Sabeena Rafi (6 October 1918 – 22 June 1990) was an Indian essayist and historian 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 ...

. Her oeuvre consists of philosophical works, an autobiography and ''Chavittu Nadakam - Oru Charithra Padanam'', the first historical compendium on

Chavittu Nadakam Chavittu Nadakam (Malayalam:ചവിട്ടുനാടകം) is a highly colorful Latin Christian classical art form originated in Ernakulam district, Kerala state in India. It is commonly believed that Fort Kochi is the birthplace of Ch ...

, an operatic dance form. Her book, ''Kaliyugam'', a philosophical work jointly written with her husband,

Ponjikkara Rafi Joseph Raphael (12 April 1924 – 6 September 1992), better identified as Ponjikkara Rafi, was an Indian essayist, playwright, short story writer and a novelist of Malayalam literature. His oeuvre consists of short story anthologies, novels, phi ...

, fetched her the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Miscellaneous Works in 1972.

Biography

Sabeena was born on 6 October 1918 at Gothuruth, a small village in the periphery of present day

Ernakulam district Ernakulam (; ISO: ''Eṟaṇākuḷaṁ'') is one of the List of districts of Kerala, 14 districts in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kerala, and takes its name from the Ernakulam, eponymous city division in Kochi. ...

of 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 Joseph and Mariamma. She earned two master's degrees, in History and Economics, and served our her career as a teacher. She married

in 1963, following a period of romance, but the couple did not have children. She died on 22 June 1990, at the age of 65; survived by Rafi, who died two years later, on 6 September 1992.

Legacy and honours

Sabeen Rafi's oeuvre consists of five non-fiction works and ''Chritumas Sammanam'', her autobiography. ''Chavittu Nadakam - Oru Charithra Padanam'', her 1964 publication on the history of

, an operatic dance form originated in

Ernakulam Ernakulam () is the central business district of the city of Kochi, Kerala, India. It is the namesake of Ernakulam district. The eastern part of Kochi city is mainly known as Ernakulam, while the western part of it after the Venduruthy Bridge ...

, is considered to be the first comprehensive book on the subject. ''Marxism, Oru Thirinjunottam'', a book co-written with her husband, is a detailed study of the

Marxian theory Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse Social class, class relations, social ...

and its spiritual aspects; the book also has a critique on ''

Mother A mother is the female parent of a child. A woman may be considered a mother by virtue of having given birth, by raising a child who may or may not be her biological offspring, or by supplying her ovum for fertilisation in the case of ges ...

'' of

Maxim Gorky Alexei Maximovich Peshkov (; – 18 June 1936), popularly known as Maxim Gorky (; ), was a Russian and Soviet writer and proponent of socialism. He was nominated five times for the Nobel Prize in Literature. Before his success as an aut ...

. ''Kaliyugam'', again a Ponjikkara Rafi co-written work, is a study of human behaviour from early ages, with a philosophical perspective. The book fetched her the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Miscellaneous Works in 1972.

Bibliography

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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rafi, Sabeena 1924 births 1990 deaths Writers from Kerala Writers from Ernakulam district 20th-century Indian essayists Recipients of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award Women writers from Kerala 20th-century Indian women writers 20th-century Indian historians Malayalam-language writers

Biography

Legacy and honours

Bibliography

See also

References

External links