Malayattoor Ramakrishnan | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | K. V. Ramakrishna Iyer (1927-05-27)27 May 1927 |
| Died | 27 December 1997(1997-12-27) (aged 70) Thiruvananthapuram,Kerala, India |
| Occupation | |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Notable works | |
| Notable awards |
|
| Spouse | Krishnaveni (1954–1997) |
| Children | 2 |
| Parents |
|
| Relatives | Jayaram (nephew)[1] |
K. V. Ramakrishna Iyer, better known by hispen nameMalayattoor Ramakrishnan (27 May 1927 – 27 December 1997), was an Indian writer ofMalayalam literature, cartoonist, lawyer,judicial magistrate, andIndian Administrative Service (IAS) officer. He was best known for his novels, short stories and biographical sketches and his works includeYanthram,Verukal,Yakshi andService Story – Ente IAS Dinangal. He received theKerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Novel in 1967. He was also a recipient of theVayalar Award in 1979.
Malayattoor Ramakrishnan was born on 27 May 1927, at Kalpathi, a village renowned forKalpathi Ratholsavam, nearPalakkad inMalabar district ofMadras Presidency of theBritish India in aTamil family to K.R. Viswanatha Iyer, a government official, and his wife, Janaki Ammal, as one of their six children.[2] The family later settled down in Thottuva, near Cheranallur, near the banks of thePeriyar River. His schooling was at various schools in Kerala, traveling with his father whose work carried him to many places in the state and he started his college education atUnion Christian College, Aluva where he had the opportunity to study under the known critic,Kuttipuzha Krishna Pillai. It was during this period, he participated in theIndian independence movement for which he was incarcerated for a week. Later, he graduated from theUniversity College Thiruvananthapuram and worked as a tutor at his alma mater,Union Christian College, Aluva, for a while.[2]
Later, Ramakrishnan studied law and earned his degree in law to start practicing as a lawyer but moved toMumbai to joinFree Press Journal as an assistant editor where he worked alongT. J. S. George. Later, he returned to Kerala to resume his career as a lawyer; it was during this time he unsuccessfully contested the 1954 elections to theKerala Legislative Assembly fromPerumbavoor assembly constituency. Subsequently, he returned to Mumbai for another stint as the sub editor of Free Press Journal when he started writing short articles in their evening bulletin but the stay in Mumbai was again short as he went back to Kerala. Soon, he passed the Municipal Commissioner's examination but could not get a job due to his leaning towards theleftist ideology. However, he passed the Sub-magistrate's examination with a first rank to join the legal services and while working as a sub magistrate, he passed the civil services examination to join theIndian Administrative Service in 1957. He served in various positions during administrative service career until he resigned from service to concentrate on writing.[2]
Ramakrishnan was married to Krishnaveni in 1954. He died on 27 December 1997, atThiruvananthapuram, at the age of 70, survived by his wife and two children. His wife outlived him by two years and died in 1999.[3]Jayaram, noted Malayalam film actor, is his nephew.[4][5]
Besides his administrative career, Ramakrishnan's contributions cover the fields of journalism, literature, cartoons and films.[2] While working as a sub-editor inThe Free Press Journal inMumbai, he was also a contributing cartoonist toShankar's Weekly. His literary career started withdetective fiction when he wrote a crime novel,Raathri. He also translated a fewSherlock Holmes novels as well asDracula into Malayalam, his was the first Malayalam translation ofBram Stoker's novel.
Malayattoor Ramakrishnan wrote the award winning novel,Verukal (Roots) in 1965, asemi-autobiographical work which tells the story of a family of Tamil speakingIyers who settled in Kerala.[6] The novel was later translated into English by V. Abdulla and published byOrient Longman.[7] Two years later, he publishedPonni (1967), which was based on the lifestyle ofAdivasis ofAttappady atMalleswaram Hills. In 1981, he resigned from theIndian Administrative Service to concentrate more on writing and it was during the period from 1981 to 1997 that his more famous works, viz.Yakshi,Yanthram,Nettoor Mathom andAmritham Thedi, were written.[3]Aaraam Viral was the last of his novels, which he wrote three years before his death; the work has also been translated into English under the titleThe Sixth Finger byPrema Jayakumar.[8] He also wroteService Story – Ente IAS Dinangal, which documents his memoirs of his career as a bureaucrat.[9]
Ramakrishnan entered the film industry in 1968 withLakshaprabhu, aP. Bhaskaran film, for which he provided the story, screenplay and dialogues.[10] Overall, he wrote the screenplay and dialogues for four more films such as Chayam,Gayathri,Panchami andKalki and another six films viz.Yakshi,Chembarathi,Ponni,Sharapanjaram,Iyer the Great andAkam were based on his story.[11] He was also the director of the 1982 movie,Odukkam Thudakkam, produced byM. O. Joseph which was based on his own story and he himself wrote the screenplay and dialogues for the film.[12] Two film songs have been written by him, one for his directorial venture,Odukkam Thudakkam and the other for the movie,Kalki.[13]
Kerala Sahitya Akademi selectedVerukal for theirannual award for novels in 1967.[14] He received theVayalar Award in 1979 for the novel,Yanthram.[15] Malayatoor Ramakrishnan Charitable Trust, aneponymous charitable organization, have instituted two awards, the Malayattoor Painting and Sculpture Award for recognising excellence in fine arts and the Malayattoor Award for honouring literary excellence in Malayalam language.[16][17]M. V. Devan, the noted painter and sculptor, was one among the many recipients of the Malayattoor Painting and Sculpture Award[18][19] whilePrabha Varma,T. D. Ramakrishnan andPerumbadavam Sreedharan feature among the literary award winners.[20]
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link){{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link){{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link){{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link){{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link){{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link){{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link){{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)Original Title :- The Adventure of the Yellow Face by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
{{cite book}}:|last2= has generic name (help){{cite book}}:|last2= has generic name (help){{cite book}}:|last2= has generic name (help)
