Sooranad Payikkattu Neelakanta Kunjan Pillai (24 June 1911 8 March 1995) was an Indian researcher,
lexicographer
Lexicography is the study of lexicons and the art of compiling dictionaries. It is divided into two separate academic disciplines:
* Practical lexicography is the art or craft of compiling, writing and editing dictionary, dictionaries.
* The ...
, poet, essayist, literary critic, orator,
grammarian, educationist, and scholar of the
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 ...
, best remembered for his contributions in compiling ''Malayala Maha Nighantu'', a lexicon. The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest civilian honour of the
Padmashri
The Padma Shri ( IAST: ''padma śrī'', lit. 'Lotus Honour'), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 Janu ...
in 1984 for his contribution to
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 ...
and education. He was also a recipient of the
Vallathol Award in 1992 and when the Government of Kerala instituted the
Ezhuthachan Puraskaram, their highest literary honour in 1993, he received the inaugural award.
Biography
Kunjan Pillai was born on 26 November 1911 in
Sooranad, near
Sasthamkotta
Sasthamkotta or Sasthamcotta is a village in the Kunnathoor Tehsil of Kollam district in the state of Kerala, India. Kunnathoor taluk headquarters is located at Sasthamkotta. The Sasthamkotta freshwater lake is the largest freshwater lake i ...
in the present day
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 ...
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
Nair parents Payikkattu Neelakanta Pillai and Karthiyani Amma.
After initial studies under his father, he did his formal education at a local elementary school,
Thevalakkara
Thevalakkara is a village in the Karunagappally Taluk, Kollam District of the state of Kerala, India. It is located near the coast of the Indian Ocean, about 13 kilometres north of the district capital Kollam, and 7 kilometres southeast of the ...
Primary School and Chavara High School where he studied under noted teacher, Azhakathu Padmanabha Kurup, and passed the 10th standard examination in 1927. Subsequently, he joined the
University College, Thiruvananthapuram for his under-graduate studies with English as the optional subject and Sanskrit as subsidiary and graduated in 1933 and earned a master's degree in English in 1933.
Continuing his education, he secured two more master's degrees, in Sanskrit in 1934 and in Malayalam in 1935.
Pillai started his professional career as an
English teacher in
St. Joseph School, Thiruvananthapuram and retired from government service in 1971 as the
Chief Editor
An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's Editing, editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The editor-in-chief heads all departments of the organization and is hel ...
of Malayalam Lexicon,
University of Kerala
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, Chithi ...
, a position he held from 1953.
[II �-au>] In between, he served in various positions such as the Secretary of Text Book Committee, as an assistant to Sadasya Tilakam T. K. Velu Pillai in the preparation of Travancore State Manual,
as the assistant secretary of education to the Government of Kerala, as the honorary director of the Kerala University Manuscripts Library, as a member of Indian Historical Records Commission and
University of Kerala
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, Chithi ...
Faculty of Oriental Studies, as the editor of Kerala Archives News Letter Board, as the chief advisor of Navasahithi Biographical Encyclopedia, as a member of the Phd Evaluation Board of University of Kerala, as the president of Sahithya Parishad, as an executive council member of the
Kendra Sahitya Akademi,
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 ...
and History Association,
as the president of Kanfed, as the editor of the Journal of Indian History and as a member of the first
Jnanpith Award Committee. He also presided over the fourth Annual Conference of Dravidian Linguists held in Chennai in 1974.
Kunjan Pillai was married to C. Bhagavathi Amma (of the Panniyarathala family in
Jagathy, d. 2007), the marriage taking place in 1935. He died on 8 March 1995, at the age of 83, survived by his wife, three daughters and a son, the eminent neurologist
Dr. K. Rajasekharan Nair.
Legacy
Kunjan Pillai was known to have written books in Malayalam, English and Sanskrit his oeuvre covered such genres as novels, short stories, poems, biographies, history, essays, lexicon and grammar.
He also had some knowledge of
Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
People, culture and language
* Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia
**Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka
** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...
and
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 ...
. He published his first work Smashanadeepam (Collected Poems) in 1925 when he was still in school. He has prepared more than 150 textbooks for high school classes. He has written more than 1000 forewords for the books of many contemporary writers of Malayalam. He led a team which compiled a ''Malayala nikhandu'' (Malayalam Dictionary),
though the work could not be completed during his time.
The work, started in 1953 and by the time the first and second volumes were published bu 1970, the team of scholars had examined all important available texts from eleventh century to 19th century.
[II �-au /> He also compiled the Malayalam translation of ]Kathasaritsagara
The ''Kathāsaritsāgara'' ("Ocean of the Streams of Stories") (Devanagari: कथासरित्सागर) is a famous 11th-century collection of Indian legends and folk tales as retold in Sanskrit by the Shaivite Somadeva from Kashmir.
' ...
, a book of fables and legends in Sanskrit.
Awards and honours
The Rajah of Cochin honoured Kunjan Pillai with the title ''Sahithya Nipunan''. In 1984 he was honoured with Padmashri
The Padma Shri ( IAST: ''padma śrī'', lit. 'Lotus Honour'), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 Janu ...
by Govt. of India. He was inducted as a distinguished fellow by the History Association and by the 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 ...
in 1976. He received the Vallathol Award in 1992 and the Government of Kerala awarded him the inaugural Ezhuthachan Puraskaram, their highest literary award, in 1993. He was also honoured by two Indian universities with D.Litt; by Meerut University in 1991 and University of Kerala
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, Chithi ...
in 1992.
An annual award, ''Sooranad Kunjan Pillai Award'', has been instituted for recognizing excellence in Malayalam literature and M. Leelavathy is among the writers who have received the award.
Selected bibliography
Novels
* Amba Devi (Novel) 1930
* Kalyana Sowdam (Novel) 1936
*
Poems
* Smashanadeepam (Collected poems) 1930
*
*
*
*
* Hridayarpanam (Collected poems) 1971
*
*
Short stories
*
* Ratnasamragyam (Stories) 1948
*
* Panchathantrakathamanigal (Stories)
Biography
* Prachinakeralam (Biographies)1931
* Veeraraghavashasanam (Biography) 1954
* Thiruvuthankoorile Mahanmar (Biographies) 1946
*
* Sree Sankaracharyar (Biography) 1945
Lexicon
*
Drama
*
Essays and literary criticism
* Thiruvuthankoor - Kochi Charithra Kathakal, 1932
*
* Jeevithakala, 1939
* Malabar in the Eyes of Travellers, 1940
*
*
*
* Bhashadeepika, 1955
*
* Pushpanjali (Collected Essays) 1957
*
* Kairali Pooja (Collected Essays) 1962
* Hridayaramam, 1966
* Malayala Lipi parishkaram- Chila Nirdeshangal, 1967
*
* Kairali Samaksham (Literary Criticism)1979
* Bharathapooja, 1983
*
*
*
* Sahithyabhooshanam (Collected Essays)
* Krisishastram
See also
* List of Malayalam-language authors by category
* List of Malayalam-language authors
List of Malayalam-language authors lists writers in Malayalam. References for the information appear on the linked Wikipedia pages. The list is incomplete – please help to expand it by adding writers who have written extensively in any genre o ...
References
Further reading
*
*
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pillai, Sooranad Kunjan
Malayali people
1911 births
1995 deaths
Malayalam literary critics
People from Kollam district
Recipients of the Ezhuthachan Award
Academic staff of the University of Kerala
Indian lexicographers
20th-century Indian linguists
20th-century Indian historians
Malayalam-language novelists
Indian male essayists
Scholars from Kerala
Writers from Kerala
20th-century Indian essayists
20th-century Indian novelists
Indian male novelists
20th-century Indian male writers
20th-century lexicographers