Kakkanadan
Kakkanadan | |
---|---|
Balamaniamma Award |
George Varghese Kakkanadan (23 April 1935 – 19 October 2011
Life
Early years
Born in
Family
Artist Rajan Kakkanadan and writers Thampi Kakkanadan and G. Ignatius Kakkanadan are his brothers. Ignatius, his elder brother, was a journalist and was an editorial board member of Janayugom and Malayalam magazine Soviet Nadu. He was also a noted translator and had translated the works of B. R. Ambedkar and Amartya Sen under a Kerala Bhasha Institute Project.[6] Kakkanadan's younger brother, Thampi, was also a writer who authored several short stories and published a novel- Kalapathinte Orma.[7] Kakkanadan also has two sisters: Ammini, wife of the former Member of Parliament P. A. Solomon, and Annie.[5] Kakkanadan married Ammini in 1965. They have three children: Radha, Rajan Kakkanadan and Rishi.
Death
Kakkanadan died on 19 October 2011, aged 76, at Bishop Benziger's hospital in Kollam. He had had cancer for a few years.[8][9] He was laid to rest with full state honours at the Polayathode public crematorium complex.[10][11] He is survived by his two sons, Rajan and Rishi, and daughter Radha. His wife Ammini died on 15 September 2019.
Writing
Though he had started writing much before the railway stint and even wrote the novel Vasoori, it was his second novel Sakshi that brought him laurels. The book had a great impact on the younger generation of Malayalam readers and was credited with breaking new grounds in
He was one of the harbingers of modernism in the genres of Malayalam novel and short story. Though labelled by his readers as a formidable ultramodern Malayalam writer, Kakkanadan himself was of the view that modernism in literature has no convincing rationale. Several of his works are considered landmarks in the history of literary modernism in Malayalam. Moving with ease from apocalyptic visions to tantric imagery, he made his works representative of an important strand in the larger modernist trends in arts, literature and culture in India.
Kakkanadan was a rebel, both in life and literature. His rebellion extended from his selection of themes and use of subversive language to his careful crafting of the philosophy of angst into the writing. He often traversed the sweat zones of life and spoke of the valleys of the unknowing. With a stunningly violent style, he shook the very roots of the progressive literary sensibilities of the 1960s and 1970s and its innocent certainties. His was a world of dark tones and darker people, many of them social rejects. He often spoke of the seamy side, the world of puss and blood. Each of his works was an act of rebellion against accepted elitist social mores and codes. Sex, like violence, was a leitmotif in many of his works; at times as a resonant chant, at others as an explosive outpouring of raw human power that transcends both the demonic and the divine. Kakkanadan's major novels are Sakshi (1967), Ezham Mudra (1968), Vasoori (1968), Ushnamekhala (1969), Kozhi (1971), Parankimala (1971), Ajnathayude Thaazhvara (1972), Innaleyude Nizhal (1974), Adiyaravu (1975), Orotha (1982), Ee Naaykkalute Lokam (1983) and Barsaathi (1986). His most noted short story collections are Yuddhaavasaanam (1969), Purathekkulla Vazhi (1970), Aswathamaavinte Chiri (1979), Sreechakram (1981), Alwar Thirunagarile Pannikal (1989), Uchayillaatha Oru Divasam (1989) and Jaappaana Pukayila (2005). He has other novels, short story collections, travelogues and essay collections to his credit. Director
He won the
Awards and honours
- 1970: Malayalanadu Award – Yuddhaavasaanam
- 1980: Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Story – Aswathamavinte Chiri
- 1984: Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Novel – Orotha
- 1990: Viswadeepam Award – Alwar Thirunagarile Pannikal
- 1992: Indian Association Sharjah Award
- 1994: Award by Kerala Writers Forum
- 1996: Muttathu Varkey Award
- 2001: Padma Prabha Award[12]
- 2003: Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Overall Contributions (Lifetime Achievement)[13]
- 2005: Kendra Sahitya Akademi Award (Short stories) – Jappana Pukayila
- 2008: Balamaniamma Award[14]
- 2009: Bahrain Keraleeya Samajam Sahitya Award
Bibliography
Novels
- Sakshi (1967)
- Ezham Mudra (1968)
- Vasoori (1968)
- Ushnamekhala (1969)
- Kozhi (1971)
- Parankimala (1971)
- Ajnathayude Thaazhvara (1972)
- Innaleyude Nizhal (1974)
- Aarudeyo Oru Nagaram (1974)
- Adiyaravu (1975)
- Thulavarsham (1975)
- Abhimanyu (1976)
- Theerangalil Udayam (1976)
- Adarnnu Veezhunna Nakshatrangal (1978)
- Ente Nagaram Oru Samarakatha, Mattoru Mukham (1980)
- Verukal Illathavan (1980)
- Orotha (1982)
- Ee Naaykkalute Lokam (1983)
- Kochappu Chila Ormakkurippukal (1985)
- Barsaathi (1986)
- Oru Viddiyude Charithram (1987)
- Nayattu (2 Novels, 1988)
- Chumar Chitrangal (1988)
- Kadalinte Moham (1988)
- Kaveriyude Vili (1988)
- Ivide Ee Theerathu (1990)
- Andrews Enna Paapi (3 Novelettes, 1991)
- Kambolam
- Kakkanadante Lakhu Novelukal
- Pralayathinu Sesham
- Randam Piravi
- Hill Station
- Ammakku Swantham
- Mazha Nizhal Pradesam
- Colossus
Short-stories
- Kachavadam (1963)
- Kannadi Veedu (1966)
- Pathinezhu (1967)
- Yuddhaavasaanam (1969)
- Purathekkulla Vazhi (1970)
- Aswathamaavinte Chiri (1979)
- Sreechakram (1981)
- Kakkanadante Kathakal (1984)
- Alwar Thirunagarile Pannikal (1989)
- Uchayillaatha Oru Divasam (1989)
- Mazhayude Jwalakal (1989)
- Arulappadu (1993)
- Jaappaana Pukayila (2005)
- Baltimorile Amma
- Yusuf Saraile Charakku Vyapari
- Kaalappazhakkam
Travelogues
- Kutajadriyude Sangeetam (1989, travelogue)
- Kulir, Venal, Mazha (1992, travelogue)
Memoirs
- Gallery, Yathrakkidayil (in Malayalanadu Political Weekly)
- Kakkanadante Page (in Malayalanadu Weekly)
Film adaptations
- Onappudava' (1978)
- Parankimala(1981)
- Parvathy (1981)
- Unnikrishnante Adyathe Christmas (1988)
- Parankimala (2014)
References
- ^ "Eminent Malayalam writer Kakkanadan passes away". Jagranjosh.com. Retrieved 4 July 2013.
- ^ "Malayalam writer Kakkanadan dead". The Hindu. 20 October 2011. Retrieved 10 June 2013.
- ^ a b "Novelist Kakkanadan passes away". The Hindu. 19 October 2011. Retrieved 19 October 2011.
- ^ "Kakkanadan not elated at winning award". The Hindu. 25 December 2005. Archived from the original on 2 March 2006. Retrieved 28 December 2008.
- ^ a b "Communism influenced Kakkanadan's works". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 4 July 2013.
- ^ "Ignatius Kakkanadan to be laid to rest today". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 4 July 2013.
- ^ "Thampi Kakkanadan Passes Away". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 4 July 2013.
- ^ "Novelist George Kakkanadan passes away". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 4 July 2013.
- Indian Express. Retrieved 4 July 2013.
- ^ "Kakkanadan laid to rest". The Hindu. Retrieved 4 July 2013.
- ^ "Tributes paid to Kakkanadan". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 4 July 2013.
- ^ "Writer Kakkanadan gets Padma Prabha award". The Times of India. 11 December 2002. Archived from the original on 22 October 2012. Retrieved 28 December 2008.
- ^ "Kakkanadan awarded for Malayalam literature". The Times of India. 9 February 2004. Archived from the original on 22 October 2012. Retrieved 28 December 2008.
- ^ "Kakkanadan bags Balamaniamma award". The New Indian Express. 8 November 2008. Archived from the original on 28 April 2012. Retrieved 28 December 2008.