Vazhappilliyil Padmanabhan Nair Sivakumar (1947–1993), commonly identified as V. P. Sivakumar, was an Indian writer and translator, known for bringing in a new sensibility in Malayalam literature through his short stories. Besides four short story anthologies, he published a compilation of satirical articles and translated several works of

Jorge Luis Borges Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo (; ; 24 August 1899 – 14 June 1986) was an Argentine short-story writer, essayist, poet and translator, as well as a key figure in Spanish-language and international literature. His best-known bo ...

and

Eugène Ionesco Eugène Ionesco (; born Eugen Ionescu, ; 26 November 1909 – 28 March 1994) was a Romanian-French playwright who wrote mostly in French, and was one of the foremost figures of the French avant-garde theatre in the 20th century. Ionesco inst ...

into

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 was des ...

Biography

V. P. Sivakumar was born on 15 May 1947 at Mavelikkara, in Alappuzha district of the south Indian state of

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a 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 regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

to Pozharamath Padmanabhan Nair and Thekke Vazhappilliyil Janaki Amma. After completing his schooling in Pandalam and Mavelikkara, he joined St. Berchmans College to earn a graduate degree from the University of Kerala. Subsequently, he started his career in 1966 by joining the telephones department but his stay there was short as he was terminated from service for participating in a workers' strike. He utilised this opportunity to study further and after securing a master's degree in Malayalam with first rank, he worked as a lecturer in various government colleges in Kerala. Sivakumar was married to Geetha and the couple had two sons, Kiran Sivakumar and Naveen Sivakumar. He died on 27 July 1993, at the age of 46, succumbing to

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

Legacy and honours

Sivakumar's body of work comprises four short story anthologies, starting with the 1979 publication, ''Thiruvithamkoor Kathakal'', followed by ''Karayogam'' ''Otta'' and ''V. P. Sivakumarinte Kathakal''. He also published ''Thalasthanathe Hanuman'', a compilation of some of his satirical articles. ''Borges Kathakal'' is an anthology of short stories of

, translated into Malayalam by Sivakumar. Three plays of

Eugene Ionesco Eugene may refer to: People and fictional characters * Eugene (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Eugene (actress) (born 1981), Kim Yoo-jin, South Korean actress and former member of the sin ...

were also translated by him. His writings have been subjected to study by several critics and ''V. P. Sivakumar'', written by D. Pradeep Kumar, is one among them. ''Smarana'' (Remembrances), is a

festschrift In academia, a ''Festschrift'' (; plural, ''Festschriften'' ) is a book honoring a respected person, especially an academic, and presented during their lifetime. It generally takes the form of an edited volume, containing contributions from the h ...

published on him in 2003. A literary award, ''V. P. Sivakumar Memorial Keli Award'', has been instituted in his honour and the recipients of the award include K. R. Meera, Subhash Chandran,

S. Hareesh S. Hareesh (born 1975) is an Indian writer, translator and screenwriter of Malayalam literature and cinema. He is best known for his short stories and his acclaimed but controversial debut novel, Meesha, which explores caste in Kerala in the ...

and

Ambikasuthan Mangad Ambikasuthan Mangad is an Indian Malayalam language writer. He was a professor of Malayalam at Nehru Arts and Science College, Kanhangad. His literary contributions range from short stories to novels in Malayalam. He has written more than 40 bo ...

Bibliography

Short story anthologies

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Translations

Articles

Books on V. P. Sivakumar

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References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sivakumar, V. P. 1947 births 1993 deaths Writers from Kerala 20th-century Indian short story writers People from Alappuzha district Indian essayists Indian translators University of Kerala alumni Academic staff of the University of Kerala 20th-century translators Deaths from cancer in India