Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | (1912-04-17)17 April 1912 |
| Died | 10 April 1999(1999-04-10) (aged 86) |
| Pen name | Thakazhi |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Genre | Novel, short story |
| Subject | Social aspects |
| Literary movement | Realism |
| Notable awards | |
| Spouse | Kamalakshi Amma |
| Parents | Poypallikalathil Sankara Kurup Aripurathuveettil Parvathy Amma |
| Relatives | Guru Kunchu Kurup (Paternal Uncle), Raj Nair (Grandson), Velikkakath Parameshwara Kaimal (Paternal Grandfather) |
Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai (17 April 1912 – 10 April 1999), popularly known asThakazhi after his place of birth, was an Indian novelist and short story writer ofMalayalam literature. He wrote over 30 novels and novellas and over 600 short stories focusing on the lives of the oppressed classes. Known for his works such asKayar (Coir, 1978) andChemmeen (Prawns, 1956), Pillai was a recipient of thePadma Bhushan, the third highest Indian civilian award. He was also a recipient of theJnanpith Award, India's highest literary award, awarded in 1984 for the novelKayar.[1][2]
Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai was born on 17 April 1912 inThakazhy,[3] a small village inKuttanad in present-dayAlappuzha district ofKerala to Poypallikalathil Sankara Kurup, who was the brother ofGuru Kunchu Kurup, a doyen ofKathakali and Aripurathuveettil Parvathy Amma.[4] After early tutoring by his father and Chakkampurathu Kittu Asan, a local teacher, Pillai had his primary education at a local school in Thakazhi and passed 7th standard examination from the English School inAmbalappuzha. Subsequently, he did his high school education, first at a high school inVaikom and later at the NSS High school inKaruvatta, where he had the opportunity to study underKainikkara Kumara Pillai, who was the headmaster of the school during that period. After passing 10th standard, he moved toThiruvananthapuram and passed the pleader examination from theGovernment Law College, Thiruvananthapuram.[4] He started his career as a reporter atKerala Kesari daily but moved to legal career by practising under a lawyer named P. Parameshwaran Pillai at themunsif court of Ambalappuzha. It was during this time, he was attracted by the communist movement and he participated in the functioning of theSahitya Pravarthaka Sahakarana Sangham (Writers' Cooperative Society). He presidedKerala Sahitya Akademi and was also associated withSahitya Akademi as a member of its general council.[4]
Pillai married Thekkemuri Chembakasseril Chirakkal Kamalakshy Ammai, affectionately called by him asKatha, in 1934 and the couple had one son and four daughters.[5] He died on 10 April 1999, at the age of 86 (A week before his 87th birthday), survived by his wife, who died on 1 June 2011, and their five children.[6]
Pillai, whose works would later earn him the moniker,Kerala Maupassant,[7][8] started writing at an early age and his associations withKainikkara Kumara Pillai during his school days and withKesari Balakrishna Pillai during hisThiruvananthapuram days are known to have helped the aspiring writer in his career, it was the latter who introduced him to European literature.[9] His first short story wasDaridran (The Poor) which was published in 1929.[10] In 1934 came out Thakazhi's first published volume,Puthumalar (New Blossoms) which was a collection of short stories. This was soon followed by his first novelThyagathinu Prathiphalam (Fruits of Sacrifice) which primarily dealt with the social injustices prevalent during that time.[5] This was the first of his 39 novels; he also published 21 anthologies composed of over 600 short stories, two plays and four memoirs.[6][11]
Pillai's literary works are known to portray the society in Kerala in the mid-20th century.Thottiyude Makan (Scavenger's Son), a story about a scavenger who strives unsuccessfully to keep his son from continuing the family profession was published in 1947 and is known to be the first realistic novel inMalayalam literature.[5] Hispolitical novel,Randidangazhi (Two Measures, 1948), projected the evils of the feudal system that prevailed in Kerala then, especially in Kuttanad. The film adaptation, directed and produced byP. Subramaniam from a screenplay by Thakazhi himself, received a certificate of merit at theNational Film Awards in 1958.[12]
In 1956, Pillai published his love epicChemmeen (Prawns), which was a departure from his earlier line ofrealism and the novel received critical acclaim, becoming the first post-colonial Indian novel to be translated into English; the English translation was accepted into the Indian Series of UNESCO Collection of Representative Works.[13] It told a tragic love story against the backdrop of a fishing village inAlappuzha. The novel and its film adaptation, also titledChemmeen (1965), earned him national and international fame.Chemmeen was translated into 19 world languages and adapted into film in 15 countries. The film adaptation, directed byRamu Kariat, won theNational Film Award for Best Feature Film in 1965.[14] His next notable work wasEnippadikal (Rungs of the Ladder), published in 1964, which traces the careerism of an ambitious bureaucrat whose lust for power and position becomes his own undoing. The novel was adapted into amovie in 1973 byThoppil Bhasi.[15]Anubhavangal Paalichakal, another novel he published in 1966, was also made into a feature film byK. S. Sethumadhavan, in 1971, withSathyan,Prem Nazir andSheela in the lead roles.[16] The story "Vellapokkathil", written in the mid-1960s, is considered one of his best stories.[17] It was adapted into ashort film of the same name byJayaraj in 2007.[18]
Pillai wroteKayar (Coir) in 1978, a long novel extending to over 1000 pages, covering the history of several generations inKuttanad for over 200 years and is considered by many as his masterpiece, n spite of the popularity ofChemmeen.[19] The novel deals with hundreds of characters over four generations, bringing back to life an axial period (1885–1971) during whichfeudalism,matriliny, andbonded labour gave way toconjugal life and to universal access to land ownership, and later, todecolonisation.[10]
Pillai wrote his only play in 1946 titledThottilla, which was a social drama; it was performed on many stages byKerala People's Arts Club.[20] He published four autobiographical books and two other works.[21] Four of his short stories were the base of a film,Naalu Pennungal, made byAdoor Gopalakrishnan in 2007, which he termed as his homage to the writer.[22]
Pillai received theSahitya Akademi Award in 1957 for the love epic,Chemmeen.[23] Kerala Sahitya Akademi selectedEnippadikal for theirannual award for novels in 1965.[24] His Novel,Kayar was selected for theVayalar Award in 1984,[25] and he received the highest Indian literary award,Njanapeedam in 1984[26][27] and a year later, the Government of India awarded him the third highest civilian honour of thePadma Bhushan.[28] In 1986 he was conferred with anhonorary doctorate (D.Litt) byUniversity of Kerala.[29]Sahitya Akademi elected him as adistinguished fellow in 1989;[30] he had already been a distinguished fellow of theKerala Sahitya Akademi by then.[31] In 1994, the Government of Kerala awarded himEzhuthachan Puraskaram, their highest literary honour.[32] In 1996 he was awarded an honorary doctorate (D.Litt) byMahatma Gandhi University.[33]India Post issued a commemorative postage stamp depicting his image in 2003, under theJnanapith Award Winners series.[34]Sahitya Akademi commissioned a documentary film on the life of Pillai to be made[35] andM. T. Vasudevan Nair madeThakazhi, a documentary film of 57 minutes length, which was released a year before Pillai's death in 1998.[36] The Government of Kerala acquired Sankaramanagala, the ancestral home of Pillai, in 2000[37] and a museum,Thakazhi Memorial Museum was set up in 2001, honoring the writer's memory.[38]
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