Satheesh Babu Payyannur

Satheesh Babu Payyannur (13 August 1963 – 24 November 2022) was a Malayalam–language short story writer and novelist from Kerala, India. His works include the novels ''Mannu, Daivappura, Manja Sooryante Naalukal'' and ''Kudamanikal Kilungiya Raavil'', and the short story collections ''Peramaram'', ''Vrishchikam Vannu Vilichu'' and ''Mazhayilundaya Makal''. His oeuvre consists of 12 novels and around 200 short stories. The collection ''Peramaram'' won the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Story in 2012. He received the Karoor Award, Malayattoor Award, and Thoppil Ravi Award. He was also a media personality and has written, directed and produced television programmes, telefilms, and documentaries.

Early life and education

Satheesh Babu Payyannur was born on 13 August 1963, in Pathirippala, located in the Palghat district of Kerala.T. B. Lal (25 November 2022)
"ഇനി ഓർമ, എഴുത്തിലെ തലപ്പൊക്കം!"
''Malayala Manorama'' (in Malayalam). Retrieved 18 January 2023. His mother hailed from Pathirippala and his father from Payyannur, Kannur district, Kerala. He attended Payyannur Government School, where he began writing stories and features, winning several prizes at school youth festivals. He completed his pre-degree course (PDC) from Payyannur College and went on to earn a Bachelor of Commerce (BCom) degree from Kanhangad Nehru College. During this time, he became known as a writer, publishing stories, poetry, and essays in various periodicals. He also served as editor and publisher of Nehru College's campus newspaper, ''Campus Times'', which was the first campus newspaper from any college in Calicut University.

Career

After completing his education, Satheesh Babu Payyannur took up the role of editor at the Kasaragod-based weekly ''Ee Aazhcha''. However, renowned editor S. Jayachandran Nair advised him not to pursue a full-time career in journalism if he wished to become a writer. Following this advice, Payyannur left his job at ''Ee Aazhcha'' and joined the State Bank of Travancore (SBT) in 1985.Ravivarma Thampuran (31 July 2021)
"നിലംപതിക്കാത്ത ഓർമകളുടെ പേരമരം"
''Malayala Manorama''. Retrieved 18 January 2023. He worked at the Sreekandapuram and Thrikaripur branches of SBT before being transferred to the Trivandrum branch in 1991. He relocated to Trivandrum with the goal of working as an assistant to writer-director Padmarajan, whom he had befriended during the filming of ''Innale''. However, Padmarajan had died around this time. Nonetheless, Payyannur continued to pursue his interest in cinema, writing the screenplay for the 1992 film ''Nakshthrakoodaram'', which was directed by Padmarajan's assistant Joshy Mathew. Additionally, Payyannur wrote the dialogues for the 1993 live-action animated film ''O' Faby''.

Since Payyannur could not find success in cinema, he transitioned to television where he found success as a director of telefilms, documentaries, and other programmes. He travelled to foreign countries for the series ''Gulfilunarunnu Keralam'' (''Kerala Waking Up in the Gulf''), which was the first Malayalam telefilm to be set and filmed entirely in the Gulf countries. Another notable series was ''European Sketchukal'' (''European Sketches''). In 2001, Payyannur resigned from the State Bank of Travancore to become fully immersed in literary activities and visual media. That same year, he established his own television production company, Panorama, which produced a variety of television programmes, such as ''Ponpulari'' on Surya TV."Writer Satheesh Babu Payyanur passes away"
''Malayala Manorama''. 24 November 2022. Retrieved 18 January 2023. Panorama also published a magazine named ''Kerala Panorama'' from Trivandrum and has a YouTube channel by the same name.Satheesh Babu Payyannur (25 May 2020)
"മൂടിക്കെട്ടിയ ലോകവും മുഖമില്ലാത്ത മനുഷ്യരും"
Jordays.in. Retrieved 19 January 2023.

During his tenure at the State Bank of Travancore, Payyannur was active in promoting literary events sponsored by the bank and in organising the annual SBT Literary Award. Payyannur was a member of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi and the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy. He also held the position of Member Secretary at Bharat Bhavan, a cultural exchange centre under the Kerala Cultural Affairs Department, for a period of five years.

Death

Payyannur was found dead in his flat at Vanchiyoor near Trivandrum on 24 November 2022."Writer Satheesh Babu Payyannur found dead at his house in Thiruvananthapuram"
''The Hindu''. 24 November 2022. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
''The New Indian Express''. 24 November 2022. Retrieved 18 January 2023. A case was registered for unnatural death, but it was later declared that he died from a heart attack. His last rites were held at Paramekkavu Santhighat in Thrissur. He was survived by his wife Girija, a retired school teacher, and his daughter Varsha, who lives in Pune.

At the time of his death, Payyannur was working on an unfinished novel titled ''Sathram'', which was based on the life of poet P. Kunhiraman Nair."മമ്മൂട്ടി നായകനായി 'ലിഫ്റ്റ്' ഒരുങ്ങുകയായിരുന്നു, ഒപ്പം എഴുതിതീരാത്ത 'സത്ര'വും"
''Vanitha''. 25 November 2022. Retrieved 18 January 2023. He was also in talks with publishers about releasing a complete collection of his short stories to coincide with his 60th birthday. Additionally, he was planning a film adaptation of his short story "Lift", with actor Mammootty in the lead role.

Literary career

Short stories

Payyannur began publishing his works in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and his writing soon garnered the attention and admiration of readers through the publication of numerous stories in various periodicals."Satheesh Babu Payyanur passes away"
''The Times of India''. 25 November 2022. Retrieved 18 January 2023. In total, he published around 200 stories, including "Daivam", "Peramaram", "Vrishchikam Vannu Vilichu", "Manalparappu", "Manassu", "Ilayamma", "Scene Over" and "Lift". His story "Daivam" won the Karoor Award, sponsored by Sahithya Pravarthaka Co-operative Society, in 1984. The story was based on Theyyam, a ritual art form practised in Northern Kerala.

"Peramaram" ("The Guava Tree"), first published in the ''Mathrubhumi Illustrated Weekly'' in April 1989, tells the tale of Kunjuraman Nambiar, Meenakshi Amma, and their beloved guava tree, and the loneliness they face in their old age. "Peramaram" was published as a book only in 2001, in the collection ''Vrishchikam Vannu Vilichu'' (''Vrischikam Came Calling''), which is a collection of 31 stories written between 1988 and 2001. The story gained renewed interest in 2007 when V. K. Sreeraman wrote about it in his column ''Vazhvum Ninavum'' in ''Madhyamam Weekly''. The story was later included in the 2011 collection ''Peramaram'', with an introduction by Sreeraman. The collection had 20 stories and received the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Story in 2012. The story "Peramaram" was also included in the 2018 collection ''Katha'' (''Story'').

"Manassu" was published in ''Kalakaumudi'' in May 1990 and was inspired by an experience related to Payyannur by the poet Balachandran Chullikkad. Likewise, the story "Vrishchikam Vannu Vilichu" was written in the same year and was based on Payyannur's own experiences during the Payyanur Subramanya temple festival, which takes place for fourteen days in the Malayalam month of Vrischikam. The story "Manalparappu" (1990) is about the intercaste marriage of Alice and Narayanan, and Payyannur wrote it shortly after his own marriage. A collection of his stories with rain as a common theme was published in the 1991 collection ''Mazhayilundaya Makal''. "Ilayamma," another one of his stories, was published in 1993 in ''Kalakaumudi''. Some of his later short stories are inspired by his experiences in cinema and visual media, such as "Scene Over", "Mazha Maranna Sumithra", "Thiruvananthapuram Cinema", "Thiranadakam" and "K. P. Mariamma". The stories "Cinema", "Nightmare" and "Story Board" also talk about the changes in the visual media in recent years.

Some of Payyannur's other short story collections include ''Khamaruneesayude Koottukari'' (''Khamaruneesa's Friend''), ''Newsreaderum Poochayum'' (''The Newsreader and the Cat''), ''Scene Over'' and ''Photo''. ''Newsreaderum Poochayum'' is a collection of ten stories, including "Vayalattam", "Cinema", "Newsreaderum Poochayum", "Kudi Pallikoodam", "Lift" and "Fathima Suhra"."Newsreaderum Poochayum"
Keralabookstore.com. Retrieved 18 January 2023. The collection ''Mazhayilundaya Makalum Mattu Mazhakathakalum'' was published posthumously in January 2023. Some of his stories are translated into English and compiled in the title ''The Guava Tree''."The Guava Tree"
Indulekha.com. Retrieved 18 January 2023.

Novels

Payyannur wrote his early novels such as ''Daivappura'', ''Manja Sooryante Naalukal'', ''Mannu'', and ''Vilapavrikshathile Kaattu'' during the second half of the 1980s while living in Kannur and Kasargod districts. He was captivated by the ritualistic dance form of Kannur known as Theyyam, which formed the background for his 1984 novel ''Daivappura'' (''Abode of God''). ''Manja Sooryante Naalukal'' (''The Days of the Yellow Sun'') narrated the story of the employees of an evening newspaper. ''Mannu'' (''Soil''), set against the backdrop of the Kavumbai agitation of 1949, was written in 1985 when Payyannur worked at the Sreekandapuram branch of the State Bank of Travancore. Kavumbai was only a few kilometres away from Sreekandapuram and Payyannur initially intended to write a feature on the Kavumbai agitation but the story was so compelling that he finally decided to write a novel based on it. The novel was serialised over a period of 35 weeks in the Sunday supplement of ''Deshabhimani'' in 1988 and published as a book the following year by Trivandrum-based Chintha Publications, with a preface by E. M. S. Namboodiripad.

In the novel ''Vilapavrikshathile Kaattu'', Payyannur discussed the lives of Christians who migrated from Travancore to the hills of northern Kerala.Vilapavrikshathile Kaattu"
Keralabookstore.com. Retrieved 18 January 2023. His other novels include ''Ulkhananangal'' and ''Kudamanikal Kilungiya Raavil'' (''On the Night When the Bells Tolled''), with ''Ulkhananangal'', written during the opening of vaults of the Padmanabhaswamy temple, based on the history of Payyannur and Payyannur Pattu. The novels ''Oru Superhit Cinemayude Thirakkatha'' (''The Script of a Superhit Film'') and ''Kalikaal'' were inspired by Payyannur's experiences with visual media and cinema.

''Ekantha Rathrikal'' (''Lonely Nights'') is a collection of five short novels—''Ekantha Rathrikal, Noolkkolangal, Olikkuvan Oridam (A Place to Hide), Nadakam (Drama)'' and ''Ninavil Anitha Vararund (Anitha Comes in the Dreams)''."Ekantha Rathrikal"
. Indulekha.com. Retrieved 18 January 2023. ''Moonnu Pranaya Novelettukal'' is a collection of three short romantic novels—''Aval Neeraja'' (''She, Neeraja''), ''Ethetho Pulinangalil'', and ''Sana'', the latter based on a same-sex romantic relationship."Moonnu Pranaya Novelettukal"
Keralabookstore.com. Retrieved 18 January 2023.

The last published work during his lifetime was ''Kamal Haasan Abhinayikkathe Poya Oru Cinema'' (''A Film in Which Kamal Haasan Did Not Act'') which is a collection of ten novellas including ''Kamal Haasan Abhinayikkathe Poya Oru Cinema'', ''Oru Asambandha Online Padam'' (''A Ridiculous Online Movie''), ''Sana'', ''Ulahannanum Njanum'' (''Ulahannan and Me''), ''Idanazhiyude Ingeyattathu'' (''On this End of the Corridor''), ''Nadakam'' (''Drama''), ''Thaniye'' (''Alone''), ''Ethetho Pulinangalil'' and ''Mazhayude Neenda Viralukal'' (''The Long Fingers of the Rain'').
Chintha Publishers. Retrieved 18 January 2023. ''Chila Silkian Ninavukal'' (''Some Silk Memories'') is a collection of essays and memoirs including the memoirs about P. Kunhiraman Nair, Silk Smitha and Padmarajan."Chila Silkian Ninavukal"
. Indulekha.com. Retrieved 18 January 2023.

Awards

* 1985: Karoor Award by Sahithya Pravarthaka Co-operative Society for "Daivam"
* 2006: Abu Dhabi Sakthi Award for Story for ''Scene Over''
* 2012: Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Story for ''Peramaram''
* 2014: Abu Dhabi Sakthi Award for Novel for ''Ulkhananangal''
* 2017: Malayattoor Award for ''Khamaruneesayude Koottukari''
* 2018: Thoppil Ravi Award for ''Photo''
* 2022: Ankanam Shamsudheen Smruthi Award for Short Story for ''Newsreaderum Poochayum''
* Kerala Sahitya Vedi Award for ''Mannu''
* SBT Literary Award for ''Scene Over''
* TKD Memorial Award for ''Peramaram''
* FOKANA International Award for ''Peramaram''
* Atlas-Kairali Literary Award for ''Ulkhananangal''"Ulkhananangal"
. Indulekha.com. Retrieved 18 January 2023.

Bibliography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Payyannur, Satheesh Babu
1963 births
2022 deaths
Malayali people
Writers from Kerala
Malayalam short story writers
Indian male short story writers
20th-century Indian male writers
21st-century Indian male writers
20th-century Indian short story writers
21st-century Indian short story writers
Malayalam-language novelists
Indian male novelists
20th-century Indian novelists
21st-century Indian novelists
Novelists from Kerala
Malayalam-language journalists
Journalists from Kerala
Indian male journalists
21st-century Indian screenwriters
Screenwriters from Kerala
Malayalam screenwriters
Indian male screenwriters
Recipients of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award
Recipients of the Abu Dhabi Sakthi Award