Prof. Panmana Ramachandran Nair (13 August 1931 – 5 June 2018) was a

Malayalam language 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 ...

writer, translator, linguist and academic 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 ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. He has received

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 ...

and

Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Overall Contributions 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 the field of Malayalam literature. His autobiography ''Smrithi Rekhakal'' was published in 2010.

Biography

Ramachandran Nair was born at Panmana village in Karunagappally Taluk of

Kollam district Kollam district (), (formerly Quilon district) is one of 14 List of districts in Kerala, districts of the state of Kerala, India. The district has a cross-section of Kerala's natural attributes; it is endowed with a long coastline, a major La ...

on 13 August 1931 to Kannakathu Kunchu Nair who was a disciple of

Chattampi Swamikal Ayyappan Pillai (born 25 August 1853 – 5 May 1924), better known as Chattampi Swamikal was a Hindu sage and social reformer whose thoughts and work influenced the launching of many social, religious, literary and political organisations and ...

and Lakshmikutty Amma. He Studied till 10th in a Sanskrit school near Panmana Ashram. While still a student, he wrote poetry in Malayalam and Sanskrit and edited magazines.

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 ...

as his first language till 10th class,

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

for Intermediate and then degree in

Physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

with Sanskrit as sub-language, he was initially rejected for pursuing a postgraduate degree in Malayalam from

University College, Thiruvananthapuram University College, Thiruvananthapuram, often abbreviated as UCT, is a public college situated in Palayam, Thiruvananthapuram, India. Established in 1866, it is one of the oldest colleges in Kerala. The college has been accorded "College with Pot ...

. After a qualifying examination he joined the postgraduate degree, and passed masters in Malayalam with first rank in 1957. After post graduation, he started his teaching career at Fathima Matha College, Kollam. He later joined the government service as lecturer in

Government Victoria College, Palakkad The Government Victoria College in Palakkad is an institution of higher learning in the Malabar region of Kerala. It is affiliated to the Calicut University and provides undergraduate and postgraduate education in science, arts and commerce su ...

. After working as lecturer in government colleges in Chittoor, Thalassery and Thiruvananthapuram he retired from the service in 1987 as Head of the department of Malayalam in

University College Thiruvananthapuram University College, Thiruvananthapuram, often abbreviated as UCT, is a public college situated in Palayam, Thiruvananthapuram, India. Established in 1866, it is one of the oldest colleges in Kerala. The college has been accorded "College with Pot ...

. He was considered to be the last word in Malayalam grammatical nuances. His Malayalam Grammar books are authentic books that language students and journalists rely on for good language. He answered about 3,000 questions about the Malayalam language in a column in Career Magazine, which later became a book entitled ''Malayalavum Malayalikalum'' (Meaning: Malayalam and

Malayali The Malayali people (; also spelt Malayalee and sometimes known by the demonym Keralite) are a Dravidian ethnolinguistic group originating from the present-day state of Kerala and Union Territory of Lakshadweep in India, occupying its south ...

s). He wrote many articles on Malayalam language in all major newspapers and gave talks on radio and television also. He was also active in the ''Granthasala prasthanam'' (library movement) and the ''Adyapakaprasthanam'' (teaching movement) and was the Chairman of the P.K. Parameswaran Nair Trust. He was a member of the committees of the Kerala State Library Council,

Kerala Sahitya Akademi The Kerala Sahitya Akademi or Academy for Malayalam Literature is an autonomous body established to promote the Malayalam language and Malayalam literature, literature. It is situated in the city of Thrissur, Kerala in India. History The acad ...

, the

Kerala Kalamandalam Kerala Kalamandalam, a deemed-to-be-University of Art and Culture by the Government of India, is a major centre for learning Indian performing arts, especially those that developed in the country's southern states, with special emphasis on tho ...

and the Sahitya Pravarthaka Sahakaranasangham and the

Kerala University University of Kerala (formerly known as University of Travancore) is a state-run public university in Thiruvananthapuram, the state capital of Kerala, India. It was established in 1937 by a promulgation of the Maharajah of Travancore, Chithira ...

Senate. The Trust, of which he is editor and mentor, has published 29 books in the last quarter century and has given awards to the best biographers. He died in Vazhuthacaud on 5 June 2018 at the age of 86.

Family

He and his wife K. N. Gomathi Amma have three children Hareendra Kumar, Mahendra Kumar and Usha Kumari.

Contributions

Linguistic

*Thettillatha Malayalam (Meaning: Malayalam without mistakes) *Thettum Shariyum (Meaning: right and wrong) *Sudha Malayalam (Meaning: Pure Malayalam) *Thetillatha Uchcharanam (Meaning: Pronunciation without mistakes) *Bhasha Suddhi Samsaya Pariharangal (Meaning: Solutions to language purity doubts) *Nalla bhasha (Meaning: good language)

Literary Review books

*Parichayam *Navayugashilpi Rajaraja Varma

Vyakhyanas (commentaries)

*Nalacharitam Attakkatha *Malayavilasam Kavyam

Children's literature

*Mazhavillu (Meaning: Rainbow) *Oonjal (Meaning: Swing) *Poonthen (Meaning: Honey) *Appuppanum Kuttikalum (Meaning: Grandfather and Children) *Deepashikha Kalidasan

Translations

*Acharya Choodamani *Swapnavasavadattam *Narayaniyam

Autobiography

*Smritirekhakal

Awards and honors

for ''

Narayaniyam The ''Narayaniyam'' () is a medieval-era Sanskrit text, comprising a summary study in poetic form of the ''Bhagavata Purana''. It was composed by Melpathur Narayana Bhattathiri, a celebrated Sanskrit poet of Kerala. Even though the ''Narayaniyam' ...

'' into Malayalam. *

2004. *Godhavarma Award for passing Malayalam Masters with first rank from University college, Thiruvananthapuram.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nair, Panmana Ramachandran 1931 births 2018 deaths Malayalam-language writers Writers from Kerala Academic staff of the University College Thiruvananthapuram Academic staff of Government Victoria College, Palakkad Malayalam literary critics People from Kollam district Indian literary critics Indian children's writers 20th-century Indian linguists University College Thiruvananthapuram alumni