V. Madhavan Nair (1914–1994) more popularly known as Mali Madhavan Nair was an Indian lawyer, journalist, sportsman, musicologist,

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 ...

playwright, dramatist, editor and a pioneer in radio broadcasting. Various posts he held include editorial board member of ''

The Free Press Journal ''The Free Press Journal'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper that was established in 1928 by Swaminathan Sadanand, who also acted as its first editor. First produced to complement a news agency, the Free Press of India, it was a s ...

'', editor of

National Book Trust National Book Trust (NBT) is an Indian state-owned publishing house, headquartered in Delhi, India, founded in 1957 as an autonomous body under the Ministry of Education of the Government of India. NBT publishes reading material in several Indi ...

, station director of

All India Radio All India Radio (AIR), also known as Akashvani (), is India's state-owned public broadcasting, public radio broadcaster. Founded in 1936, it operates under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (India), Ministry of Information and Broa ...

, director of cultural affairs of

Travancore Devaswom Board Travancore Devaswom Board is statutory and autonomous body managing around 1252 temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the ...

and chief editor of Kerala Nirmithi Kendram. As a journalist he wrote on arts, literature, Indian architecture and sports for a variety of English publications like ''

The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It was founded as a weekly publication in 1878 by the Triplicane Six, becoming a daily in 1889. It is one of the India ...

'', '' The Statesman'' and Malayalam periodicals like ''

Mathrubhumi ''Mathrubhumi'' is a Malayalam newspaper that is published from Kerala, India. It was founded by K. P. Kesava Menon, an active volunteer in the Indian freedom struggle against the British. The word "Mathrubhumi" translates to 'mother land'. ...

''. He is more famous for his children's books he wrote under pseudonym "Mali".

Early life

Mali was born on 6 December 1914 in

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 ...

to T. K. Veluppillai and Bhagavathiyamma. His father, also known as Sadasya Thilakan, was the first elected Deputy Speaker of the Travancore Legislative Assembly, Emeritus Professor of the

Law College Legal education is the education of individuals in the principles, practices, and theory of law. It may be undertaken for several reasons, including to provide the knowledge and skills necessary for admission to legal practice in a particular j ...

and member of the Senate of

Travancore The kingdom of Travancore (), also known as the kingdom of Thiruvithamkoor () or later as Travancore State, was a kingdom that lasted from until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, and later Thiruvanan ...

and

Madras Chennai, also known as Madras ( its official name until 1996), is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian ce ...

Universities. As a youth he was a good tennis player.

Career as Kathakali dramatist

His work ''Karnashapatham'', is the most successful kathakali play written in the 20th century. It saw more than 5000 stage performances during Mali's lifetime. It is deemed a classic by virtue of its theme and the innovative ingredients woven together. Compared to other kathakali plays, ''Karnasapatham'' is short, about three and half hours. Typical kathakali plays go on from dusk to dawn. The use of simple Malayalam in the lyrics or ''padams'' and the use of ragas such as Reethigowla and Hindolam, some of them for the first time in kathakali, added to its popular appeal. All the padams were written and tuned by Mali himself. It was first sung on stage by Vaikom Thankappan Pillai.

Children's author

He wrote about fifty novels and short stories for children. He was also editor of ''Malika'' a magazine for children. His retelling of Mahabharatha and Ramayana for children made him a household name. His novels ''Circus'' and ''Porattam'' were standard reading for the Kerala 7th standard syllabus.

Major works

*''Unnikale Katha Parayam'' (1954) *''Unnikalkku Janthukathakal'' (1957) *''Unnikkathakal'' (1967) *''Mali Ramayanam'' (1962) *''Mali Bhagavatham'' (1968) *''Karnashapatham Attakkatha''( 1969) *''Jeevanulla Prathima'' (1979) *''Mali Bharatham'' (1979) *''Mandakkazhutha'' (1979) *''Circus'' (1979) *''Sarvajithum Kallakkadathum'' (1979) *''Thenali Raman'' (1981) *''Vikramaditya Kathakal'' (1981) *''Purana Katha Malika'' (1981-12 volumes) *''Aitihya Lokam'' (1986) *''Kishkindha'' *''Anchu Minute Kathakal''

Death

Mali, who suffered from various ailments, died on 2 July 1994 aged 79 at Thiruvananthapuram. His body was cremated with full state honours.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nair, Mali Madhavan Indian children's writers 1914 births 1994 deaths People from the Kingdom of Travancore Malayalam-language writers Writers from Thiruvananthapuram 20th-century Indian novelists Indian male novelists Novelists from Kerala 20th-century Indian male writers Recipients of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award