N. Kuttikrishna Pillai (31 October 1936 – 4 February 2024), better known as N. K. Desam, was an Indian

Malayalam-language 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 ...

poet and

literary critic A genre of arts criticism, literary criticism or literary studies is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical analysis of literature' ...

from the southern state of

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 ...

. In 2009, his poetry collection ''Mudra'' won the

Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award is given each year, since 1958, by the Kerala Sahitya Akademi (Kerala Literary Academy), to Malayalam writers for their outstanding books of literary merit. The awards are given in various categories.

. In 2017, his Malayalam transliteration of ''

Gitanjali __NOTOC__ ''Gitanjali'' () is a collection of poems by the Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore. Tagore received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913, for its English translation, '' Song Offerings'', making him the first non-European and the fi ...

'' by

Rabindranath Tagore Rabindranath Thakur (; anglicised as Rabindranath Tagore ; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengalis, Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer, and painter of the Bengal Renai ...

was selected for the Kendra Sahitya Akademi Translation Prize.

Biography

N. K. Desam was born on 31 October 1936 in Desom village near

Alwaye Aluva () is a municipality and a northern suburb of the city of Kochi in Kerala. It is located about north of the city centre. Aluva is known for the Sivarathri festival, which is celebrated annually on the sandbanks of the Periyar River. ...

. He was an officer at the

Life Insurance Corporation The Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) is an Indian public sector life insurance company headquartered in Mumbai. It is India's largest insurance company as well as the largest institutional investor with total assets under management wo ...

and retired in 1996. He was married to R. Leelavathi and had three children."80ന്റെ നിറവില്‍ എന്‍ കെ ദേശം"
''

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 ...

'' (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 ...

). 30 October 2016. Retrieved 21 March 2023. He started writing from the early age of twelve and went on to publish more than 10 poetry collections. His first collection Anthimalari''' was published in 1973. In 2016, he received the

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 ...

for the translation of

’s ‘

’ in Malayalam language. N. K. Desam died on 4 February 2024, at a hospital in

Kodungallur Kodungallur (; formerly also called as Cranganore (anglicised name), Portuguese language, Portuguese: Cranganor; Mahodayapuram, Shingly, Vanchi, Muchiri, Muyirikkode, and Muziris) is a historically significant town situated on the banks of Per ...

. He was 87. His body was

cremated Cremation is a method of Disposal of human corpses, final disposition of a corpse through Combustion, burning. Cremation may serve as a funeral or post-funeral rite and as an alternative to burial. In some countries, including India, Nepal, and ...

the next day. Hundreds of people gathered at his cremation site along with local Policemen to pay their last tribute.

Works

Awards

* 1982:

Edasseri Award Edasseri Award is an Indian literary award given to outstanding literary works produced in Malayalam language. The award was instituted in 1982 by Edasseri Smaraka Samithi in memory of Malayalam poet Edasseri Govindan Nair Edasseri Govindan ...

(Ponnani) – ''Ullekham'' * 1987: Kavanakuthukam Award (Trichur) – ''Anthyapranamam'' * 1984: Nattarangu (Trivandrum) – Total contribution * 1992: Bodhi (Aluva) – Total contribution * 2007: Sahodaran Ayyappan Award (Cherai) – ''Mudra'' * 2007:

Odakkuzhal Award Odakkuzhal Award () is an Indian literary award given every year to writers for a particular outstanding work of him/her in Malayalam–language. The award was founded in 1968 by poet G. Sankara Kurup to commemorate the Jnanpith Award The ...

(Cochin) – ''Mudra'' * 2008: Nalappadan Award (Punnayurkkulam) – ''Mudra'' * 2008: Vennikulam (Thodiyur) – ''Mudra'' * 2009:

(Trichur) – ''Mudra'' * 2009: Katharagam (Bangalore) – ''Mudra'' * 2010: Changampuzha Award (Cochin) – ''Mudra'' * 2011: Cherukad Award (Perithalmanna) – ''Mudra'' * 2013: Asan Prize (Chennai) – Total contribution * 2013: Krishnankutty Memorial Award (Trichur) – Contribution to Aksharaslokam * 2013: Mukthakam (Trichur) * 2013: Kavikulapathi (Pambakuda) * 2017: Paanini Puraskaaram (Mavelikkara) * 2013: Kaliyath Damodaran Award (Trichur) – Gitanjali * 2017: Mukthakasree (Chengamanad) – Total contribution * 2017: Chethala Vaishnavam (Shoranur) – Total contribution * 2016:

Sahitya Akademi Translation Prize Sahitya Akademi Translation Prize or Sahitya Akademi Prize for Translation is a literary honour in India, presented by Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, given to "outstanding translations of creative and critical works" in 24 ...

(Chandigarh) – ''Gitanjali'' (Translation) * 2018: Ulloor Award (Trivandrum) – ''Mudra'' * 2019: Ettumanoor Somadasan Award (Ettumanoor) – Various works * 2020: Sanjayan Award

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Desam, N. K. 1936 births 2024 deaths Indian male poets Malayali people People from Aluva Writers from Ernakulam district Poets from Kerala Malayalam poets Recipients of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award Malayalam literary critics 20th-century Indian poets Indian literary critics 20th-century Indian male writers