Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai
| Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai | |
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| Born | April 17, 1912 Thakazhi, Alleppey,  Travancore |
| Died | April 10, 1999 (aged 86) Thakazhi, Alappuzha, Kerala,  India |
| Pen name | Thakazhi |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Genres | Novel, Short story |
| Subjects | Social aspects |
| Literary movement | Realism |
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Influences
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Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai (Malayalam: തകഴി ശിവശങ്കര പിള്ള) (17 April 1912 - 10 April 1999)[1] was a novelist and short story writer of Malayalam language, spoken in Kerala state, India. He is popularly known as Thakazhi, after his place of birth. He focused on the oppressed classes as the subject of his works, which are known for their attention to historic detail. He has written several novels and over 600 short stories. His most famous works are Kayar (Coir, 1978) and Cemmin (Prawns, 1956; film adaptation, 1965). He was awarded India's highest literary award, the Jnanpith in 1984.[2]
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[edit] Literary career
Born in the village of Thakazhi, in Kuttanad, Alappuzha district of Kerala, he started to write stories when he was a schoolboy. His literary taste was nurtured by his high school headmaster Kainikkara Kumara Pillai (1900–1988) who exposed him to Indian literature. He met Kesari A Balakrishna Pillai (1889–1960) while pursuing his law studies in Tiruvanantapuram. He introduced Thakazhi to modern European literature and thought.
His novels and short stories basically discussed various aspects of societies in Kerala in the mid-20th century. His novel Tottiyude Makan (Scavenger's Son, 1947) is considered a pioneer work in Malayalam realistic novel. It is about modernity challenging the rationale of the caste system, that one's profession should depend on pedigree.
His political novel, Randidangazhi (Two Measures, 1948) projected the evils of the feudal system that prevailed in Kerala then, especially in Kuttanad. The film adaptation, directed and produced by P. Subramaniam from a screenplay by Thakazhi himself, received a certificate of merit at the National Film Awards in 1958.[3]
His love epic Cemmin (Prawns, 1956) which was a departure from his earlier line of realism, met with immense popularity. It told a tragic love story set in the backdrop of a fishing village in Alappuzha. The novel and its film adaptation, also titled Cemmin (1965) earned him national and international fame. Cemmin was translated into 19 world languages and adapted as film in 15 countries. Chemmeen won for Thakazhi the Kendra Sahitya Academy Award in 1958. The film adaptation, directed by Ramu Kariat won the National Film Award for Best Film in 1965.[4]
Despite the popularity of Cemmin, his novel Kayar (Coir, 1978) is quite widely considered as his masterpiece. The novel spreads to over 1000 densely printed pages and deals with hundreds of characters over four generations, bring back to life an axial period (1885–1971) during which feudalism, matriliny and bonded labor gave way to conjugal life, everyone’s access to a piece of land, decolonization and the industrial revolution of the 1960s.
[edit] Famous works
[edit] Novels
- Tottiyude Makan (Scavenger's Son, 1947; translation into English, New Delhi, 1975)
- Randidangazhi (Two Measures, 1948; film adaptation, 1958)
- Tentivargam (The Beggar Clan, 1950)
- Cemmin (Prawns, 1956; film adaptation, 1965; transl. into English, London, 1962, into French, Paris, 1965, etc.)
- Ouseppinte makkal (The Children of Ouseph, 1959; transl. into English, New Delhi, 1984)
- Enippadikal (Footsteps, 1964; transl. into English sub titles. Rungs of the Ladder, New Delhi, 1976)
- Anubhavangal Paliccakal (Experiences and Failures, 1967; film adaptation, 1971)
- Kayar (Coir, 1978; transl. into English, New Delhi, 1997)
- Erinhadangal (Extinguishing, 1990)
[edit] Short stories
- Teranhetutta Kathakal (Selected Short Stories, 1965)
- Inquilab (1952)
- Pativrta (Chaste Wife, 1946)
- Nhan Piranna Nadu (The Land Where I was Born, 1958)
- Kure Kathapatrangal (A Number of Characters, 1980)
See the anthology by K.M. George ed. The Best of Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai, New Delhi, 1999, including English translations of In the Flood; The Tahsildar's Father; Under the Mango Tree; A Faithful Wife; The Soldier; An Orphan's Burial; The White Baby; The Story of Kalyani; From Karachi; Death of Gandhiji; The Boundary Dispute; the Farmer; The Story of Kettuthali; The Handbag.
[edit] Autobiographies
- Ente Balykala Katha (My Childhood Story, 1967)
- Ormayude TIrangalil (On the Shores of Memory, 1985)
- Oru Kuttanadan Katha (A Story of Kuttanad, 1992)
- Jeevitattinte Oru Edu (A Page of Life, 1993)
[edit] Notes
- ^ "Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai" at Encyclopædia Britannica
- ^ "Jnanpith Laureates Official listings". Jnanpith Website. http://jnanpith.net/laureates/index.html.
- ^ B. Vijayakumar. (August 2, 2008). Randidangazhi. The Hindu.
- ^ B. Vijayakumar (November 22, 2010). "Chemmeen". The Hindu. http://www.hindu.com/mp/2010/11/22/stories/2010112250310400.htm.
[edit] References
- Dr. Ayyappa Paniker (April 1999). "The end of historiography?". Frontline. http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl1609/16091110.htm. Retrieved 2007-05-26.
- Press Trust of India. "A literary colossus, Thakazhi helped Malayalam literature break colonial mould". http://www.indianexpress.com/res/web/pIe/ie/daily/19990411/ile11041.html.
- Venu Menon. "Pantheon Revisited: Thakazhi". http://www.venumenon.com/articles/article_page.asp?catid=6&artid=15.
- cherian m t. "Thakazhi museum:". http://www.alappuzhaonline.com/Thakazhimuseum.htm.
