Vengayil Kunhiraman Nayanar
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Vengayil Kunhiraman Nayanar (1860 – 14 November 1914) was a
Malayali The Malayali people () (also spelt Malayalee and also known by the demonym Keralite) are a Dravidian peoples, Dravidian ethnolinguistic group originating from the present-day state of Kerala in India, occupying its southwestern Malabar coast. ...
essayist and short story writer, and a prominent landlord of
Malabar district Malabar District, also known as Malayalam District, was an administrative district on the southwestern Malabar Coast of Bombay Presidency (1792-1800) and Madras Presidency (1800-1947) in British India, and independent India's Madras State (19 ...
.


Vengayil family

Nayanar was born in an aristocratic
Nair The Nair , also known as Nayar, are a group of Indian Hindu castes, described by anthropologist Kathleen Gough as "not a unitary group but a named category of castes". The Nair include several castes and many subdivisions, not all of whom histor ...
family known as "Vengayil" in Chirackal Thaluk, Northern part of Malabar district in British India. The Vengayil Nayanar
tharavad Tharavad () (തറവാട്), is the Malayalam word for the ancestral home of aristocratic families in Kerala, which usually served as the common house for the joint family system practiced in the state. The German linguist Hermann Gunder ...
were a significant land-owning family of Malabar district in the 1800s in British India. They, at the time, owned more than 200,000 acres (810 km square) of land including vast forest lands. The land directly under the ownership of the Vengayil family was comparable to the size of the 13-gun salute princely state of Kapurthala State (352 square miles (910 km2)), and 11-gun salute Morvi State (242 square miles (630 km2)).


Early life and education

Kunhiraman Nayanar was born to Vengayil Kunhakkam Amma and Puliyappadappu Haridasan Somayajipad, a
Nambudiri The Nambudiri (), also transliterated as Nampoothiri, Nambūdiri, Namboodiri, Nampoothiri, and Nampūtiri, are a Malayali Brahmin caste, native to what is now the state of Kerala, India, where they constituted part of the traditional feudal el ...
Brahmin from Perinchellor Graamam,
Taliparamba Taliparamba (also known as Perinchelloor and Lakshmipuram) is a Municipalities of Kerala, Municipality in Taliparamba taluk of Kannur district, Kerala, India. The municipal town spreads over an area of and is inhabited by 44,247 number ...
. His early education was in
Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
, and later joined the
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
school at Taliparamba, followed by the Saidampetta Agricultural College in
Calicut 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 la ...
. In 1904 he became a member of the Malabar District Board, and in 1917 was elected to the
Madras Legislative Assembly The Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly is the unicameral legislature of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It has a strength of 234 members of whom are democratically elected using the First-past-the-post system. The presiding officer of the Assembl ...
. He died while serving as a member there on 14 November 1914, aged 54.


Literature

Nayanar came to the literary world through ''Kerala Pathrika'' (started in 1884 by C. Kunhiraman Menon (1854–1936) and
Appu Nedungadi Appu Nedungadi (11 October 1863 6 November 1933) is the author of ''Kundalatha'', which was published in 1887, making it as the first novel published in Malayalam. He was the founder/editor of literary publications ''Kerala Pathrika'', ''Kerala ...
(1860–1934) at
Calicut 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 la ...
). He was also closely associated with periodicals like ''
Vidya Vinodini ''Vidyavinodini'' or ''Vidya Vinodini'' (Malayalam: വിദ്യാവിനോദിനി) was a Malayalam-language monthly literary magazine published from Trichur in the Kingdom of Cochin (now part of India). It started publication in Novem ...
'' (started in 1889 at Trichur under the editorship of C. P. Achutha Menon), ''Kerala Chandrika'' (started in 1879 at
Trivandrum 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 ...
), ''Kerala Sanchari'' (after 1898 under the editorship of Murkoth Kumaran), ''Kerala Pathrika'' and the English Journal ''Malabar Spectator''.http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/13232/10/10_chapter%204.pdf
/ref> He wrote the first Malayalam short story, ''
Vasanavikriti "Vasanavikruti" is a short story written by Vengayil Kunhiraman Nayanar. It is considered by historians and literary experts as the first short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuse ...
''. Under the pen names "Kesari", "Vajrasoochi","Vajrabahu", Vengayil Kunhiraman Nayanar's works obtained wide appreciation from all over South India. Kesari was a sharp critic of social reality, criticising social inequalities. He was also a close friend of Dr. Hermann Gundert and William Logan who did a lot of research on the history, language, and culture of Kerala.


Family

Vengayil Nayanar's grandson was K. P. Candeth, a
Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...
in 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- ...
and first
Governor of Goa The governor of Goa is a nominal head and representative of the president of India in the state of Goa. The governor is appointed by the president for a term of five years. P. S. Sreedharan Pillai became governor on 7 July 2021. Powers and func ...
. His son was
A. C. N. Nambiar Arathil Candeth Narayanan Nambiar (1896 – 17 January 1986) was an Indian Nationalist and a friend and colleague of Subhas Chandra Bose. Originally from Kerala (he was born in Thalassery), Nambiar spent much of his life serving the Indian inde ...
, an Indian Nationalist and involved with the
Indian Legion , image = Flag of the Indian Legion.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = Flag of the Indian Legion , country = , allegiance = Adolf ...
during the
Second World War 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 ...
.


Works

Some of Vengayil Kunhiraman Nayanar's works are lost. Most of his works were published in periodicals such as ''
Vidya Vinodini ''Vidyavinodini'' or ''Vidya Vinodini'' (Malayalam: വിദ്യാവിനോദിനി) was a Malayalam-language monthly literary magazine published from Trichur in the Kingdom of Cochin (now part of India). It started publication in Novem ...
'', ''Saraswathi'' and ''Kerala Pathrika''. Some of his works are compiled by Prof. K. Gopalakrishnan and published by ''
Mathrubhumi ''Mathrubhumi'' is a Malayalam newspaper that is published from Kerala, India. It was founded by K. P. Kesava Menon, an active volunteer in the Indian independence movement, Indian freedom struggle against the British Raj, British. The word "M ...
'' under the title ''Kesari Nayanarude Krithikal''. ; Stories * * * * * * * * ; Essays on literature * * * * * * * * * ; Essays on culture * * ; Essays on agriculture * * * * ; Miscellaneous * * * * * * Vengayil Kunhiraman Nayanar (1909). Introduction. In:
Kottarathil Sankunni Kottarathil Sankunni (born Vasudevan, 1855–1937) was an Indian writer of Malayalam literature. Best known as the author of Aithihyamala, an eight-volume compilation of century-old legends about Kerala, Sankunni's writings cover prose and poetry ...
. ''
Aithihyamala Aithihyamala or Ithihyamala ( ml, ഐതിഹ്യമാല) (''Garland of Legends'') is a collection of century-old stories from Kerala that cover a vast spectrum of life, famous persons and events. It is a collection of legends numbering over ...
'' Part 1. * Vengayil Kunhiraman Nayanar (1914). Introduction. In:
Kottarathil Sankunni Kottarathil Sankunni (born Vasudevan, 1855–1937) was an Indian writer of Malayalam literature. Best known as the author of Aithihyamala, an eight-volume compilation of century-old legends about Kerala, Sankunni's writings cover prose and poetry ...
. ''
Aithihyamala Aithihyamala or Ithihyamala ( ml, ഐതിഹ്യമാല) (''Garland of Legends'') is a collection of century-old stories from Kerala that cover a vast spectrum of life, famous persons and events. It is a collection of legends numbering over ...
'' Part 2.


See also

* "Kesari" A. Balakrishna Pillai was a critic who was also known by the pseudonym "Kesari". *
Madayi Kavu Thiruvarkadu Bhagavathi Temple (a.k.a. Madayi Kavu) is the mother temple of all Bhadrakali shrines of North Kerala. The deity is the ''Fierce form of Bhadrakali''. The Bhagavathy is addressed by tantrics in the vicinity as ''Tiruvarkkad Achch ...
*
Malayalam 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 ...


References


External links


Payyanur.com
"History"

"History of Kasaragod"

"The Essay"

"History of Press in India"

"Nayanars of Kerala" {{DEFAULTSORT:Nayanar, Vangayil Malayali people Malayalam-language writers Malayalam short story writers 1861 births 1914 deaths 20th-century Indian short story writers 19th-century Indian short story writers Indian male short story writers Indian male essayists Writers from Kerala Indian male journalists 20th-century Indian essayists 19th-century Indian essayists 19th-century Indian male writers 20th-century Indian male writers