Kudiyirikkal Narayanan Ezhuthachan (21 May 1911 – 28 October 1981) was an Indian writer and scholar of

Malayalam literature Malayalam, the lingua franca of the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puduchery, is one of the six classical languages of India. Malayalam literature comprises those literary text ...

. He was one among the principal followers of the idea of social impact on

literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, Play (theatre), plays, and poetry, poems. It includes both print and Electroni ...

. Ezhuthachan supported

Marxist literary criticism Marxist literary criticism is a theory of literary criticism based on the historical materialism developed by philosopher and economist Karl Marx. Marxist critics argue that even art and literature themselves form social institutions and have s ...

and interpreted Indian literary works based on

Marxist aesthetics Marxist aesthetics is a theory of aesthetics based on, or derived from, the theories of Karl Marx. It involves a dialectical and materialist, or dialectical materialist, approach to the application of Marxism to the cultural sphere, specifical ...

. He won the

Sahitya Akademi Award The Sahitya Akademi Award is a literary honour in India, which the Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, annually confers on writers of the most outstanding books of literary merit published in any of the 22 languages of the ...

for his work '' Keralodayam'', a long narrative poem written in

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

. He is the first

Malayali The Malayali people (; also spelt Malayalee and sometimes known by the demonym Keralite) are a Dravidian ethnolinguistic group originating from the present-day state of Kerala and Union Territory of Lakshadweep in India, occupying its south ...

to win Sahitya Akademi Award in Sanskrit. He died on 28 October 1981 while delivering a lecture at

Calicut University The University of Calicut, also known as Calicut University, is a state-run public university headquartered at Tenhipalam in Malappuram district of the state of Kerala, India. Established in 1968, it is the first university to be set up in no ...

Early life

K. N. Ezhuthachan was born in the village

Cherpulassery Cherpulassery (also known by its former name Cherpulacherry) is a town and municipality in the Palakkad district, of Kerala, India. Cherpulassery is often called the Sabarimala of Malabar as the famous Ayyappankavu temple is located here . The ...

in Palakkad district,

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 ...

, as the son of eye specialist and

scholar Kudiyirikkal Krishnan Ezhuthachan and Lakshmi amma on 21 May 1911. He studied basics of

from father's Sanskrit school. After passing the ''

Vidwan In Hindu philosophy ''vidvān'' alludes to an expert in discrimination, to the one who is an expert in the Vedanta. A ''vidwan'' (or ''vidvan'') is a person who has '' vidyā'' (knowledge) of a particular science or art. This term is usually used ...

examination'' Ezhuthachan began his career as a teacher and taught at two schools. He also worked as a clerk and stenographer in

Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...

for a brief period. Later, he took his master's degrees 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 ...

, and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

. Besides he learned languages like

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 ...

Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...

Kannada Kannada () is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly in the state of Karnataka in southwestern India, and spoken by a minority of the population in all neighbouring states. It has 44 million native speakers, and is additionally a ...

and

Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India **Marathi people (Uttar Pradesh), the Marathi people in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Mar ...

. In 1953, he joined

Madras University The University of Madras is a public university, public State university (India), state university in Chennai (Madras), Tamil Nadu, India. Established in 1857, it is one of the oldest and most prominent universities in India, incorporated by an ...

as Lecturer and simultaneously worked for his PhD in the same university. After completing his PhD on ''Bhashakautaleeyam'', Ezhuthachan joined

University of Calicut The University of Calicut, also known as Calicut University, is a State ownership, state-run public university headquartered at Tenhipalam in Malappuram district of the state of Kerala, India. Established in 1968, it is the first university to ...

as a Lecturer. He also served as a Senior Research Officer at Kerala State Institute of Languages, Research Fellow of Dravidian Linguistics Association and visiting professor at University of Calicut. K. N. Ezhuthachan had worked for the formation of institutions like ''Thaaliyola grantha library'': a library for old

Palm-leaf manuscript Palm-leaf manuscripts are manuscripts made out of dried palm leaves. Palm leaves were used as writing materials in the Indian subcontinent and in Southeast Asia dating back to the 5th century BCE. Their use began in South Asia and spread to ot ...

, Which was established in 1971 under Malayalam Departement of the

. And ''Vallathol educational trust'', A trust formed in 1977 in memory of

Vallathol Narayana Menon Vallathol Narayana Menon (16 October 1878 – 13 March 1958) was a Malayalam poet and one of the triumvirate of modern Malayalam poetry, along with Asan and Ulloor. The honorific Mahakavi was applied to him in 1913 after the publication of ...

Literary career

Dr.K. N. Ezhuthachan was the author of many books in Malayalam, including short stories, poems, and essays. His book, ''The history of the grammatical theories in Malayalam'' published in 1975, is considered to be a seminal work in the field of Malayalam grammar. He has also authored a research thesis on Thunchath Ezhuthachan's '' Adhyathma Ramayanam'' and scholarly article about

Kilippattu Kilippattu or ''parrot song'' is a genre of Malayalam poems in which the narrator is a parrot, a bee, a swan, and so on. Kiḷippaṭṭu was popularized by the 16th-century poet Ezhuthachan (The Father Of The Malayalam language). In Adhyat ...

Works

Biography

*''Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar''

Stories

*''Kadhamalika'' *''Kadhabhooshanam'' *''Kadhamanjusha'' *''Kadhasowdham'' *''Mahilaaramam'' *''Veerahuthi''(Translation of '' Venisamhara'')

Poems

*''Pratheeksha'' *''Kusumopaharam'' *''Prathijna'' *'' Keralodayam Mahakavyam'' (long narrative poem in

)

Essays

*''Ilayum Verum''(6 Articles) *''Kathirkkula''(13 Articles) *''Uzhutha Nilangal''(6 Articles) *''Ezhilampala''(7 Articles) *''Kiranangal''(21 Articles) *''Deepamala''(13 Articles) *''Kaaladippaathakal''(7 Articles) *''Sameeksha''(12 Articles) *''Muththum pavizhavum''(7 Articles): Won

Kerala Sahitya Akademi The Kerala Sahitya Akademi or Academy for Malayalam Literature is an autonomous body established to promote the Malayalam language and Malayalam literature, literature. It is situated in the city of Thrissur, Kerala in India. History The acad ...

''C.B.Kumar endowment award'' in the year 1976. *''Saahithee chinthakal'' *''Thiranjedutha prabandhangal''(2 Volumes) In addition to these about twenty articles which published in

Mathrubhumi weekly ''Mathrubhumi Azhchappathippu'' () is an Indian general interest weekly magazine published by the Mathrubhumi Printing and Publishing Company in Kozhikode. The Malayalam language magazine started publishing on 18 January 1932.''Mathrubhumi Illus ...

Deshabhimani ''Deshabhimani'' is a Malayalam newspaper and the organ of the Kerala State Committee of the CPI(M). It started as a weekly in Kozhikode on 6 September 1942 and converted to a daily in 1946. The paper now has ten different printing centres: Ko ...

etc. The essence of Ezhuthachan's essay is radical thinking, logic and simplicity. His essays are best examples for presenting most things in least words with obvious manner. He was co-author for a

Dictionary also.

Main Translations

*''Saarthavahan''(Translation from

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 ...

) *''Vaanisamaharam'' *''Kalayute saamoohyaverukal''(Translation of Louis Harap's ''Social Roots of Arts'') *''

Lilatilakam ''Lilatilakam'' (IAST: ''Līlā-tilakam'', "diadem of poetry") is a 14th-century Sanskrit-language treatise on the grammar and poetics of the ''Manipravalam'' language style, a blend of Sanskrit and early Malayalam used in the Kerala region of Ind ...

English translation''(From Four to Eight parts, Not published) *''

Tolkāppiyam ''Tolkāppiyam'', also romanised as ''Tholkaappiyam'' ( , ''lit.'' "ancient poem"), is the oldest extant Tamil grammar text and the oldest extant long work of Tamil literature. It is the earliest Tamil text mentioning Gods, perhaps linked to ...

''(

Translation) *''

Purananuru The ''Purananuru'' (, literally "four hundred oemsin the genre puram"), sometimes called ''Puram'' or ''Purappattu'', is a classical Tamil literature, Tamil poetic work and traditionally the last of the Eight Anthologies (''Ettuthokai'') i ...

'' *''

Kuṟuntokai Kuṟuntokai (, meaning ''the short-collection'') is a classical Tamil poetic work and traditionally the second of the Eight Anthologies (''Ettuthokai'') in the Sangam literature. The collection belongs to the ''akam'' (love) category, and each ...

'' *''

Naṟṟiṇai ''Natrinai'' ( meaning ''excellent tinai''), is a classical Tamil poetic work and traditionally the first of the Eight Anthologies (''Ettuthokai'') in the Sangam literature. The collection – sometimes spelled as Natrinai or Narrinai – conta ...

'' *''Aasiayum paasthaathya medhavithwavum''(Translation of ''Asia and western dominance'', From English) *''Manushyanum prakruthiyum''(Translation of ''

Man and Nature ''Man and Nature: Or, Physical Geography as Modified by Human Action'', first published in 1864, was written by American polymath scholar and diplomat George Perkins Marsh (1801-1882). Marsh intended his text to show that "whereas thersthink t ...

'') *''Kavithakkoru Sadhookaranam''(Translation of Sir Philip Sidney's ''

An Apology for Poetry ''An Apology for Poetry'' (or ''The Defence of Poesy'') is a work of literary criticism by Elizabethan poetry, Elizabethan poet Philip Sidney. It was written in approximately 1580 and first published in 1595, after his death. It is generally b ...

'')

Other research papers

*''Kilippattu prasthanam - dheerghapadanam'' In the book ''Saahithyacharithram prasthaanangaliloode'' *''Randu bhagavat geethakal''- A comparison of Madhava panikkar's

Bhagavad Gita The Bhagavad Gita (; ), often referred to as the Gita (), is a Hindu texts, Hindu scripture, dated to the second or first century BCE, which forms part of the Hindu epic, epic poem Mahabharata. The Gita is a synthesis of various strands of Ind ...

and Pattanar's thamizh

*''Tharoor swaroopam'' (Annals of Oriental research,

1954) *''Ramacarita and its Metres'' (Annals of Oriental research, Madras University 1957) *''A study of Ramayana Themes in Malayalam'': Ramayana seminar, S. V. University 1965 *''The morphology of Lilatilakam'': Linguistic seminar, Trivandrum 1965 *''The problem of meaning'': International symposium, Madras 1965 *''Modern trends in poetry'': International symposium, Madras 1965 *''Nationalistic Trends in Indian Poetry'': Vallathol - Bharathi Symposium, Madras 1965

Articles which added in encyclopedia

*''Thunchaththezhutahchan'' (In Encyclopedia published by

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 ...

) *''The Artisan Classes of Kerala'' (Social history of Kerala).

K. N. Ezhuthachan Smaraka puraskaram

''K. N. Ezhuthachan Smaraka puraskaram'' is an award given by organisation ''Samskara pattambi'' in memory of K. N. Ezhuthachan. It was first given in 2014 to Sunil P. Ilayidom. Malayalam short story writer T. P. Venugopalan received ''K. N. Ezhuthachan Smaraka puraskaram'' in the year 2016 for his work ''Kunnumpuram kaarnival''(A compilation of

short stories).

References

External links

History Of Grammatical Theories In Malayalam (Part 1)Keralodayam Mahakavyam
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ezhuthachan, K. N. Scholars from Kerala Malayali people Indian male short story writers Malayalam-language writers Indian Marxist writers Indian Sanskrit scholars Indian communist writers Writers from Palakkad district Malayalam short story writers Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Award in Sanskrit 1911 births 1981 deaths Academic staff of the University of Calicut Writers from Kerala Indian political writers 20th-century Indian educational theorists 20th-century Indian short story writers