Manoj Kuroor (

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry ( Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam wa ...

മനോജ് കുറൂർ; born 31 May 1971) is an Indian poet and lyricist who writes in

Personal life

Manoj Kuroor was born at

Kottayam Kottayam () is a municipal town in the Indian state of Kerala. Flanked by the Western Ghats on the east and the Vembanad Lake and paddy fields of Kuttanad on the west. It is the district headquarters of Kottayam district, located in south ...

, to

chenda The Chenda ( ml, ചെണ്ട, ) is a cylindrical percussion instrument originating in the state of Kerala and widely used in Tulu Nadu of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu in India. In Tulu Nadu (Coastal Karnataka), it is known as ''chende''. ...

exponent Kuroor Cheriya Vasudevan Namboothiri and Sreedevi Andarjanam. He is the grandson of

Kathakali Kathakali ( ml, കഥകളി) is a major form of classical Indian dance. It is a "story play" genre of art, but one distinguished by the elaborately colourful make-up and costumes of the traditional male actor-dancers. It is native to the M ...

artist Kuroor Vasudevan Namboothiri. Manoj learnt

Thayambaka Thayambaka or tayambaka is a type of solo chenda performance that developed in the south Indian state of Kerala, in which the main player at the centre improvises rhythmically on the beats of half-a-dozen or a few more chenda and ilathalam pl ...

and

melam Melam is a group of Maddalams and other similar percussion instruments' (Chenda) rhythmic performance. Those who play melam are called 'Melakaar'. In ancient Tamilakam (Tamil country) melam was used for all the occasions in temples (''Kovil Mela ...

from his father and then from Aayamkudi Kuttappa Marar. Manoj has been playing chenda for Kathakali since 1989. Manoj studied at Baselius College, Kottayam, St. Berchmans College, Changanassery and then at School of Letters, Kottayam. From School of Letters, Manoj obtained

M.Phil The Master of Philosophy (MPhil; Latin ' or ') is a postgraduate degree. In the United States, an MPhil typically includes a taught portion and a significant research portion, during which a thesis project is conducted under supervision. An MPhil ...

for his research on rhythm structures in

Kunchan Nambiar Kunchan Nambiar was a prominent Malayalam poet of the 18th century (1705-1770). Apart from being a prolific poet, Nambiar is also famous as the originator of the dance art form of Thullal, most of his works were written for use in Thullal perf ...

's Harineeswayamvaram Thullal. He was awarded

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' ...

by the same institution for his research on folk rhythms in modern Malayalam poetry. He joined

N. S. S. College, Pandalam N. S. S. College, Pandalam is a higher education institution in Kerala, affiliated to the University of Kerala. It is one of the three oldest colleges established and managed by the Nair Service Society. The college was founded by Mannathu Padma ...

as Malayalam lecturer in 1997. He is currently Associate Professor in the Malayalam department at NSS Hindu College, Changanassery. He is married to N. Sandhyadevi and they have a daughter and a son.

Career

Manoj composed two Kathakali librettos ''Panchali Dhananjayam'' and ''Bhagavad Geetha'' during his college days. He won the Kunchu Pillai Memorial Award for Young Poets in 1997 for his poem ''Thrithala Kesavan'' which was based on the Thayambaka expert Thrithaka Kesava Poduval. His first published poetry collection ''Uthamapurushan Katha Parayumpol'' (''When the First-Person Narrates'') contains 30 poems. Critic E. P. Rajagopalan and post-modern poet A. C. Sreehari in their study point out that Manoj follows a rare technique of storytelling in poetry. For this book, Manoj won the S. B. T. Poetry Award in 2005. In October 2005, he published a fiction poem named ''Coma'' in Bhashaposhini, which was later published as an independent book in 2006. For this book, he won the Kanakasree Award of

Kerala Sahitya Akademi The Kerala Sahitya Akademi or Academy for Malayalam literature is an autonomous body established to promote the Malayalam language and literature. It is situated in City of Thrissur, Kerala in India. History The academy was inaugurated on 15 ...

in 2007. Manoj has published more than 50 articles on various topics such as western classical music, classical art forms, popular music, folklore art forms, cinema, literature, and cyber culture. He also writes poems and literary criticism in contemporary publications. Some of his works have been included in the syllabuses of various universities in Kerala. Manoj has written songs for several movies, including a three-scene aattakatha for the film

Vanaprastham ''Vanaprastham: The Last Dance'' (french: Vanaprastham: La Dernière Danse) is a 1999 Indo-French psychological drama period film in Malayalam-language that was directed by Shaji N. Karun. It was produced by Pierre Assouline and co-produced ...

. He composed music for two of P. Balachandran's dramas ''Maya Seethangam: Oru Punyapuranaprasna Nadakam'' and ''Theatre Therapy''.

Awards and recognitions

*Kunchu Pillai Memorial Poetry Award, 1997 (''Thrithala Kesavan'') *S. B. T. Poetry Award, 2005 (''Uthamapurushan Katha Parayumpol'') *Kerala Sahitya Akademi Kanakasree Award, 2007 (''Coma'') *Padmarajan Award, 2021 (''Murinavu'')

Published works

Manoj's published works are listed below: *Murinavu, D. C. Books, 2020 *''Nilam Poothu Malarnna Naal,'' D. C. Books, 2015, *''Uthamapurushan Katha Parayumpol'' (''When the First-Person Narrates''), Rainbow Books, Chengannur, 2004. *''Nathonnatha Nediavazhi 44: Poems on Rivers'', Rainbow Books, Chengannur, 2003. *''Anchati Jnanappana Onappattu'', D. C. Books, Kottayam, 1996 *''Coma'', D. C. Books, Kottayam, 2006 *''Shanmugha Vijayam Attakatha'', 1989 *''Rahmania: Indian Sangeethathinte Aagola Sancharam'', Rainbow Books, Chengannur *''Nirappakittulla Nrithasangeetham'', D. C. Books, Kottayam, *''Keralathile Thaalangalum Kalakalum'', Sahitya Pravarthaka Sahakarana Sangham, 2014, His poems are included in the following anthologies: *''Yuvakavithakkoottam'', D. C. Books, Kottayam, 1999. *''Kavithayude Noottandu'' (''The Century of Poems''), Sahitya Pravarthaka Co-operative society, Kottayam, 2001. *''Kavithavarsham'' (''The Rain of Poetry''), Green Books, Thrissur, 2003. *''Paristhithikkavithakal'' (''Poems on Environment''), S. P. C. S., Kottayam, 2006. *''Disakal'' (''The Directions''), National Book Trust, Delhi, 2007.

As lyricist

The following table contains the list of songs Manoj has written for movies.

References

External links

Some poems by Manoj Kuroor

Some translations of poems
* Malayalam:മനോജ് കുറൂര് {{DEFAULTSORT:Kuroor, Manoj 1971 births Malayalam-language lyricists Poets from Kerala Living people Writers from Kottayam Malayalam-language writers