Maythil Radhakrishnan aka Rad Maythil (born 24 July 1944), popularly known as Maythil ( ml, മേതില്‍ രാധാകൃഷ്ണന്‍), born in Pudiyankom (Alathur,

Palakkad Palakkad (), formerly known as Palghat, historically known as Palakkattussery is a city and municipality in the Indian state of Kerala. It is the administrative headquarters of the Palakkad District. Palakkad is most densely populated municipal ...

district 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 ...

), is an all-rounder in

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 2 ...

literature, who writes

poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...

and fiction as well as

non-fiction Nonfiction, or non-fiction, is any document or media content that attempts, in good faith, to provide information (and sometimes opinions) grounded only in facts and real life, rather than in imagination. Nonfiction is often associated with b ...

. He was chosen for the Kerala Sahitya Academi Award for Overall Contributions in 2016 which he subsequently refused.

Biography

Maythil graduated in

Economics Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analyzes ...

from

Kerala University 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 ...

in 1968. For the next eight years, he researched insect

ethology Ethology is the scientific study of animal behaviour, usually with a focus on behaviour under natural conditions, and viewing behaviour as an evolutionarily adaptive trait. Behaviourism as a term also describes the scientific and objecti ...

, while working as a

freelance journalist ''Freelance'' (sometimes spelled ''free-lance'' or ''free lance''), ''freelancer'', or ''freelance worker'', are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance w ...

. From 1976 to 1984 he worked in Kuwait for a Norwegian shipping firm as EDP Coordinator. For the next three years, he ran his own computer aided design and drafting center in Coimbatore,

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...

. Since 1987, except for a four-year stint as Editor for Youth Express of

The New Indian Express ''The New Indian Express'' is an Indian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper published by the Chennai-based Express Publications. It was founded in 1932 as ''The Indian Express'', under the ownership of Chennai-based P. Varadarajulu Naid ...

(then

The Indian Express ''The Indian Express'' is an English-language Indian daily newspaper founded in 1932. It is published in Mumbai by the Indian Express Group. In 1999, eight years after the group's founder Ramnath Goenka's death in 1991, the group was split be ...

) group, 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 populatio ...

and

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

, Maythil has spent his time mostly in writing; on occasions working as a freelance journalist, quizmaster and a web developer. He writes popular columns in The Sunday Express (Zebra Crossing, now available online as a social network created by the author ) and in Madhyamam Weekly (Moonnu Vara a.k.a. Three Stripes). Presently he lives in

. He is a widower and has a daughter (June) and a son (Julian).

Writing

Maythil's first novel, ''Sooryavamsam'', published in 1970, announced the arrival of a major talent in

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 ...

. Four novels and many stories and poems later, his is still a fresh voice. His oeuvre reflects the whole gamut of unrelated experience—from computers to insects—that he had acquired. The essence of his writing is summed up by K. Satchidanandan in the following words:

There are very few in Indian fiction who can compare with this author in artistic innovation, intellectual subtlety and original perception of things and of life. The three novellas here represent all that is newest in Indian fiction.

Maythil was awarded the 2015 annual award for his contributions to Malayalam literature by

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 ...

in 2016 which he refused, citing his distrust in academies.

Bibliography

Novels

*Sooryavamsam (Sun Dynasty), novel, 1970 *Bra, novel, 1974 *Chuvanna Vidooshakarute Anchampathi (Fifth Column of the Red Jesters), novel, 1974 *Hitchcockinte Itapetal (Hitchcock's Intervention), novel, 1994 *Laingikathayekkurichu Oru Upanyasam (An Essay on Sexuality), novel, 1995

Poetry

*Penguin, poems, 1973 *Bhoomiyeyum Maranatheyum Kurichu (Of The Earth and Death), poems, 1991

Short fiction

*Naayakanmaar Shavapetakangalil (Heroes in Coffins), Short stories, 1994 *Dylan Thomasinte Panth, (The Ball of Dylan Thomas) Short stories, 1994 *Sangeetham Oru Samayakalayaanu (Music Is A Time-art), Short stories, 1995 *Sooryamalsyathe vivarikkal(Describing the Sunfish), Novella, 2017

Collected works in English

*The Love Song of Alfred Hitchcock, 2004 (Translated by VC Harris)

Collected works in Malayalam

*Maythil Kathakal, Published by Mathrubhumi Books, 2013 *Maythil Radhakrishnan - Pratikathakal: Vimatam, Published by DC Books, 2003

Non-fiction (Science)

*Romam (Hair), 1981 *Daivam, Manushyan, Yanthram (God, Man and Machine) 2001

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Radhakrishnan, Maythil 1944 births Living people Writers from Palakkad Malayalam-language writers 20th-century Indian novelists 20th-century Indian poets 20th-century Indian short story writers Novelists from Kerala Poets from Kerala Indian popular science writers