P. C. Gopalan (5 January 1926 – 24 April 1974), popularly known by his

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...

, Nandanar was an Indian writer of

Malayalam literature Malayalam, the lingua franca of the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puduchery, is one of the six classical languages of India. Malayalam literature comprises those literary text ...

. He was known for his novels and short stories which had the backdrop of the

Indian Army The Indian Army (IA) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Land warfare, land-based branch and largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head ...

barracks of the 1940s and 1950s as well as for his children's literature. ''Anubhavangal'', ''Ira'', ''Thokkukalkkidayile Jeevitham'', ''Athmavinte Novukal'', ''Ariyappedatha Manushyajeevikal'', ''Anubhoothikalude Lokam'' and a series of stories with Unnikkuttan as the lead character are some of his better known works. He received the

Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Novel The Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Novel is an award given every year by the Kerala Sahitya Akademi (Kerala Literary Academy) to Malayalam writers for writing a novel of literary merit. It is one of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award#Awards, twel ...

in 1964 for his work, ''Athmavinte Novukal''.

Biography

P. C. Gopalan was born on 5 January 1926, in a poor family at Angadippuram, a village near

Perinthalmanna Perinthalmanna is a major town and municipality in Malappuram district, Kerala, India. It serves as the administrative centre for the Perinthalmanna taluk, as well as a List of revenue divisions of Kerala, revenue division, a community developm ...

in the present-day

Malappuram district Malappuram (), is one of the List of districts of Kerala, 14 districts in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kerala, with a coastline of . The most populous district of Kerala, Malappuram is home to around 13% of the tot ...

in the south Indian 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 ...

to Parameshwaran Tharakan and Nanikkutty Amma. His early schooling was at a local elementary school but due to poverty, he had to abandon his studies after 5th standard. He joined the

in 1942 where he served until his superannuation in 1964 after which he worked for three years as the National Cadet Corps inspector in

Mysore Mysore ( ), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern Indian state of Karnataka. It is the headquarters of Mysore district and Mysore division. As the traditional seat of the Wadiyar dynasty, the city functioned as the capital of the ...

. Returning to Kerala, he joined

Fertilisers and Chemicals Travancore The Fertilisers and Chemicals Travancore Limited, abbreviated as FACT, is an Indian central public sector undertaking headquartered in Kochi, Kerala. It was incorporated in 1943, by Maharajah Sree Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma of the Kingdo ...

in 1967 as their Public Relations Officer. Nandanar was married to Pandathuveettil Radha and the couple had a son, Sudakaran. He committed suicide on 24 April 1974, at the age of 48, at Commons Lodge, a lodging facility he used to stay at whenever he visited

Palakkad Palakkad (), Renaming of cities in India, also known as Palghat, historically known as Palakkattussery, is a city and a municipality in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kerala. It is the administrative headquarters of P ...

, by consuming an overdose of sleeping pills.

Legacy

Nandanr took his pseudonym after

Nandanar Nandanar (also spelt as Nantanar), also known as Thirunaallaippovaar () and Tirunallaipovar Nayanar,Other names include: Nandan (Nanda, Nantan), Tirunalaipovanar, Nalaippovar, Nalaippovan was a Nayanar saint, who is venerated in the Hindu se ...

, one of the 63

Nayanars The Nayanars (or Nayanmars; , and later 'teachers of Shiva') were a group of 63 Tamils, Tamil Hindu saints living during the 6th to 8th centuries CE who were devoted to the Hindu god Shiva. Along with the Alvars, their contemporaries who were de ...

Shaivism Shaivism (, , ) is one of the major Hindu denominations, Hindu traditions, which worships Shiva as the Para Brahman, supreme being. It is the Hinduism#Demographics, second-largest Hindu sect after Vaishnavism, constituting about 385 million H ...

. Considered among the major writers of his generation, Nandanar wrote six novels, eleven short story anthologies and ''Unnikkuttante Lokam'', a book for children which comprises three parts viz. ''Unnikkuttante Oru Divasam'', ''Unnikkuttan Schoolil'' and ''Unnikkuttan Valarunnu''. His novels and short stories depict the nostalgic sentiments of army men who leave their families back home as well as lives in the villages of Kerala and the longing of youth of his time in matters of love. Besides works like ''Aathmavinte Novukal'', ''Anubhavangal '', ''Manjakettidam '' and ''Ariyappedatha Manushyajeevikal'', he also published an autobiographical work, ''Anubhavangal'' details the penury of the writer's childhood. as well as two plays, ''Prashnam Avasaanikkunnilla'' and Hsuan Tsang. He received the

in 1964, his novel, ''Aathmavinte Novukal'', earning him the award.

In popular media

Atayalangal ''Atayalangal'' () is a 2008 Malayalam-language biographical drama film directed by M.G. Sasi and produced by Aravind Venugopal under the banner Valluvanadan Talkies. Govind Padmasoorya plays the lead role of autobiographical character of Nan ...

, the 2008 biopic which received four awards including the Best Director Award for M. G. Sasi at the 39th

Kerala State Film Awards The Kerala State Film Awards are the film awards for a motion picture made in Kerala. The awards started in 1969 by the Department of Cultural Affairs, Government of Kerala and since 1998 the awards have been bestowed by Kerala State Cha ...

of 2008 is based on ''Anubhavangal'', Nandanar's biographical novel. The name of the film was changed from ''Anubhavangal''.

Bibliography

Novels

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Short stories

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Children's literature

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Translations into other languages

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nandanar 1926 births 1974 suicides 1974 deaths Malayalam-language novelists Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Award in Malayalam Malayalam short story writers 20th-century Indian novelists 20th-century Indian short story writers Indian male short story writers Indian male novelists Writers from Malappuram district Novelists from Kerala 20th-century Indian male writers 20th-century Indian dramatists and playwrights Drug-related suicides in India