P. K. Balakrishnan | |
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| Born | Panikkassery Keshavan Balakrishnan (1925-03-02)March 2, 1925 Edavanakkad,Ernakulam,Kingdom of Cochin |
| Died | April 3, 1991(1991-04-03) (aged 66) Thiruvananthapuram,Kerala, India |
| Occupation | Novelist,critic,essayist,Journalist,Historian |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Notable works | Narayana Guru, Tippu Sultan, Novel Sidhiyum Sadhanayum, Kavyakala Kumaranaasaniloode, Pluto Priyapetta Pluto, Ini Njan Urangatte, Jathivyavasthitiyum Kerala Charitravum, Balakrishnante Lekhanangal, Keraleeyathayum Mattum, Ezhuthachante Kala |
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| Spouse | K. Bhageerathi |
| Children | Harikesh, Harikrishnan, Jayalekshmy |
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| pkbalakrishnan | |
Panikkassery Keshavan "P.K." Balakrishnan (March 2, 1925 – April 3, 1991) was an Indiannovelist andcritic. A doyen ofMalayalam literature, he is best known for his novel,Ini Njan Urangatte (And now, Let me Sleep), a novel based onMahabharata as well as a number of critical studies which includeChandu Menon Oru Padanam,Novel Siddhiyum Sadhanayum,Kavyakala Kumaranasaniloode, andEzhuthachante Kala: Chila Vyasabharatha Patanangalum. HisJathivyavasthayum Kerala Charitravum is a work in social history.
Kerala Sahitya Akademi awarded him theirannual award for novel in 1974. He was also a recipient of theVayalar Award and other honours.
P. K. Balakrishnan was born on March 2, 1925, atEdavanakad atVypin island inKerala to Keshavan and Mani Amma.[1] After early schooling in Edavanakkad, he joinedMaharaja's College, Ernakulam but his studies were disrupted after four years when he participated inQuit India Movement and was jailed.[2]
Although he was released from jail in 1944 and resumed his studies, he could not complete it as he joinedKochi rajya prajamandalam to enter politics only to move toKerala Socialist Party (KSP) soon. His association with KSP brought him into contact withMathai Manjooran, a notedIndian independence activist and KSP leader as well asVaikom Muhammad Basheer andM. K. Sanu, among others.
Later, he took up the editorship ofDinaparabha but he had to quit following a public speech he made at a temple inKozhikode. Later, he became associated with such publications as Kerala Bhooshanam,Kerala Kaumudi andMadhyamam.[3]
Balakrishnan died on April 3, 1991, at the age of 66.[1]
The first of Balakrishnan's published works was a book onNarayana Guru, which was a compilation of writings on Guru, including biographical sketches, narratives on Guru's activities and his literary contributions.[4][5][6] This was followed by critiques[7]Chandu Menon,Kumaran Asan andEzhuthachan.[8]
In his writings, he first dealt with Kerala history in the anthology onNarayana Guru, the great social reformer of Kerala who changed the face of its caste-ridden society. He brushes with Kerala history again to study whyTipu Sultan, an able ruler and administrator is perceived as an aggressor and a religious fanatic. The culmination of these studies over 3 decades was his work on the social history which departed from the established narration, titledJaathivyavasthayum Kerala Charitravum (The Caste System and History of Kerala).[9]
Pluto, Priyapetta Plutto, was his first novel, was a real life story about his own dog.[10] His next novel,Ini Njan Urangatte, a Mahabharata inspired work, is considered by many to be his magnum opus.[11] This novel, has been translated into English by K.C. Sarsamma under the titleAnd Now Let Me Sleep. Two decades after P. K. Balakrishnan's death, his daughter P. K. Jayalekshmy has been made another English translation under the titleBattle beyond Kurukshetra.[12] Balakrishnan also wrote a number of articles, of which only four collections have been published; two of them were published after his lifetime.[13]
P. K. balakrishnan received theKerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Novel in 1974 for his work,Ini Njan Urangatte.[14] Four years later, the same novel fetched him another major award in the form ofVayalar Award of 1978.[15] He received the Kerala History Association Award for the book,Jaathivyavasthithium Keralacharithravum.[1] He was also a recipient of SPBF Award, Prof. Velayudhan Endowment Award and Kesari Award.
an anthology on the social reformer of Kerala
Chandu Menon, a Study - on the author of the first Malayalam novel,Indulekha
a historical biography
Pluto, My Dear Pluto - the story of his real life dog named after theWalt Disney counterpart
a work on the craft of novel writing, based on the works ofDostoevsky,Tarasankar Bandyopadhyay andJane Austen
The Art of Poetry through Kumaran Asan - on Malayalam poetKumaran Asan
a work on the father of Malayalam literature and some studies on The Mahabharata
Articles of Balakrishnan
Thoughts Apart - Commentaries on social and political history of India triggered by contemporary events. Collected from articles written in Malayalam dailyMadhyamam
The Story of a Heroic Thrill - a collection of articles
English translation
English translation
Tamil translation
Kannada translation
Hindi translation
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