Literature

Payyanur contributed a lot to the Malayalam language and literature. “Payyanur Pattu” written by an anonymous author is believed to be the first independent Malayalam work. This book written during 13th or 14th century, is a love story, which also explains the social and cultural life of the then Payyanur. Now only 448 lines of this book is available which was preserved by the German Missionary and Scholar Dr. Herman Gundert and is kept in the Tubington University of Germany. Pothera Ezhuthachan, the author of "Soorya Sthuti", Kadinhippalli Krishnan Mootha Nambiar, who translated many works in Sanskrit to Malayalam, Kana Kammaran Ezhuthachan, Raman Ezhuthachan, Karipathu Kunhiraman Ezhuthachan are some of the great people who paved the foundations for the literary tradition of Payyanur.

 Anidil Ezhuthachan who wrote “Kalasapattu”, which described the stories of Subrahmanya Swami temple, was also a great son of Payyanur. He wrote many songs for the folk arts like Kalam Pattu, Pulluvan Pattu, and Poorakkali Pattu. 

Vengayil Kunhiraman Nayanar gave a new vigor to the  literature field of Payyanur. He was one of the leading figure in the field of prose in Kerala and he was the author of first short story in Malayalam, 'Vasanavikriti' . The articles by Nayanar under the pen names, "Kesari","Vajrasoochi","Vajrabahu" obtained wide appreciation from all over Kerala. He was a close friend of Dr. Herman Gundert and William Logan who did a lot of researches on the history, language and other aspects of Kerala.  The freedom struggle gave a new vigor and energy to the literary field of Payyanur . Many songs, poems, plays were written during this period to activate the patriotism in the common people. This trend was more visible in the field of dramas. 

The plays usually staged here were musical dramas and some plays written by Mahakavi Kuttamath and Vidwan P Kelu Nair . Stimulated by these works some talented people like Kadinjiyil Anandan Nair, VP Sreekanda Poduval Vaidyar,Vellur PK Appukuttan Master, Arathil Kambrathu Kanna Poduval started writing own dramas and they received a warm welcome here. But many of these plays were musical dramas. It is to be specially mentioned that VP Sreekanda Poduval tried to some experiments by selecting current subjects.

It was AV Sreekanda Poduval who started a new trend in this field by his plays called "To Seva Gram", "Thirichadi"(Set Back) , " Arude Thettu"(Whose Fault) which were written inline with the independence movement. KP Kunhirama Poduval's "Bharatha Ratham" which contained sharp attacks on the British Government succeeded in reaching the message of independence movement to the society. British Government even banned the staging of this play . 

Apart from the dramas, AV Sreekanda Poduval wrote many patriotic poems and songs for the Freedom movement. The songs written during the period of Quit India Movement and Guruvayoor Satyagraha were widely appreciated. The collection of poems "Mazhavillu","Venu Ganam", "Krishna Pushpanagal" are some of the books written by him. He received Idasseri Award and Kuttamath Award for his poetries. 

Since Payyanur has a rich tradition of Astrology , many books were published in this field also. Naveena Ganitha Prakasika by KV Rama Poduval and Sudha Ganitham by VPK Poduval are some of those.

AK Krishnan Master: He was the real reflection of the rich culture and tradition of Payyanur. AKP, (he is popularly known as) was considered to be a "mobile encyclopedia" and handled all sorts of literature from Folklore to Modern. He wrote a number of articles and essays on various subjects . Unfortunately all of them are scattered around many souvenirs and other publications. It is highly essential to collect all of them and publish in the form of a book so that it will serve as a reference for the new generation.

CP Sreedharan: Payyanur will remember the name of her beloved son CP  Sreedharan always with proud. He handled the various fields of Malayalam literature like criticism, biography,etc.with ease and expertise. He served as the president of Samasta Kerala Sahitya Parishad, President of Sahitya Pravartaka Sahakarana Sangham(SPCS) and member of Kerala Sahitya Academy. "Indian Viplavathinte Vithu", "Innathe Sahityakaranmar", " Panchajanyam" are some of his famous works. CP was known as a very good speaker also. He served as the Chief Editor of the "Veekshanam" daily published from Kochi for a long time.

A few contributions to the Malayalam Literature...

CV Balakrishnan: One of the top novelist and short story  writer of Malayalam. He opened a new style in story and novel writing. "Ayussinte Pustakam", "Vilakkumadam","Asthikalile Venal","Kannadi Kadal" are some of his famous novels which are also considered as milestones in history of Malayalam Novels. He wrote a number of stories also. "Maalaakhamar Chiraku Veesumbol", "Bhoomiyepatti Adhikam Parayenda" are some of the collections of his short stories. Balakrishnan is popular in Malayalam Film field also. He wrote the screenplays for many hit films of Malayalam.

Payyanur Balakrishnan is another noted personality in literature. His stories and novels are mostly based on the "Vadakkan Pattukal". Many of his stories were transformed into films and television serials.

Satheesh Babu Payyanur: Noted writer of Malayalam. "Mannu, " Daivappura", "Manja Sooryante Nalukal" are his famous works. He received "Karoor Memorial Award" for his story called "Daivam" (The God).

P. Appukuttan Master, who is a noted writer and speaker is one of the active literary personalities of Payyanur. He worked as the Secretary of the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Academy . (He is one of the patrons of Payyanur Dot Com Group).

Kaithapram

Prof. M.R. Chandrasekharan, the famous critic and writer and Prof. Melathu Chandrasekharan the renowned poet ,though not natives of this place , selected Payyanur as their base. 

Dr. MV Vishnu Namboothiri, who is dedicating his life for the research and study of folklore, is also among the prominent literary figures of Kerala.

[Photo: Jaleel Ramanthali]

Payyanur is proud of Kaithapram Damodaran Namboothiri , the renowned lyricist and poet. VP Manoharan, RC Karipathu,late KV Sekhara Poduval, KVR Payyanur, VP Balakrishna Poduval, P.Balachandran, Payyanur Kunhiraman, Swami Gopalji, TP Bhaskara Poduval, Balan Annur, Dr. Anand, KTN Sukumaran Nambiar, E.P Rajagopalan, AK Ramakrishnan Master, TK Kanna Poduval, KK Bhaskaran, Ibrahim Vengara, Prof. B. Muhammad Ahmed , AC Sreehari, Jaleel Ramanthali, Haridas Karivellur [Photo], Karivellur Murali, Sudhakrarn Ramanthali, Suresh Ramanthali etc. are the other noted personalities in the area of literature.

Dr. M. Aravindan  is the recipient of national award for 2001-02 instituted by HRD for encouraging Hindi Writers in Hindi non-speaking States. He has translated Madhavi Kutty's Balyakalasmaranakal to Hindi - Bachpen Ki Yaden.  The award includes the memento, certificate and a cash-prize of Rs.50,000/-. He received the award on April 30 from Sri A.B. Vajpaye, the Prime Minister of India. Dr. Murali Manohar Joshi- the minister for human resources was also present during the function.  Dr. Aravindan (44) is a Reader in Hindi department of Payyanur College and a Research Guide in Kannur University. He is the second son of late Narayana Variar, a freedom fighter and Hindi Organizer of Dakshin Bharath Hindi Prachar Sabha. His wife is Raji; Ajith and Amith are two sons.

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