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Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai

タカジ・シヴァサンカラ・ピッライ

Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai

Aliases: Thakazhi
Pen Names: Thakazhi（Pen name derived from his birthplace）

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1912-04-17 （Thakazhy, Alappuzha district）
Died
1999-04-10 （Thakazhy, Alappuzha district, Kerala） age 86
Nationality
Indian
Languages
Malayalam
Residence History
Thakazhy village, Alappuzha district, Kerala → Ambalappuzha → Thiruvananthapuram

Career

Occupations
reporter, lawyer, novelist, short story writer
Active Years
1929-1999
Affiliations
Kerala Sahitya Akademi, Sahitya Akademi
Memberships
Sahitya Akademi general council member, President of Kerala Sahitya Akademi
Influenced By
Kainikkara Kumara Pillai, Kesari Balakrishna Pillai
Influenced
M. T. Vasudevan Nair

Education

Local school in Thakazhy
Primary education
Period: 幼少期
Country: India
Early tutoring by father and local teacher
English School in Ambalappuzha
Period: 7年生修了
Country: India
Passed 7th standard
High school in Vaikom
Period: 高校前期
Country: India
NSS High school in Karuvatta
Period: 高校後期
Country: India
Under headmaster Kainikkara Kumara Pillai
Government Law College, Thiruvananthapuram
Law
Degree: プレーダー資格
Country: India
Passed pleader examination

Awards

Sahitya Akademi Award
1957
Work: Chemmeen
Category: マラヤーラム小説
Organization: Sahitya Akademi
Result: 受賞
Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Novel
1965
Work: Enippadikal
Organization: Kerala Sahitya Akademi
Result: 受賞
Vayalar Award
1984
Work: Kayar
Result: 受賞
Jnanpith Award
1984
Work: Kayar
Organization: Bharatiya Jnanpith
Result: 受賞
Padma Bhushan
1985
Organization: Government of India
Result: 受賞
Ezhuthachan Puraskaram
1994
Organization: Government of Kerala
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Chemmeen

1956 love epic novel 288 pages

Tragic love story in an Alappuzha fishing village where a woman loves another man while her husband is at sea, bound by superstition that a fisherman's wife waiting for her husband brings misfortune.

lovesuperstitionfishing village lifeoppressed classes
Adaptations
  • [Film] Chemmeen / Ramu Kariat (1965)
Translations
  • English, 19 world languages

Kayar (Coir)

1978 historical novel 1000 pages

Epic novel over 1000 pages covering 200 years and four generations in Kuttanad, from feudalism, matriliny, and bonded labor to decolonization.

feudalismsocial changeland ownershipKerala history
Translations
  • Tamil, others

Thottiyude Makan (Scavenger's Son)

1947 realist novel

Story of a scavenger trying unsuccessfully to prevent his son from following the family profession; first realist novel in Malayalam.

caste discriminationpovertyfamily
Translations
  • English

Randidangazhi (Two Measures)

1948 political novel

Projects evils of feudal system in Kuttanad, Kerala.

feudalismpeasantsexploitation
Adaptations
  • [Film] Randidangazhi / P. Subramaniam (1958)

Bibliography

  • Chemmeen
  • Kayar
  • Thottiyude Makan
  • Randidangazhi
  • Enippadikal
  • Anubhavangal Paalichakal

Adaptations

  • Chemmeen (1965)
  • Randidangazhi (1958)
  • Enippadikal (1973)
  • Naalu Pennungal (2007)

Translations of Works

  • Chemmeen: 19 languages
  • Kayar: Tamil

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Realismsocial realismdetailed character portrayal
Recurring Motifs
lives of oppressed classescritique of feudalismsocial changes in Kerala

Legacy

Pioneering realist in Malayalam literature, Jnanpith laureate. Portrayed lives of the oppressed and Kerala's social history realistically, earning international acclaim.

Museums

  • Thakazhi Memorial Museum Thakazhy, Alappuzha Opened in 2001

Academic Societies

  • Kerala Sahitya Akademi Fellowship
  • Sahitya Akademi Fellowship

Archives

  • Sankaramanagala (ancestral home)

In Popular Culture

  • 2003 India commemorative postage stamp
  • Documentary 'Thakazhi' by M.T. Vasudevan Nair (1998)

Trivia

  • Nicknamed 'Kerala Maupassant'
  • Authored over 30 novels and 600 short stories
  • Affectionately called his wife 'Katha'