K. R. Meera
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K. R. Meera (born 19 February 1970) is an Indian author and journalist, who writes 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 ...
. She was born in Sasthamkotta,
Kollam district Kollam district (), (formerly Quilon district) is one of 14 List of districts in Kerala, districts of the state of Kerala, India. The district has a cross-section of Kerala's natural attributes; it is endowed with a long coastline, a major La ...
in
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 ...
. She worked as a
journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...
in '' Malayala Manorama'' but later resigned to concentrate more on writing. She started writing fiction in 2001 and her first short story collection ''Ormayude Njarambu'' was published in 2002. Since then she has published five collections of short stories, two novellas, five novels and two children's books. She won the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award in 2009 for her short-story, ''Ave Maria''. Her novel '' Aarachaar'' (2012) is widely regarded as one of the best literary works produced in Malayalam language."ആരാച്ചാര്‍ മലയാളത്തിലെ ഏറ്റവും നല്ല നോവലുകളിലൊന്ന് : ഡോ. എം ലീലാവതി"
. DC Books. 3 February 2014. Retrieved 23 March 2014.
It received several awards including the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award (
2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...
), Odakkuzhal Award (2013), Vayalar Award (2014) and Kendra Sahitya Akademi Award (2015). It was also shortlisted for the 2016 DSC Prize for South Asian Literature.


Biography

Meera was born in Sasthamkotta,
Kollam district Kollam district (), (formerly Quilon district) is one of 14 List of districts in Kerala, districts of the state of Kerala, India. The district has a cross-section of Kerala's natural attributes; it is endowed with a long coastline, a major La ...
in
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 daughter of Ramachandran Pillai and Amritakumari, both professors. She completed her predegree from D.B College, Sasthamcotta. She passed her master's degree in Communicative English from Gandhigram Rural Institute, Dindigul,
Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...
. Meera lives in Kottayam with her husband M.S. Dileep, who is a journalist with '' Malayala Manorama''. Their only daughter Shruti was a residential student at the Rishi Valley School,
Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...
.


Journalism

In 1993, she joined as a journalist in Kottayam-based Malayalam daily '' Malayala Manorama,'' and was the first female journalist to be hired at the newspaper. In 2006, following publication of several stories, Meera gave up journalism to take up writing as a full-time occupation. She was the senior sub-editor of ''Malayala Manorama'' when she resigned. During her journalistic career, she published many special stories which won her numerous awards and recognitions. She won the PUCL Human Rights National Award for Journalism in 1998 for an investigative series on the plight of women labourers in Kerala. This series also won the Chowara Parameswaran Award instituted by Kerala Press Academy. A series on children won her the Deepalaya National Journalism Award for Child Rights in 2001.


Writing

Meera's first published work was a story submitted to Mathrubhumi, a magazine, in 2000. Her first short story collection ''Ormayude Njarambu'' was published in 2002. This collection won the Gita Hiranyan Endowment Award instituted by
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 ...
and Ankanam Literary Award. Her next book ''Mohamanja'' was published in 2004. It was translated into English by J. Devika as ''Yellow is the Colour of Longing'' (Penguin, 2011). The title story, which explores the absurdity of desire, was also published in ''Arshilata: Women's Fiction from India and Bangladesh'' (ed. Niaz Zaman). She won the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award in 2008 for the collection ''Ave Maria''. The title story of the book is a brutal glimpse into the debris of Kerala's Communist ideology, the fault lines left behind in families. A translation of this story was included in the book ''First Proof 5, The Penguin Book of New Writing from India'' (Penguin, 2010). Her other collections include ''K. R. Meerayude Kathakal'', a collection of major 26 stories published so far, including ''Machakathe Thachan, Ormayude Njarambu, Mohamanja, Ave Maria, Karineela, Malakhayude Marukukal, Soorpanakha, Alif Laila'' and ''Ottapalam Kadakkuvolam''. Her early novels include ''Aa Maratheyum Marannu Marannu Njan, Meera Saadhu, Nethronmeelanam'' and ''Yudasinte Suvishesham''. ''Meera Sadhu'' (DC Books, 2008) tells the story of an IIT graduate abandoned at a Krishna temple after going through some torrid times in her married life. Five of her short novels have been compiled into a single book titled ''Meerayude Novellakal'' (2014). '' Aarachaar (Hangwoman'' in English) widely regarded as her masterpiece, was originally serialised in '' Madhyamam Weekly'' and was published as a book by DC Books in 2012. Set in
Bengal Bengal ( ) is a Historical geography, historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Benga ...
, it tells the story of a family of executioners with a long lineage, beginning in the fourth century BC. The protagonist of the novel, Chetna, is a strong and tenacious woman who struggles to inherit this profession. According to noted literary critic M. Leelavathy, ''Aarachaar'' is one of the best literary works produced in Malayalam and follows the legacy of O. V. Vijayan's classic work '' Khasakkinte Itihasam''. The novel received the 2013 Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award. It was also awarded the prestigious Odakkuzhal Award in 2013, Vayalar Award in 2014 and Sahitya Akademi Award in 2015. ''Aarachaar'' was translated into English by J. Devika as ''The Hangwoman''. The novel has sold more than 38000 copies (as of January 2015). The novel was translated into English by J. Devika under the title ''Hangwoman: Everyone Loves a Good Hanging'' ( Hamish Hamilton, 2014). ''Hangwoman'' was shortlisted for the prestigious DSC Prize for South Asian Literature 2016. Her latest novel ''Sooryane Aninja Oru Stree'' is being published in '' Vanitha'' magazine. She has also been noted as a screenplay writer of four serials. She was credited as the associate in writing for the film '' Ore Kadal'', a National Award winner. She is also a well-known column-writer 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 ...
.


Themes

Meera cites the work of a number of Indian authors as influencing her work, including E V Krishna Pillai, Kamala Das, T Padmanabhan, S V Venugopan Nair, Anand, M Mukundan, C V Sriraman, O N V Kurup, and Sugathakumari. Amongst non-Indian writers, she cites Gabriel Garcia Marquez as a primary influence. Her work explores themes relating to patriarchy, discrimination, and individuality, focusing on the inner lives of women and challenging traditional power dynamics. Meera has described her work as engaging with her political environment, stating, "Every writer is a political writer. It is very difficult for any writer to shut down from what is happening in and around society. And as a writer, we reflect on what's happening in society through our writing. Writing's a mixture of conscious and unconscious creative thinking— intuition and craft—it feels very unnatural to analyse it in any other kind of systematic way.”


Awards and honours

* 2004: Lalithambika Sahitya Award * 2004: Gita Hiranyan Endowment Award by
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 ...
- ''Ormayude Njarampu'' * 2009: Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Story - ''Ave Maria'' * 2013: Odakkuzhal Award - '' Aarachaar'' *
2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...
: Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Novel - ''Aarachaar'' *2014: Vayalar Award - ''Aarachaar'' * 2015: Kendra Sahitya Akademi Award - ''Aarachaar'' * 2016: Shortlisted for the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature - ''Hangwoman'' (Translated by J. Devika) * 2018: Muttathu Varkey Award - ''Aarachaar''


Bibliography


Novels

* ''Nethronmeelanam'' (The Unseeing Idol of Light) * ''Meerasadhu'' (''The Poison of Love'') * Yudasinte Suvishesham he Gospel of Yudas* Malakayude Marukukal * Karineela * ''Aa Maratheyum Marannu Marannu Njan'' (''And Slowly Forgetting that Tree'') * '' Aarachaar'' (2012) (''Hangwoman: Everyone Loves a Good Hanging'') * ''Sooryane Aninja Oru Sthree'' (Jezebel) *''Ghathakan'' (''The Assassin'') * Khabar (Qabar)


Collections of short stories

* ''Sarpayajnam'' G(2001) * ''Ormayude Njarambu'' (2002) (''The Vein of Memory'') * ''Moha Manja'' (2004) (''Yellow is the Colour of Longing'') * ''Ave Maria'' * ''K. R. Meerayude Kathakal'' * ''Guillotine'' * ''Meerayude Novellakal'' (2014) * ''Penpanjatandram'' 016* ''Bhagavante Maranam'' 017


Memoirs

* Mazhayil Parakkunna Pakshikal * Ente Jeevitattile Chilar * Kadhayezhuth


References


External links


"Yellow is the Colour of Longing"
. (''The Daily Star'') * https://web.archive.org/web/20100906183453/http://www.sasthamcotta.com/K%20R%20Meera.html * http://www.womenswriting.com/WomensWriting/AuthorProfileDetail.asp?AuthorID=127 {{DEFAULTSORT:Meera, K. R. Living people 1970 births Indian women short story writers Malayalam-language novelists Malayalam short story writers People from Kollam district Indian women novelists Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Award in Malayalam Recipients of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award 21st-century Indian short story writers Novelists from Kerala 21st-century Indian novelists Indian women columnists Indian columnists Indian women journalists Journalists from Kerala 20th-century Indian short story writers 20th-century Indian novelists 20th-century Indian women writers 20th-century Indian dramatists and playwrights 21st-century Indian women writers Women writers from Kerala Indian newspaper journalists 21st-century Indian journalists 20th-century Indian journalists Screenwriters from Kerala Malayalam screenwriters Indian women screenwriters