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Thirunalloor Karunakaran

Thirunalloor Karunakaran (8 October 1924 – 5 July 2006) was a poet, scholar, teacher and leftist intellectual of Kerala, India.[1][2][3][4][5]

Thirunalloor Karunakaran
Thirunalloor Karunakaran
Thirunalloor Karunakaran
Born(1924-10-08)8 October 1924
Kollam, Kerala, India
Died5 July 2006(2006-07-05) (aged 81)
Kollam, Kerala, India
OccupationPoet
NationalityIndian

Biography

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Early life

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Thirunalloor (variously spelled in English as Thirunelloor, Thirunellur and Thirunallur) Karunakaran[a] was born in the village of Perinad in Kollam (Quilon) district in Kerala to P. K. Padmanabhan and N. Lakshmy.[citation needed] He started learning Sanskrit in the traditional way before joining primary school and he associated with the working-class political movement early in his life. He published his first book, the Malayalam translation of a poem by Oliver Goldsmith, while in school. He wrote several poems while he was a student, as well as lyrics and articles in various periodicals. He made his mark during the Pink Decade in Malayalam poetry. By the time he began college, his close contacts with Communist leaders like R. Sugathan and M. N. Govindan Nair made him a staunch sympathiser of the Communist Party of India.[6]

Career

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After earning his Bachelor of Arts degree in history from S. N. College in Kollam, he worked as a tutor there for a brief period.[citation needed] Soon he joined a University college in Trivandrum for post-graduate studies in Malayalam, where he completed some advanced study of Kerala history under Elamkulam Kunjan Pillai, a historian and scholar who was a major influence on Thirunalloor's intellectual life.[citation needed] After completing his Master of Arts in Malayalam, he joined the government service as a college lecturer and taught at Government Arts College and University College.[citation needed] He served as a member of the Kerala Public Service Commission for 6 years. Later, he worked as the editor of Janayugam, a weekly cultural magazine of the Communist Party of India. In 1973, he visited the Soviet Union as a member of the delegation of Indian writers who participated in the Afro-Asian Writers Conference held in Kazakhstan.[6]

Awards conferred on him include the Asan Award (1984), Vayalar Award (1988), Muloor Award (1992), Abudabi Shakthi Award, and the Kerala Sahitya Academy Award for lifetime contributions (2000).[6]

Final years

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Though he lived in the city of Trivandrum for more than three decades, Thirunalloor chose to spend the rest of his life in his native village of Perinad on the banks of Ashtamudi lake, which had been a constant source of inspiration for his poetry. He died on 5 July 2006 at his residence in Quilon. He was buried without any customary religious rites or ceremonies, as he had wished.[7] During his final years, he was engaged in writing a long poem titled 'Seetha' (Sita), reinterpreting the Ramayana legend.

 
Painting based on the poem "Rani" by Thirunalloor Karunakaran. Artist:Chirayinkeezhu Sreekantan Nair

[citation needed]

A three-day-long cultural festival called 'Thirunalloor Kavyolsavam' is held every year from 1 May (International Workers' Day) on the banks of the Ashtamudi lake in Quilon to perpetuate his memory.[8][9]

Writings and philosophy

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Having studied Marxism and Indian philosophy in depth, Thirunalloor, worked to combine the best aspects of both; this vision is a central theme in all of his poems. In many of his poems, he depicts the physical and spiritual experience of collective human labour as a creative process of self-assertion and the self-emancipation of mankind. Tharisu nilangalilekku (To the barren fields), Parayudappukar(The Granite crushers), Adyathe Theevandi (The First Train), and Kayamkulam Kayal(Kayamkulam Lake) all bear the stamp of this vision.[10][11]

The Ashtamudi lake and life on its shores was a key source of inspiration for his writings, and his poetry abounds with varied themes, characters, and imagery taken from this environment. He wrote also wrote short lyrics dealing with soft transitory feelings and moods, as well as long narrative poems that contain diverse characters and complex social situations.[12][13][14]

Several of his works, like lyrics written for various media and art forms like Kadhaprasangam and stageplays, as well as marching songs, articles, and writings in Sanskrit, are yet to be compiled. This includes the Sanskrit translation of Kumaran Asan's Chandala Bhikshuki and studies in Indian aesthetics.[13][15]

Thirunalloor was an atheist, who believed that Indian philosophy is essentially materialistic and areligious. He strongly called for a critical evaluation of the Bhagavad Gita and the philosophy of Shankaracharya (Adi Shankara) to expose their darker sides. He said that Shankaracharya was a supporter of the caste system and the Bhagavad Gita was an open sanction of violence.[16]

Publications

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Poetry and plays

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  • "Samagamam" (Long poem)
  • Manjuthullikal (Collection of poems)
  • "Premam Madhuramanu Dheeravumanu" (Long narrative poem)
  • Soundaryathinte padayalkal (Collection of poems)
  • "Rani (Long narrative poem)
  • "Rathri" (Long narrative poem)
  • Anthi Mayangumbol (Collection of lyrics)
  • "Tashkent" (Long narrative poem)
  • Thirunalloor Karunakarante Kavithakal (Collection of poems)
  • "Vayalar" (Long narrative poem)
  • Greeshma sandhyakal (Collection of poems)
  • Puthumazha (Collection of poems for children)
  • Meghasandesam (Translation of Meghaduta by Kalidasa)
  • Omarghayyaminte Gadhakal (Translation of Rubaiyat by Omar Khayyam)
  • Gypsikal (Translation of Gypsies by Alexander Pushkin)
  • AbhijnanaShakunthalam (Translation of Abhijnanasakuntalam by Kalidasa)

Prose

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  • Malayalabhashaparinamam Sidhanthangalum Vasthuthakalum (A study on the origin and evolution of Malayalam language)
  • Oru Mahayudhathinte Paryavasanam (The Mahabharata retold through an independent angle)
  • Praacheena Bharathathile Bhouthikavaadam (Translation of In Defence of Materialism in Ancient India by Debiprasad Chattopadhyaya)
  • Anusmaranangal (Collection of articles)

See also

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Further reading

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Notes

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  1. ^ "Thirunalloor" is his family name, and "Karunakaran" is his given name

References

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  1. ^ A History of Indian Literature, 1911–1956, Sisir Kumar Das
  2. ^ Kairaliyude Kadha, N. Krishna Pillai, SPCS, Kottayam
  3. ^ Malayala Kavithasahithya Charithram; M. Leelavathy, Kerala Sahithya Akademy, Trichur
  4. ^ Sahithya Varaphalam: M. Krishnan Nair.
  5. ^ Mathrubhumi Daily(Editorial, 7 July 2006); Calicut
  6. ^ a b c Obituary reports on Thirunalloor Karunakaran published in various news papers on 6 July 2006
  7. ^ -Thirunellur laid to rest
  8. ^ The 2008 and 2009 issues of Abhivaadanam the festival bulletin of Thirunalloor Kavyolsavam
  9. ^ xOZ5Y=&SEO= -Thirunalloor Kavyolsavam from today [permanent dead link‍]
  10. ^ Grandhalokam Monthly;(April 2002)Kerala State Library council;Trivandrum
  11. ^ Kerala Kaumudi Daily(Editorial, 6 July 2006);Trivandrum
  12. ^ Sahithyalokam Trimonthly; January–March 1985;pp 41–45;Kerala SahithyaAcademy, Thrissur
  13. ^ a b Articles and features on Thirunalloor Karunakaran published in various magazines and journals in July 2006
  14. ^ -An Idealistic Ordeal[permanent dead link‍]
  15. ^ Bhashaposhini Monthly; May 2004;pp 6–12 Kottayam
  16. ^ PachaMalayalam Monthly; January 2005, pp18-24; Quilon
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