṁ'', in Malayalam: എറണാകുളം), is one of the 14 districts in the Indian state of Kerala, that takes its name from the eponymous city division in Kochi. It is situated in the central part ...

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 Keshavan and Mani Amma. After early schooling in Edavanakkad, he joined

Maharaja's College, Ernakulam The Maharaja's College is a government college of higher education located in Kochi, Kerala. Established in 1875, it is one of the oldest colleges in India. Located in the heart of the city, the college is spread over a campus of on the ba ...

but his studies were disrupted after four years when he participated in Quit India Movement and was jailed. Though he was released from jail in 1944 and he resumed his studies, he could not complete it as he joined

Kochi rajya prajamandalam Kochi Rajya Prajamandalam is a political party which was formed in 1941 at Thrissur, Kerala, India, in connection with the Indian independence movement. E. Ikkanda Warrier, V. R. Krishnan Ezhuthachan, S. Neelakanda Iyer, and Kurur Neelakandan Na ...

to enter politics only to move to

Kerala Socialist Party Kerala Socialist Party (KSP) is a political party in India founded under the leadership of Mathai Manjooran on 21 September 1947 at Kozhikode. It began as a small party, but its front-line leaders compelled the party deep into the public imagin ...

(KSP) soon. His association with KSP brought him into contact with Mathai Manjooran, a noted

Indian independence activist The Indian independence movement consisted of efforts by individuals and organizations from a wide spectrum of society to obtain political independence from the British, French and Portuguese rule through the use of a many methods. This is a l ...

and KSP leader as well as others such as Perunna Thomas,

Vaikom Muhammad Basheer Vaikom Muhammad Basheer (21 January 1908 – 5 July 1994), popularly referred to as Beypore Sulthan, was a writer of Malayalam literature. He was a writer, humanist, freedom fighter, novelist and short story writer, noted for his path-breaking, ...

, M. P. Krishna Pillai, M. K. Sanu. Later, he took up the editorship of ''Dinaparabha'' but he had to quit following a public speech he made at a temple in

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 ...

. Later, he became associated with such publications as Kerala Bhooshanam,

Kerala Kaumudi ''Kerala Kaumudi'' is a Malayalam language daily newspaper published from Kerala, India. It was founded in 1911 by C. V. Kunhiraman as a periodical. His son K. Sukumaran later served as the newspaper's editor. Kerala Kaumudi Daily is among th ...

and

Madhyamam ''Madhyamam'' (meaning ''Medium'') is a Malayalam-language newspaper published in Kerala, India, since 1987. Balakrishnan died on April 3, 1991, at the age of 66.

Legacy

The first of Balakrishnan's published works was a book on

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 spiritua ...

, which was a compilation of writings on Guru, including biographical sketches, narratives on Guru's activities and his literary contributions. This was followed by critiques Chandu Menon,

Kumaran Asan Mahakavi Kumaran Asan (Malayalam: എൻ. കുമാരൻ ആശാൻ) (12 April 1873 – 16 January 1924) was a poet of Malayalam literature, Indian social reformer and a philosopher. He is known to have initiated a revolution in Malayalam ...

and

Ezhuthachan Thunchaththu Ramanujan Ezhuthachan (, ) (Malayalam: തുഞ്ചത്ത് രാമാനുജൻ എഴുത്തച്ഛൻ) ( ''fl.'' 16th century) was a Malayalam devotional poet, translator and linguist from Kerala, south India. ...

. In his writings, he first dealt with Kerala history in the anthology on

, the great social reformer of Kerala who changed the face of its caste-ridden society. He brushes with Kerala history again to study why

Tipu Sultan Tipu Sultan (born Sultan Fateh Ali Sahab Tipu, 1 December 1751 – 4 May 1799), also known as the Tiger of Mysore, was the ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore based in South India. He was a pioneer of rocket artillery.Dalrymple, p. 243 He i ...

, an able ruler and administrator is perceived as an aggressor and a religious fanatic. The culmination of these studies over 3 decades was his work on the social history which departed from the established narration, titled ''Jaathivyavasthayum Kerala Charitravum'' (''The Caste System and History of Kerala''). ''Pluto, Priyapetta Plutto'', was his first novel, was a real life story about his own dog. His next novel, '' Ini Njan Urangatte'', a Mahabharata inspired work, is considered by many to be his magnum opus. This novel, has been translated into English by K.C. Sarsamma under the title ''And Now Let Me Sleep''. Two decades after P. K. Balakrishnan's death, his daughter P. K. Jayalekshmy has been made another English translation under the title ''Battle beyond Kurukshetra''. Balakrishnan also wrote a number of articles, of which only four collections have been published; two of them were published after his lifetime.

Awards and honours

P. K. balakrishnan received the

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

in 1974 for his work, '' Ini Njan Urangatte''. Four years later, the same novel fetched him another major award in the form of

of 1978. He received the Kerala History Association Award for the book, ''Jaathivyavasthithium Keralacharithravum''. He was also a recipient of SPBF Award, Prof. Velayudhan Endowment Award and Kesari Award.

Works

* * * * * * * '' Ini Njan Urangatte'' (''And now, Let me Sleep'') (1973) - A work originating from the great Indian epic Vyasabharatha (''Mahabharath''). * * ''Jaathivyavasthithium Keralacharithravum'' (''The Caste system and History of Kerala'') (1983) - a work in Kerala history. * * ''Keraleeyatayum Mattum'' (''The Essence of Kerala etc.'') (2004) - a collection of 20 articles published in various periodicals over a time * *

Translations of Ini Njan Urangatte

* * * * *

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Balakrishnan, P. K. 1925 births 1991 deaths Indian male novelists 20th-century Indian historians Malayalam-language writers Malayalam novelists Malayalam literary critics Recipients of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award Malayalam-language journalists 20th-century Indian novelists People from Ernakulam district Novelists from Kerala 20th-century Indian male writers 20th-century Indian writers Maharaja's College, Ernakulam alumni