Sreedharan Champad (1938 – 14 June 2024) was an Indian circus artist, circus historian and

Malayalam-language Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of ...

writer 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 ...

. He worked in a number of fields, including working as circus manager,

flying trapeze The flying trapeze is a specific form of the trapeze in which a performer jumps from a platform with the trapeze so that gravity makes the trapeze swing. The performance was invented in 1859 by a Frenchman named Jules Léotard, who connect ...

artist, circus company public relations officer, auto driver, bill collector, journalist and writer. Champad wrote over 20 books including novels, more than 100 short stories, biographies and articles. His book ''An Album of Indian Big Tops'' chronicles the history of the circus industry in India from 1880 to 2010.

Biography

Champad was born in 1938 at Champad near

Thalassery Thalassery () (also called Tellicherry) is a city and municipality on the Malabar Coast in Kannur district in the state of Kerala, India, bordered by the districts of Mahe and Kozhikode. Thalassery municipality has a population of just under ...

, Kannur district, to Kunjikannan and Narayani. After passing tenth class, he joined

Devagiri College St. Joseph's College (Autonomous), Devagiri, also known as Devagiri College, is a college in Kozhikode, Kerala, India, offering graduation and postgraduation courses in arts and science. Students and alumni are called ‘Devagirians’. The col ...

, Kozhikode, but due to financial constraints he dropped his study and went to

Madras Chennai, also known as Madras ( its official name until 1996), is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian ce ...

. In 1956, he joined the Great Rayman circus in

Howrah Howrah (; ; alternatively spelled as Haora) is a city in the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. Howrah is located on the western bank of the Hooghly River, opposite to its twin city of Kolkata. Administratively ...

as an office clerk and later became a trapeze artiste at the circus. Sreedharan was also an expert trapeze player in circuses such as Jumbo, Gemini, Amar and Great Raymond. In 1961, while at Chengalpet, he temporarily left the circus field, when the Great Eastern Circus rejected him to go with its Malaysian tour. After studying automobile engineering in Madras for two years, he worked as a diesel mechanic in the Madras State Transport Corporation for six months. After that he worked as an auto driver in

Kozhikode Kozhikode (), also known as Calicut, is a city along the Malabar Coast in the state of Kerala in India. Known as the City of Spices, Kozhikode is listed among the City of Literature, UNESCO's Cities of Literature. It is the nineteenth large ...

for some time. Sridharan also served as the Editor-in-Chief of Padayani Weekly published from Thalassery, Padayani News Editor and Jagannath Magazine Editor. He also worked as a correspondent for Kaumudi News Service for five years. "Ring Boy" published in Mathrubhumi Weekly in 1964 was his first story. His first novel ''Anyonyamthedi nadannavar'' was published in Mathrubhumu weekly in 1977. Champad was recently working on a new novel on the socio-cultural context of

Panoor Panoor is a municipality in the district of Kannur in the state of Kerala, India. The town is the main marketplace for the farmer communities in the surrounding regions. Panoor is one of the main suburbs of the city of Thalassery. Panoor was gra ...

and its environs since 1947. He and his wife Valsala had four children. He resided at his house ''Srivastsa'' at Pathayakunnu, Pattiam in

Kannur district Kannur () is one of the 14 Districts of Kerala, districts along the west coast in the state of Kerala, India. The city of Kannur is the district headquarters and gives the district its name. The old name, Cannanore, is the anglicized form of th ...

. Champad died at his house in Kannur on 14 June 2024, at the age of 86.

Contributions

Literary contributions

* This book chronicles the history of circus industry in India from 1880 to 2010. * Autobiography. * ''Sarkkasinte lokam'' (Meaning: world of circus) * ''Keeleri'', Biography of Keeleri Kunjikannan * ''C. V. Narayanan Nair'' * ''Raktham Chinthiyavar'' * ''Anyonyam Thedi Nadannavar'' * ''Komali'' * ''Ring'' * ''Koodaram'' * ''Antharam'' * ''Arangettam Circus Kathakal'' * ''Clint'' * ''Thacholi Othenan'' * ''Payyampally Chanthu'' * ''Aromal Chekavar'' * ''Unniyarcha'' * ''Thamp'' * ''Mela'', this was later made into a Malayalam movie * ''Athippara'' * ''Utharaparvvam'' * ''Mahacharithamala123'' * ''Gurudevakathamrutham''

Cinema

He was instrumental in the background of films like ''

Thampu ''Thampu'' () is a 1978 Indian Malayalam-language film written and directed by G. Aravindan. Bharath Gopi, Nedumudi Venu, V. K. Sreeraman, Jalaja and the artistes of the ''Great Chitra Circus'' form the cast. The film deals with the roving st ...

'', ''Mela'', ''

Aaravam ''Aaravam'' is a 1978 Indian Malayalam film, directed by Bharathan. The film stars Nedumudi Venu, Prameela, Pratap Pothan, KPAC Lalitha, Bahadoor and Janardhanan in the lead roles. Actor Pratap Pothan was introduced in this film along with ...

'', ''

Kummatty ''Kummatty'' () is a 1979 Malayalam film written and directed by G. Aravindan. Ramunni, Master Ashok and Vilasini Reema were cast in the film. Plot The film opens with the sun rising from the mountains, and depicting the beauty of a hamlet's br ...

'', '' Apoorva Sahodarangal'', ''Joker'' and ''Bhumimalayalam''. He was also the author of the Malayalam documentaries named ''Circus'' and ''Cirus Lokam'' (Circus World) broadcast by

Doordarshan Doordarshan (), abbreviated as DD, is India's State-owned enterprise, state-owned public broadcasting, public television broadcaster. Established by the Government of India on 15 September 1959, it is owned by the Ministry of Information and B ...

Awards and honours

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.

2014 for his outstanding contribution to Malayalam literature. *First Vagbhadananda Prathibha Puraskaram

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Champad, Sreedharan 1938 births 2024 deaths Malayalam-language writers Indian male short story writers Indian circus performers People from Thalassery