A. Sethumadhavan (born 5 June 1942), popularly known as Sethu, is a
Malayalam
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 ...
fiction writer. He has published more than 35 books. He won 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 ...
in 2007 for the work ''Adayalangal''. He received 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. s in 1982 and 1978 for his works ''Pandavapuram'' and ''Pediswapnangal''; and
Vayalar Award
The Vayalar Award is given for the best literary work in Malayalam
Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry ( Mahé district) by the Malay ...
for ''Adyalangal'' in 2005.
He also won Odakkuzhal award for his novel ''Marupiravi.'' Sethu's other literary works include ''Velutha Koodarangal, Thaliyola, Kiratham, Niyogam, Sethuvinte Kathakal'' and ''Kaimudrakal''. He also served as the chairman and CEO of the
South Indian Bank
South Indian Bank Limited (SIB) is a major private sector bank headquartered at Thrissur in Kerala, India. South Indian Bank has 933 branches, 4 service branches, 1 extension counters and 18 Regional Offices spread across India. The bank has al ...
. In 2022, he won the
Ezhuthachan Puraskaram
The Ezhuthachan Puraskaram is the highest literary honour is given by the Kerala Sahitya Akademi, Government of Kerala. The award is named after Thunchaththu Ezhuthachan, the father of the Malayalam
Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian langu ...
, highest literary honour of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi.
Life
Sethu was born in
Chendamangalam
Chendamangalam (or Chennamangalam) is a small town and a panchayat in Paravur Taluk, Ernakulam district in the state of Kerala, India.
Location
It is about 23 km from Ernakulam. It has three rivers, seven inlets, hillocks and large e ...
, a village in
Ernakulam district
Ernakulam, ; ISO: ''Eṟaṇākuḷaṁ'', in Malayalam: എറണാകുളം), is one of the 14 districts in the Indian state of Kerala, that takes its name from the eponymous city division in Kochi. It is situated in the central part ...
, in the year 1942. He had his school education at Paliam High School, Chendamangalam, and took his bachelor's degree in physics from the
Union Christian College, Aluva
Union Christian College, Aluva (known as UC College) is a college affiliated to Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam.
It is one of the earliest colleges in India to be established and managed by Indian Christians. It was founded in 1921 by four ...
, at the age of 18.
Sethu began his professional career at a very young age taking him to various parts of the country. This phase of his life was instrumental in shaping his literary sensibilities and came to be reflected in many of his important works.
He worked in certain Central Government departments in North India before joining
the
Indian Meteorological Department
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) is an agency of the Ministry of Earth Sciences of the Government of India. It is the principal agency responsible for meteorological observations, weather forecasting and seismology. IMD is headquarter ...
in
Bombay
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the '' de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the sec ...
in 1962. In 1964 he took a transfer to
Trivandrum
Thiruvananthapuram (; ), also known by its former name Trivandrum (), is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala. It is the most populous city in Kerala with a population of 957,730 as of 2011. The encompassing urban agglomeration populati ...
and worked in the Meteorological Unit of the
Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station
Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station (TERLS) is an Indian spaceport established on 21 November 1963. Operated by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), it is located in Thumba, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, which is near the southern ...
. Subsequently, he was promoted and posted to the newly
established Institute of Tropical Meteorology in
Pune
Pune (; ; also known as Poona, ( the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million As of 2021, Pune Metropolitan Region is the largest i ...
. Then he worked in Railway Board, New Delhi for a couple of years before switching over to the banking industry in 1968. He joined the banking profession as a Probationary Officer in the
State Bank Group. After holding many important positions in the Group, he took over as General Manager in the
Corporation Bank
Corporation Bank was a public-sector banking company headquartered in Mangalore, India. The bank had a pan-Indian presence. Presently, the bank has a network of 2,432 fully automated CBS branches, 3,040 ATMs, and 4,724 branchless banking uni ...
and later as the Chairman of the
South Indian Bank
South Indian Bank Limited (SIB) is a major private sector bank headquartered at Thrissur in Kerala, India. South Indian Bank has 933 branches, 4 service branches, 1 extension counters and 18 Regional Offices spread across India. The bank has al ...
, a major private sector bank of the country. He served as the chairman and
Chief Executive Officer
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especial ...
of SIB from 1999 until his retirement in 2005. He was also on the board of the
State Bank of Travancore
State Bank of Travancore (SBT) was a major Indian bank headquartered in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, and was a major associate of State Bank of India.
SBT was a subsidiary of the State Bank Group, but also had private share-holders. It was ...
for a period of three years after his retirement.
Widely travelled, he had attended many international conferences both on banking and literature in various countries.
In 2012 September, he replaced eminent historian
Bipan Chandra
Bipan Chandra (24 May 1928 – 30 August 2014) was an Indian historian, specialising in economic and political history of modern India. An emeritus professor of modern history at Jawaharlal Nehru University, he specialized on the Indian ind ...
to become the chairman of
National Book Trust
National Book Trust (NBT) is an Indian publishing house, which was founded in 1957 as an autonomous body under the Ministry of Education of the Government of India. The activities of the Trust include publishing, promotion of books and reading, ...
, New Delhi. In 2015 March, the
National Democratic Alliance
National Democratic Alliance (NDA) () is a centre-right to right-wing and conservative Indian big tent political alliance led by the right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). It was founded in 1998 and currently controls the government of India ...
government removed him from the post in a most ignominious manner, six months before his tenure was due to end. Sethu was replaced by Baldevbhai Sharma, former editor of the
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh ( ; , , ) is an Indian right-wing, Hindu nationalist, paramilitary volunteer organisation. The RSS is the progenitor and leader of a large body of organisations called the Sangh Parivar (Hindi for "Sangh family ...
mouthpiece ''
Panchjanya
Panchajanya (IAST: Pāñcajanya) is the ''shankha'' or conch of the Hindu preserver deity Vishnu, known to be one of his four divine attributes. It is stated to have been one among the various substances that emerged during the Samudra Manthana. ...
''.
Writing
He had written his first short story in the cramped attic of a
Karol Bagh
Karol Bagh is a neighbourhood in Central District of Delhi, India. It is a mixed residential and commercial neighborhood known for shopping streets such as the Ghaffar Market and Ajmal Khan Road.
It was home to the Karol Bagh Lok Sabha con ...
house in Delhi in the year 1967. He says, "It
he story
He or HE may refer to:
Language
* He (pronoun), an English pronoun
* He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ
* He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets
* He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' i ...
was about the severe droughts in Bihar; after a visit to the worst-hit areas and scenes of human suffering I wrote the story without knowing anything about the craft of writing and it was published in the
''Mathrubhumi'' magazine by its legendary editor and writer
M. T. Vasudevan Nair
Madath Thekkepaattu Vasudevan Nair (born 1933 July 15 ), popularly known as MT, is an Indian author, screenplay writer and film director. He is a prolific and versatile writer in modern Malayalam literature, and is one of the masters of post- ...
.". His latest work, ''The Cuckoo's Nest'', is the story of Madam Agatha, a former devout nun who, after renouncing the order, decides to take up the cudgels for the cause of tolerance and pluralism. She decides to set up a unique institution called 'Nest' for empowering the hapless girls from all over the country, discarded by society. The paramount condition set by her is that none of the resident girls are allowed to talk of their religion or caste inside the campus. The novelist attempts to portray the kind of challenges she has to face from vested interests all around while working towards secularism, and how she manages to swim against the tide.
Sethu, is one of the pioneers of modern Malayalam fiction who brought about a radical transformation of sensibility through his writings during the sixties and early seventies. In a literary career spanning over four and half decades, Sethu wrote over 18 novels and 20 collections of short stories. Many of his novels and stories have been translated into English and other Indian languages. His prominent works include ''Pandavapuram, Niyogam, Kaimudrakal, Vilayattam, Atayalangal, Kilimozhikalkkappuram, Marupiravi'' and ''Aliya'' (Novels), ''Petiswapnangal, Doothu, Chilakalangalil Chila Gayathrimar, Arundhathiyute Virunnukaran'' and ''Sethuvinte Kathakal'' (Short stories), and ''Sanidasa, Yathrakidayil'' (Essays).
Sethu has been honoured with many awards including 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 ...
,
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. for both novel and short story,
Vayalar Award
The Vayalar Award is given for the best literary work in Malayalam
Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry ( Mahé district) by the Malay ...
,
Odakkuzhal Award
''Odakkuzhal'' is a 1975 Indian Malayalam-language film, directed by P. N. Menon and produced by M. P. Navakumar. The film stars Sheela, Jose Prakash, P. J. Antony and Alummoodan in the lead roles. The film has musical score by M. K. Arjunan.
...
and
Muttathu Varkey Award
Muttathu Varkey Award for contributions to the field of Malayalam literature is instituted by the Muttattu Varkey Foundation in memory of novelist Muttathu Varkey. The award was instituted in 1992 and as of 2012, it carries a purse of 50000, a c ...
. Four of his works have been made into films including the much acclaimed ''Pandavapuram'', which was also made into Bengali titled ''Nirakar Chhaya''. His latest work is ''Aliya'' (2013), one of the path-breaking novels in Malayalam.
His book in English, During the Journey and Other Stories published by LiFi Publications Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi has been released during the New Delhi World Book Fair, 2014.
Works
Novel
* ''Njangal Adimakal'' (ഞങ്ങൾ അടിമകൾ)
* ''Ariyatha Vazhikal'' (അറിയാത്ത വഴികൾ)
* ''Kiratham'' (കിരാതം)
* ''Thaliyola'' (താളിയോല)
* ''Pandavapuram'' (പാണ്ഡവപുരം)
* ''Niyogam'' (നിയോഗം)
* ''Navagrahangalude Thatavara'' (നവഗ്രഹങ്ങളുടെ തടവറ) (with
Punathil Kunjabdulla
Punathil Kunjabdulla (3 April 1940 – 27 October 2017) was an Indian writer from Kerala. A medical doctor by profession, Kunjabdulla was a practitioner of the avant-garde in Malayalam literature. His work includes more than 45 books, including ...
)
* ''Vanavasam'' (വനവാസം)
* ''Vilayattom'' (വിളയാട്ടം)
* ''Ezham Pakkam'' (ഏഴാം പക്കം)
* ''Kaimudrakal'' (കൈമുദ്രകൾ)
* ''Kaiyoppum Kaivazhikalum'' (കൈയൊപ്പും കൈവഴികളും)
* ''Atayalangal''
* ''Kilimozhikalkkappuram''
* ''Marupiravi'' (മറുപിറവി)
* ''Aaliya'' (ആലിയ)
Short story
* ''Thinkalazhchakalile Aakasam'' (തിങ്കളാഴ്ചകളിലെ ആകാശം)
* ''Velutha Koodarangal'' (വെളുത്ത കൂടാരങ്ങൾ)
* ''Aswinathile Pookkal'' (ആശ്വിനത്തിലെ പൂക്കൾ)
* ''Prakasathinte Uravidom'' (പ്രകാശത്തിന്റെ ഉറവിടം)
* ''Pampum Koniyum'' (പാമ്പും കോണിയും)
* ''Pediswapnangal'' (പേടിസ്വപ്നങ്ങൾ)
* ''Arundhatiyude Virunnukaran'' (അരുന്ധതിയുടെ വിരുന്നുകാരൻ)
* ''Doothu'' (ദൂത്)
* ''Guru'' (ഗുരു)
* ''Prahelika Kantam'' (പ്രഹേളികാകാണ്ഡം)
* ''During the Journey and Other Stories'' (in English)
Awards
* 1978:
Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Story
The Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Story is an award given every year by the Kerala Sahitya Akademi (Kerala Literary Academy) to Malayalam writers for writing a story of literary merit. It is one of the twelve categories of the Kerala Sahitya ...
– ''Petiswapnangal''
* 1982:
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 twelve categories of the Kerala Sahitya ...
– ''Pandavapuram''
* 1989: Viswadeepam Award – ''Niyogam''
* 1994:
Padmarajan Award
Padmarajan Award (Padmarajan Puraskaram) is instituted by Padmarajan Memorial Trust in memory of author and filmmaker P. Padmarajan and is given for the best short story and best feature film produced in Malayalam language.
Award for Short-stor ...
– ''Uyarangalil''
* 1999: Malayattoor Award – ''Kaimudrakal''
* 1997:
Kerala State Film Award for Best Story
The Kerala State Film Award for Best Story is an honour, begun in 1969, presented annually at the Kerala State Film Award of India to a writer for the best story in a Malayalam film. Until 1997, the awards were managed directly by the Departme ...
– ''Poothiruvathira Ravil'' (based on novel ''Njangal Adimakal'')
* 2006:
Vayalar Award
The Vayalar Award is given for the best literary work in Malayalam
Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry ( Mahé district) by the Malay ...
– ''Atayalangal''
* 2003:
Muttathu Varkey Award
Muttathu Varkey Award for contributions to the field of Malayalam literature is instituted by the Muttattu Varkey Foundation in memory of novelist Muttathu Varkey. The award was instituted in 1992 and as of 2012, it carries a purse of 50000, a c ...
– ''Pandavapuram''
* 2006: Pravasi Kairali Sahitya Puraskaram
* 2007:
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 ...
– ''Atayalangal''
* 2009: Shortlisted for
Crossword Book Award
The Crossword Book Award (formerly known as the Crossword Book Award (1998–2003), the Hutch Crossword Book Award (2004–07), the Vodafone Crossword Book Award (2008–10), the Economist Crossword Book Award (2011–13), Raymond & Crossword Bo ...
– ''The Wind from the Hills'' (English translation of the novel ''Niyogam'')
* 2011: Bahrain Keraleeya Samajam Award
* 2012: Thrissur Souhrudavedi Award
* 2013:
Odakkuzhal Award
''Odakkuzhal'' is a 1975 Indian Malayalam-language film, directed by P. N. Menon and produced by M. P. Navakumar. The film stars Sheela, Jose Prakash, P. J. Antony and Alummoodan in the lead roles. The film has musical score by M. K. Arjunan.
...
– ''Marupiravi''
* 2020:
Kerala Sahitya Akademi Fellowship
Kerala Sahitya Akademi Fellowship is an honour of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi (Kerala Literary Academy), given to writers of Malayalam literature by inducting them as the distinguished members of the Akademi.
References
External links
* ...
* 2020:
Abu Dhabi Sakthi Award for Children's Literature – ''Appuvum Achuvum''
* 2022:
Ezhuthachan Puraskaram
The Ezhuthachan Puraskaram is the highest literary honour is given by the Kerala Sahitya Akademi, Government of Kerala. The award is named after Thunchaththu Ezhuthachan, the father of the Malayalam
Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian langu ...
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sethu
Malayali people
Living people
1942 births
20th-century Indian short story writers
Indian male novelists
Indian male short story writers
Malayalam-language writers
Malayalam novelists
Malayalam short story writers
Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Award in Malayalam
Recipients of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award
Novelists from Kerala
20th-century Indian novelists
People from Ernakulam district
21st-century Indian novelists
20th-century Indian male writers
21st-century Indian male writers
Recipients of the Ezhuthachan Award
Recipients of the Abu Dhabi Sakthi Award