Pala Narayanan Nair | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1911-12-11)11 December 1911 |
| Died | 11 June 2008(2008-06-11) (aged 96) |
| Occupation | Poet |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Notable works |
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| Notable awards |
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| Spouse | Subhadrakutty Amma |
| Children | 4 |
| Relatives |
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Pala Narayanan Nair (11 December 1911 – 11 June 2008) was an Indianpoet and lyricist, best known for his work,Keralam Valarunnu, written in 1953, comprising eight volumes, which earned him the title ofMahakavi. He wrote more than 5,000 poems, which have been compiled in about 43 anthologies. Nair, who also wrote the lyrics for the 1956 Malayalam movie,Avar Unarunnu, was a recipient of theEzhuthachan Puraskaram, the highest literary honour of theGovernment of Kerala as well asVallathol Award andKerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Poetry, besides other honours.
Narayanan Nair was born on 11 December 1911 inPala ofKottayam district inKerala to Keezhpallil Sankaran Nair and Puliannoor Puthoor Parvathy Amma.[1] His schooling was at St. Thomas School, Pala from where he passed the final examination but his father's death in 1932 forced him to start earning and he joinedPalai Central Bank as an accountant, simultaneously giving private tutions.[2] He moved to S. M. V. S. High School as teacher in 1937 but had to quit the job duringWorld War II to join theIndian Army. He quit military service in 1947 to join theUniversity of Kerala (then known as the University of Travancore) in their publications division. While working at the university, he resumed his studies to earn a bachelor's degree in 1954 and a master's degree in Malayalam in 1956, standing first in the examination. He retired from the university in 1967 as the head of the department of publications and served as a professor of Malayalam atAlphonsa College, Palai until 1972.[2] He also served at MMNSS College Kottiyam for a while.[3]
Narayanan Nair was married to Subhadrakutty Amma and the couple had two daughters and two sons. He died, at the age of 96, on 11 June 2008, at a private hospital inKottayam, where he had been admitted following age-related illnesses.[4]
Narayanan Nair published 43 poetry anthologies andKeralam Valarunnu (Kerala is growing), an eight-volume epic[5] which earned him the title,Mahakavi.[1]Pookkal,Adima,Nirdhanan,Padakkalam,Bhasparangam,Anthya Pooja,Olangal,Kairali Murali,Ragalapam,Manusyan,Malanad,Paalazhy,Sundarakadam,Amarajyothi,Pournami,Meghasancharam,VilakkuKoluthu,Soorya Gayathri,Samara Mukhathu,Ananthapuri,Shravanageetham andAmruthavarshini feature among his notable works.[2] Besides his poems, he wrote the lyrics forAvar Unarunnu, a Malayalam movie directed byN. Sankaran Nair and released in 1956.[6] Besides the nine songs featured in the film,[7] he also wrote other songs.[8] WhenKerala Sahitya Akademi was constituted in 1957, he was elected as the founder secretary of the academy, a post he held for two years.[2]
TheKerala Sahitya Akademi awarded Nair theirannual award for poetry in 1976 for his anthology,Vilakku Koluthoo.[9] He received the inauguralVallathol Award in 1991[10] followed byFOKANA Kerala Ganam Award, the next year.[11] Ulloor Smaraka Samithi awarded him the Ulloor Award in 1999 and he received theEzhuthachan Puraskaram, the highest literary award of theGovernment of Kerala in 2000.[12] A year later, he was selected for the 2001Asan Smaraka Kavitha Puraskaram[13] and he received theMathrubhumi Literary Award in 2004.[14] A recipients of other honours such asPuthezhan Award andMooloor Award, Nair was honoured byKerala Sahitya Akademi with their distinguished fellowship in 2006.[15]
Mahatma Gandhi University has instituted a chair,Pala Narayanan Nair Chair, in his honour withSukumar Azhikode, holding the chair during the initial two years.[1]Pala: Kavithakalude Palazhy is a documentary film made by Jinoop J. Nair on the life of Narayanan Nair.[3][16]
documentary
