N. P. Mohammed

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N. P. Mohammed (July 1, 1928 – January 3, 2003), popularly known by his initials N. P., was an Indian novelist, short story writer and screenwriter of Malayalam language. Along with his contemporaries like M. T. Vasudevan Nair, O. V. Vijayan, Kakkanadan, and Madhavikutty, he was known to have been one of the pioneers of modernist movement in Malayalam fiction. He was the president of Kerala Sahitya Akademi and a recipient of several awards including Kendra Sahitya Akademi Award, Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Story, Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Novel, Lalithambika Antharjanam Award, Padmaprabha Literary Award and the Muttathu Varkey Award.

N. P. Mohammed
Born(1928-07-01)July 1, 1928
Koondungal, Kozhikode, Kerala, India
DiedJanuary 3, 2003(2003-01-03) (aged 73)
Kerala
OccupationNovelist, short story writer
NationalityIndian
GenreFiction
Notable works
Notable awards
SpouseImbichi Pathumma
Children7 children including N. P. Hafiz Mohamad
Parents
  • N. P. Abu
  • Imbichi Pathumma

Biography

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N. P. Mohammed was born on July 1, 1929, at Koondungal, in the present-day Kozhikode district of the south Indian state of Kerala to N. P. Abu, a freedom fighter, and Imbichi Pathumma Beevi.[1] N. P. Moideen, a noted politician and a member of Kerala Legislative Assembly, was his brother.[2] Mohammed did his schooling at the local school in Koondungal, Basel Mission School, Parappanangadi, and Ganapathi School, Kozhikode before completing college education at Zamorin's Guruvayurappan College.[3] He started his career as a clerk at a co-operative society but soon moved to the Housing Board Co-operative Society, Kozhikode where he served for the next three decades before superannuating from service as its secretary. He served as the resident editor of Kerala Kaumudi and was associated with a number of publications such as Navasahithi, Nireekshanam, Gopuram, Pradeepam and Jagratha where he served as the member of their editorial boards.[3]

Mohammed was married to Imbichi Pathumma, the marriage taking place in 1952 and the couple had seven children,[3] including writer and academic, N. P. Hafiz Mohamad[4] Mohammed died on January 3, 2003, at the age of 74, succumbing to pneumonia at a private hospital in Kozhikode.[1] His mortal remains were laid to rest at Kannamparambu Kabarstan, in the presence of his friends and dignitaries including M. T. Vasudevan Nair, U. A. Khader, P. Valsala, K. T. Mohammed, Sukumar Azhikode, M. M. Basheer, P. V. Gangadharan and U. K. Kumaran.[5]

Legacy

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Mohammed was known to have been among the group of writers such as M. T. Vasudevan Nair, O. V. Vijayan, Kakkanadan, and Kamala Das who pioneered modernist movement in Malayalam fiction in the 1950s.[6] His oeuvre comprises eight novels, ten short story anthologies and a number of other books.[7] He co-wrote one his novels, Arabi Ponnu (The Arab Gold), with M. T. Vasudevan Nair; it was reported that both writers stayed together in a rented house in Karuvarakkundu village, Kozhikode for a period of two weeks to complete the work. The novel Hiranyakasipu, which tells us a story of power and politics, brings characters from Hindu mythology into a modern political setting in Kerala. His last work, Muhammad Abdurrahman, a fictional biography on the life of the noted Indian independence activist, Mohammed Abdur Rahiman, was found as manuscript after his death and was published posthumously.[4] Three of his stories were adapted into films, Maram, Maanyamahaajanangale and Veeraputhran[8] of which he wrote dialogues for two and screenplay for one.[9]

Mohammed served as the president of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi from 2001 until his death in 2003.[10] Prior to that, he was a member of the governing council of the Akademi and was a member of the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi, Kendra Sahitya Akademi and the Central Board of Film Certification.[3] He was one of the founder members of the Islam and Modern Age Society, and was the translator of Islam Between East and West, written by Alija Izetbegović.[1]

Awards and honours

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Mohammed received his first major award for his first novel, Thoppiyum Chattavum, in 1953 from the Government of Madras when Malabar was a part of the state of Madras.[1] The Kerala Sahitya Akademi chose his short story anthology, Presidentinte Adyathe Maranam, for their annual award for story in 1970.[11] A decade later, Akademi honoured him again with the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Novel in 1981 for the novel, Ennappadam.[12] He received the Kendra Sahitya Akademi Award in 1993 for his work, Daivathinte Kannu'[13][14] the same year as he received the Samastha Kerala Sahithya Parishad Award.[1] In 1997, he was selected for the Lalithambika Antharjanam Smaraka Sahitya Award[15] followed by the Padmaprabha Literary Award in 2000[16] and the Muttathu Varkey Award in 2001.[1] He was also a recipient of the Padmanabha Swami Puraskaram[3] and the C. V. Raman Pillai Award for his non-fiction work, Veera Rasam CV Krithikalil.[1]

List of works

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Novels

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  • Mohammed, N. P. (1968). Maram. Kottayam: S.P.C.S.[17]
  • Vasudevan Nair, M. T.; Mohammed, N. P. (1960). Arabi Ponnu. Kottayam: DC Books.[18]
  • Mohammed, N. P. (1990). Daivathinte kannu. Kottayam: S.P.C.S.
  • Mohammed, N. P. (2000). Hiranyakashipu. Kottayam: DC Books. ISBN 9788126401031.
  • Mohammed, N. P. (2000). Kalippanees. Kottayam: DC Books.
  • Mohammed, N. P. (1992). Pinneyum ennappatam. Kottayam: DC Books.
  • Mohammed, N. P. (1979). Thankavathil. Kottayam: S.P.C.S.
  • Mohammed, N. P. (1980). Ennappadam. Kottayam: S.P.C.S.
  • Mohammed, N. P. (1979). Thankavathil. Kottayam: S.P.C.S.
  • Mohammed, N. P. (2004). Mohammed Abdul Rahman-Oru Novel. ASIN B007E4XWRI.

Short story collections

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Essays

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Poetry

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Children's literature

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Translation

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Year Film Contribution Reference
[19]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g "Writer N. P. Mohammed,74, dies". Arab News. 4 January 2003. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
  2. ^ Staff Reporter (12 September 2015). "Former MLA N.P. Moideen is dead". The Hindu. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Biography on Kerala Sahitya Akademi portal". Kerala Sahitya Akademi portal. 28 April 2019. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
  4. ^ a b "The Hindu : Book Review - Language Books : Fictional biography". www.thehindu.com. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
  5. ^ "N.P. Mohammed laid to rest with State honours". The Hindu. 4 January 2003. Archived from the original on 30 September 2012. Retrieved 24 May 2009.
  6. ^ George, K. M. (1994). Modern Indian Literature, an Anthology: Surveys and poems. Sahitya Akademi. ISBN 978-81-7201-324-0.
  7. ^ "List of works". Kerala Sahitya Akademi. 28 April 2019. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
  8. ^ "List of Malayalam Movies written by NP Muhammed". www.malayalachalachithram.com. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
  9. ^ "Profile of Malayalam Story Writer NP Muhammed". malayalasangeetham.info. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
  10. ^ "Pall of gloom at Sahitya Akademi". The Hindu. 4 January 2003. Archived from the original on 28 September 2012. Retrieved 24 May 2009.
  11. ^ "Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Story". Kerala Sahitya Akademi. 29 April 2019. Archived from the original on 5 July 2017. Retrieved 29 April 2019.
  12. ^ "Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Novel". Kerala Sahitya Akademi. 29 April 2019. Archived from the original on 9 November 2013. Retrieved 29 April 2019.
  13. ^ "Literary Awards". 24 May 2007. Archived from the original on 24 May 2007. Retrieved 29 April 2019.
  14. ^ Awards & Fellowships-Akademi Awards Archived 2009-08-28 at the Wayback Machine
  15. ^ "Lalithambika Antharjanam Smaraka Sahitya Award". www.keralaculture.org. 29 April 2019. Retrieved 29 April 2019.
  16. ^ "Padmaprabha Literary Award - Padma Prabha Puraskaram". www.keralaculture.org. 29 April 2019. Retrieved 29 April 2019.
  17. ^ "Kerala Sahitya Akademi, Books of N.P Muhammed". Kerala Sahitya Akademi. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
  18. ^ "Arabipponnu". University of Calicut Library. Retrieved 17 January 2023.
  19. ^ "Veeraputhran (2011)". www.malayalachalachithram.com. Retrieved 29 April 2019.

Further reading

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