M. P. Sankunni Nair (1917–2006) is a

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 ...

scholar and

critic A critic is a person who communicates an assessment and an opinion of various forms of creative works such as Art criticism, art, Literary criticism, literature, Music journalism, music, Film criticism, cinema, Theater criticism, theater, Fas ...

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 ...

. He was born at

Mezhathur Mezhathur is an Indian village in the state of Kerala situated at Pattambi taluk of Palakkad district at the border of Thrissur, Malappuram and Palakkad districts. It is a historical and cultural village in Kerala. It is also the native place of ...

near

Pattambi Pattambi is a town, tehsil, and municipality in the Palakkad District of Kerala, India. It is also the administrative headquarters of the Pattambi Taluk. History Pattambi was originally a part of the Nedunganad Swaroopam dynasty, which was ru ...

in Palakkad District. He studied at the Sanskrit college in Pattambi.

Awards

He won Odakkuzhal Award in 1989 and

Kendra 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 ...

in 1991 for his work ''Chathravum Chamaravum''. He received

Kerala Sahitya Akademi Fellowship Kerala Sahitya Akademi Fellowship is an honour of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi (Kerala Literary Academy), given to writers of Malayalam literature by inducting them as the distinguished members of the Akademi. References External links

...

in 1994. His works such as `Natyamandapam' and `Chathravum Chamaravum' reflect his deep knowledge of

dramaturgy Dramaturgy is the study of dramatic composition and the representation of the main elements of drama on the stage. The role of a dramaturg in the field of modern dramaturgy is to help realize the multifaceted world of the play for a production u ...

and the

Natya Shastra The ''Nāṭya Shāstra'' (, ''Nāṭyaśāstra'') is a Sanskrit treatise on the performing arts. The text is attributed to sage Bharata, and its first complete compilation is dated to between 200 BCE and 200 CE, but estimates vary b ...

References

Writers from Palakkad district 1917 births 2006 deaths Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Award in Malayalam Recipients of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award Indian male dramatists and playwrights Malayalam-language writers Dramatists and playwrights from Kerala Malayalam literary critics {{India-writer-stub