C. G. Rajagopal is a polyglot, poet and translator from

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, 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 ...

, India. He received many awards including the

Sahitya Akademi Translation Prize Sahitya Akademi Translation Prize or Sahitya Akademi Prize for Translation is a literary honour in India, presented by Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, given to "outstanding translations of creative and critical works" in 24 ...

2019, a literary honour in India, presented by

Sahitya Akademi The Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, is an organisation dedicated to the promotion of literature in the languages of India. Founded on 12 March 1954, it is supported by, though independent of the Indian government. Its off ...

, India's National Academy of Letters. His main literary contribution is Malayalam translation of

Tulsidas Rambola Dubey (; 11 August 1511 – 30 July 1623pp. 23–34.), popularly known as Goswami Tulsidas (), was a Vaishnavism, Vaishnava (Ramanandi Sampradaya, Ramanandi) Hinduism, Hindu saint and poet, renowned for his devotion to the deity Rama. H ...

Ramcharitmanas ''Ramcharitmanas'' ( deva, रामचरितमानस, rāmacaritamānasa), is an epic poem in the Awadhi language, composed by the 16th-century Indian bhakti poet Tulsidas (c. 1511–1623). It has many inspirations, the primary being t ...

(Thulasidasa Ramayana), which has 26152 lines and 46 Sanskrit verses.

Biography

Rajagopal was born on May 21, 1932 to C. S. Gopalakaimal and K. Parukutty Amma at Neeretupuram of

Kuttanad Kuttanad is a river delta landscape region in the state of Kerala, India, known for its vast paddy fields and geographical peculiarities. It is in the Districts of Alappuzha, Kottayam and Pathanamthitta. The region has the lowest altitude in ...

Thalavadi in present-day

Alappuzha district Alappuzha district (), is one of the 14 Districts of Kerala, districts in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kerala. It was formed as Alleppey district on 17 August 1957, the name of the district being changed to ''Alapp ...

of Kerala, India. He studied intermediate at SN College, Kollam. Although he enrolled for BA in Malayalam in

University College Thiruvananthapuram University College, Thiruvananthapuram, often abbreviated as UCT, is a public college situated in Palayam, Thiruvananthapuram, India. Established in 1866, it is one of the oldest colleges in Kerala. The college has been accorded "College with Pot ...

, he later switched to

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

. He graduated from University College with first rank in Hindi and went to

Lucknow Lucknow () is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and the largest city of the List of state and union territory capitals in India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is the administrative headquarters of the epon ...

for higher studies. He went to

Lucknow University University of Lucknow (informally known as Lucknow University, and LU) is one of the oldest public state university based in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. LU's main campus is located at Badshah Bagh, University Road area of the city with a second ...

on a scholarship given by the Government of India to students from non-Hindi states to study Hindi, and passed MA from there with a gold medal.

Personal life

Rajagopal and his wife T. Vijayalakshmi have two daughters. He currently resides in his house called 'Shaleenam' on PRS Road, Thykkad,

Thiruvananthapuram Thiruvananthapuram ( ), also known as Trivandrum, is the Capital city, capital city of the Indian state of Kerala. As of 2011, the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation had a population of 957,730 over an area of 214.86 sq. km, making it the ...

Career

Rajagopal, who returned from Lucknow after his higher studies, first became a lecturer at Pala St. Thomas College. Then he served as Hindi lecturer in

Government Arts College, Thiruvananthapuram Government Arts College, Thiruvananthapuram is a public college situated in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India. Established in 1924 as the H. H. The Maharaja's College of Arts, it is one of the oldest colleges in Kerala. The college is affiliated ...

, Victoria College, Palakkad and then as Head of Department at Brennan College, Thalassery and University College Thiruvananthapuram. In 1986 he retired as the Principal of Thrissur Govt. Arts College. Later, from 1993 to 1996, he became the Dean of the Department of Non-Sanskrit Indian Languages at the Sree Sankaracharya Sanskrit University. Rajagopal, who was also a lover of

Kathakali ''Kathakali'' (International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: Kathakaḷi ) is a traditional form of Indian Classical Dance, and one of the most complex forms of Theatre of India, Indian theatre. It is a play of verses. These vers ...

, was the founder president of Drishyavedi, a Kathakali entertainment organization in

. He also served as the president of Tapasya and Bharatiya Vicharakendra.

Literary Career

Rajagopal's main literary work is the Malayalam translation of Tulsidas's Hindi work ''Sri Ramacharitamanasam (Thulasidasa Ramayanam)''. Other contributions include ''Nadatrayam'' (Poetry Collection), ''Bharata Brihad Tarika'' (Translation), ''Bharathiya Samskarathinu Jaina Mathathinte Sambhavana'' (Contribution of Jain Religion to Indian Culture) (Study) and a Hindi-English-Malayalam Trilingual Dictionary. The

ghazal ''Ghazal'' is a form of amatory poem or ode, originating in Arabic poetry that often deals with topics of spiritual and romantic love. It may be understood as a poetic expression of both the pain of loss, or separation from the beloved, and t ...

he composed in 1958 was the first in that field in Malayalam. He is now writing ''Ayyappacharitam'' (story of lord

Ayyappan Ayyappan, also known as Dharmasastha and Manikandan, is the Hindu deity of truth and righteousness. According to Hindu theology, he is described as the son of Shiva and Mohini (the female avatar of Vishnu), thus representing a bridge between S ...

) in the form of Aattakatha. Rajagopal completed the translation of Tulasidasasa Ramayana, which has 26152 lines and 46 Sanskrit verses, in five and a half years. Thulasidasasa Ramayana, written in verse by Rajagopal, was sung and recorded by eight singers including

Kavalam Sreekumar Kavalam Srikumar is a classical musician, Malayalam film singer and music composer from Kerala, India. His recitation of Ramayana is also famous. He has also rendered more than 200 famous Malayalam poems. He is the son of the noted Malayalam po ...

, G. Sreeram, and his elder brother's son and singer Suresh Thenmala. Composed by P Sushila Devi, it is a forty-six hours long poetry recitation. His book called ''Nadathrayam'' containing sixteen poems including ''Shilpi'' was a textbook for the Malayalam Vidwan course and Malayalam BA course.

Awards and honors

* 2019

for the translation of Tulasidasasa Ramayana * 2020 Vivarthana Ratna Award by Bharat Bhavan, a cultural exchange center of the

Government of Kerala The Government of Kerala (abbreviated as GoK), also known as the Kerala Government, is the administrative body responsible for governing the Indian States and territories of India, state of Kerala. The government is led by a chief minister, who ...

for the translation of Tulasidasa Ramayana. * Prof. Thuravoor Vishwambharan Memorial Award of Tapasya Kala Sahityavedi, for his contributions to translation literature and creative writings. * Special award from the Vallathol Sahithya Samithi for the translation of Thulaseedasa Ramayanam to Malayalam.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rajagopal, C. G. Malayalam-language writers Writers from Alappuzha district Translators to Malayalam Living people 1932 births University College Thiruvananthapuram alumni Academic staff of Government Victoria College, Palakkad Academic staff of Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit University of Lucknow alumni