M. Krishnan Nair | |
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| Born | (1923-03-03)March 3, 1923 Thiruvananthapuram,Kerala, India |
| Died | February 23, 2006(2006-02-23) (aged 82) |
| Occupation | Literary critic, essayist, orator |
| Language | Malayalam |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Notable awards |
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| Spouse | Vijayamma |
| Relatives |
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M. Krishnan Nair (3 March 1923 – 23 February 2006) was an Indian academic, orator, literary journalist andliterary critic ofMalayalam literature. He was known for hisSahitya Varaphalam, a weekly column he wrote first inMalayalanadu weekly, later inKalakaumudi and finally inSamakalika Malayalam Vaarika, which introduced world literature to Malayalam readers. He also published several books, includingSaundaryathinte Sannidhanathil,Adhunika Malayala Kavitha andVayanakkara, Ningal Jeevichirikkunno?. He was a recipient of theKerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Overall Contributions and the B. D. Goenka Award for excellence in literary journalism.
Krishnan Nair was born inThiruvananthapuram, the capital city of the south Indian state ofKerala on March 3, 1923 to V. K. Madhavan Pillai and Sarada Amma.[1] He had his school education atTravancore and after graduating with honours from theUniversity College, Thiruvananthapuram in 1945, he joined the government service to serve as a clerk at theKerala Government Secretariat for the next five years.[2] He resigned from government service in 1950 to join theGovernment Sanskrit College, Thiruvananthapuram as a lecturer and was transferred to his alma mater, theUniversity College, Thiruvananthapuram in 1969. Later, he served theGovernment Arts College, Thiruvananthapuram andVictoria College, Palakkad before moving toMaharaja's College, Ernakulam where he served as the head of the department of Malayalam and retired from academic service in 1978 holding the position of a first grade professor.[1]
Nair, a hospitable person to those who knew him,[3] died on February 23, 2006, at the age of 82,[4] at a hospital inThiruvananthapuram, succumbing to cardiac failure followingpneumonia.[5] He was suffering fromParkinson's disease during his last days, but still he continued to write articles. He was survived by his wife Vijayamma and five daughters. K. Venugopal, his only son, died in a bike accident in 1985.
I believe bad literature is a crime against society. True talent, a true genius does not depend on encouragement. It transcends all barriers. A truly talented writer cannot be made or marred by criticism, Krishnan Nair's reply on being asked "why was his criticism so sharp and harsh".[2]
Krishnan Nair was known to have been introduced into the world of literature by his father by reading the works ofKunchan Nambiar to him when he was a boy.[2] He was also made to write commentaries on the books he was made to read. His first published work was an article tiltedVimarshanam (Criticism) which appeared inNavajeevan weekly run byC. V. Kunhiraman,[1] a social reformer and journalist who would later foundKerala Kaumudi.[6] His first book,Adunika Malayala Kavitha (Modern Malayalam Poetry), published by P. K. Brothers, was the compilation of the articles he wrote inKaumudi during his days at theGovernment Sanskrit College, Thiruvananthapuram.[1] He also published several books, such asAdhunika Malayala Kavitha,M. Krishna Nairude Prabhandangal andPrathibhayude Jwalagni.[1]
Krishnan Nair is best known as the critic who, afterKesari Balakrishna Pillai, introduced world literature to Malayali reader and his weekly columnSahithya Vaaraphalam, ran for 35 years.[7] He started writing the column inMalayalanadu weekly in 1969[5] and it ran for a number of years before moving toKalakaumudi weekly whenMalayalanadu closed down[8] and finally toSamakalika Malayalam Vaarika where it stayed until his death in 2006.[9] Though his column was criticised for its alleged superficiality, the column helped a very large section of readers of Kerala to the world of literature from the Latin America, Europe, Africa and Asia. His critique of works by Malayalam authors were said to be impartial irrespective of whether the writer was a novice or an established one; he also used the column to comment upon the society. Nair, himself, did not consider the column as literary criticism, but preferred to call it literary journalism.[9][8]Sahithya Vaaraphalam has since been compiled as a book and is also available online.[5]
When the B. D. Goenka Award was instituted in 1979, Krishnan Nair was selected for the honour for excellence inliterary journalism.[8]Kerala Sahitya Akademi awarded him theirannual honour for overall contributions to him 2000.[10]
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{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)M Krishnan Nair's family talks about the late writer and literary critic
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