C. Radhakrishnan (born 15 February 1939) is an Indian
writer
A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles, genres and techniques to communicate ideas, to inspire feelings and emotions, or to entertain. Writers may develop different forms of writing such as novels, short sto ...
and
film director
A film director or filmmaker is a person who controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfillment of that Goal, vision. The director has a key role ...
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 ...
-language 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
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
.
Life
Chakkupurayil Radhakrishnan was born on 15 February 1939 in Chamravattam (a village in
Tirur
Tirur is a major municipal town in Tirur Taluk, Malappuram district, in the Indian state of Kerala, spread over an area of .
It is one of the major business centers in Malappuram district and is situated west of Malappuram and south of Kozh ...
) in
Malappuram district
Malappuram (), is one of the List of districts of Kerala, 14 districts in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kerala, with a coastline of . The most populous district of Kerala, Malappuram is home to around 13% of the tot ...
, which was then a part of the
Madras Presidency
The Madras Presidency or Madras Province, officially called the Presidency of Fort St. George until 1937, was an administrative subdivision (province) of British India and later the Dominion of India. At its greatest extent, the presidency i ...
of
British India
The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...
), to Parappur Madathil Madhavan Nair and Chakkupurayil Janaki Amma. He heard from his grandparents that
Thunchaththu Ezhuthachan
Thunchaththu Ramanujan Ezhuthachan (, ) (Floruit, ''fl.'' 16th century) was a Malayalam devotional poet, translator and linguist. He was one of the prāchīna kavithrayam (old triad) of Malayalam literature, the other two being Kunchan Nambia ...
was an ancestor in his lineage, and this and other details of the information imparted to him formed the basis for creation of one of his works: the biography of Thunchaththu Ramanujan Ezhuthachan titled ''Theekkadal Kadanhu Thirumadhuram''.
Radhakrishnan wrote his first novel ''Nizhalppadukal'' at the age of 21 in 1959 while pursuing his post graduate degree. The book was initially published serially in a magazine and later published by Current Books in 1962. The book became a runaway hit and was the winner of
Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award
Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award is given each year, since 1958, by the Kerala Sahitya Akademi (Kerala Literary Academy), to Malayalam writers for their outstanding books of literary merit. The awards are given in various categories.
in 1962.
In July 2014, Radhakrishnan was awarded the
Moortidevi Award
The Moortidevi Award is an Indian literary award annually presented by the Bharatiya Jnanpith, a literary and research organisation. The award is given only to Indian writers writing in Indian languages included in the Eighth Schedule to the Con ...
for the year 2013 for his novel ''Theekkadal Kadanhu Thirumadhuram''. He was conferred the Ezhuthachan Puraskaram for the year 2016. Other literary recognitions include the Mathrubhumi Literary Award in 2015,K. P. Kesava Menon Memorial Award in 2016, the Madhava Mudra, Nalappadan Award(2016)-for his Holistic Contributions to Malayalam Literature (Nalappadan Memorial Cultural Society-NMCS) and Thrikkavu Devi Puraskaram.
Radhakrishnan was editor of the Malayalam magazine ''Piravi'' published by the School of Bhagavad Gita. He was the former chief editor of ''
Madhyamam Daily
''Madhyamam'' (meaning ''Medium'') is a Malayalam-language newspaper published in Kerala, India, since 1987.