Pala Narayanan Nair (11 December 1911 – 11 June 2008) was an Indian

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...

and lyricist, best known for his work, ''Keralam Valarunnu'', written in 1953, comprising eight volumes, which earned him the title of ''Mahakavi''. He wrote more than 5,000 poems, which have been compiled in about 43 anthologies. Nair, who also wrote the lyrics for the 1956 Malayalam movie, '' Avar Unarunnu'', was a recipient of the

Ezhuthachan Puraskaram The Ezhuthachan Puraskaram is the highest literary honour is given by the Kerala Sahitya Akademi, Government of Kerala. The award is named after Thunchaththu Ezhuthachan, the father of the Malayalam language and consists of a cash prize of 5,00,00 ...

, the highest literary honour of the

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 ...

as well as

Vallathol Award Vallathol Award is a literary award given by the Vallathol Sahithya Samithi for contribution to Malayalam literature. The award was instituted in 1991 in memory of Vallathol Narayana Menon Vallathol Narayana Menon (Malayalam: വള്ളത ...

and

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

, besides other honours.

Biography

Narayanan Nair was born on 11 December 1911 in

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 ...

Kottayam district Kottayam (), is one of 14 districts in the Indian state of Kerala. Kottayam district comprises six municipal towns: Kottayam, Changanassery, Pala, Erattupetta, Ettumanoor, and Vaikom. It is the only district in Kerala that neither borders the ...

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 Keezhpallil Sankaran Nair and Puliannoor Puthoor Parvathy Amma. His schooling was at St. Thomas School, Pala from where he passed the final examination but his father's death in 1932 forced him to start earning and he joined Palai Central Bank as an accountant, simultaneously giving private tutions. He moved to S. M. V. S. High School as teacher in 1937 but had to quit the job during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

to join the

Indian Army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...

. He quit military service in 1947 to join 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 ...

(then known as the University of Travancore) in their publications division. While working at the university, he resumed his studies to earn a bachelor's degree in 1954 and a master's degree in Malayalam in 1956, standing first in the examination. He retired from the university in 1967 as the head of the department of publications and served as a professor of Malayalam at

Alphonsa College, Palai Alphonsa College, Pala, is a women's degree college located in Pala, Kottayam district, 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 ...

until 1972. He also served at MMNSS College Kottiyam for a while. Narayanan Nair was married to Subhadrakutty Amma and the couple had two daughters and two sons. He died, at the age of 96, on June 11, 2008, at a private hospital in

Kottayam Kottayam () is a municipal town in the Indian state of Kerala. Flanked by the Western Ghats on the east and the Vembanad Lake and paddy fields of Kuttanad on the west. It is the district headquarters of Kottayam district, located in south- ...

, where he had been admitted following age-related illnesses.

Legacy

Narayanan Nair published 43 poetry anthologies and ''Keralam Valarunnu'' (Kerala is growing), an eight-volume epic which earned him the title, ''Mahakavi''. ''Pookkal'', ''Adima'', ''Nirdhanan'', ''Padakkalam'', ''Bhasparangam'', ''Anthya Pooja'', ''Olangal'', ''Kairali Murali'', ''Ragalapam'', ''Manusyan'', ''Malanad'', ''Paalazhy'', ''Sundarakadam'', ''Amarajyothi'', ''Pournami'', ''Meghasancharam'', ''VilakkuKoluthu'', ''Soorya Gayathri'', ''Samara Mukhathu'', ''Ananthapuri'', ''Shravanageetham'' and ''Amruthavarshini'' feature among his notable works. Besides his poems, he wrote the lyrics for '' Avar Unarunnu'', a Malayalam movie directed by

N. Sankaran Nair Biography N. Sankaran Nair was an Indian director of Malayalam movies. Since the mid-1950s he had directed around 40 movies. Filmography Directed movies * ''Nishasurabhikal'' (2000) * ''Agni Nilavu'' (1991) * ''Kanakambarangal'' (1988) * ''Th ...

and released in 1956. Besides the nine songs featured in the film, he also wrote other songs.011"> When

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 ...

was constituted in 1957, he was elected as the founder secretary of the academy, a post he held for two years.

Awards and honours

The

awarded Nair their annual award for poetry in 1976 for his anthology, ''Vilakku Koluthoo''. He received the inaugural

in 1991 followed by FOKANA Kerala Ganam Award, the next year. Ulloor Smaraka Samithi awarded him the Ulloor Award in 1999 and he received the

, the highest literary award of the

in 2000. A year later, he was selected for the 2001

Asan Smaraka Kavitha Puraskaram Asan Memorial Poetry Prize or Asan Smaraka Kavitha Puraskaram is a literary award instituted in 1985 by Madras-based Asan Memorial Association in memory of Malayalam poet Kumaran Asan. It is given annually to honour outstanding poets in Malay ...

and he received the

Mathrubhumi Literary Award Mathrubhumi Literary Award (also known as Mathrubhumi Sahitya Puraskaram) is a literary award instituted in 2001 by leading Malayalam daily ''Mathrubhumi''. A sum of 3 lakh, a plaque and citation constitute the award. The award is conferred as a ...

in 2004. A recipients of other honours such as ''Puthezhan Award'' and ''Mooloor Award'', Nair was honoured by

with their distinguished fellowship in 2006. Mahatma Gandhi University has instituted a chair, ''Pala Narayanan Nair Chair'', in his honour with Sukumar Azhikode, holding the chair during the initial two years. ''Pala: Kavithakalude Palazhy'' is a documentary film made by Jinoop J. Nair on the life of Narayanan Nair.

Bibliography

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Writings on Pala Narayanan Nair

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References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nair, Pala Narayanan Malayalam-language writers Malayalam poets People from Pala, Kerala Poets from Kerala Recipients of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award Recipients of the Ezhuthachan Award 1911 births 2008 deaths 20th-century Indian poets Indian male poets 20th-century Indian male writers Malayalam-language lyricists Indian Army personnel of World War II University of Kerala