P. Kunhiraman Nair

P. Kunhiraman Nair Biography

P. Kunhiraman Nair was one of the Malayalam writers who expressed natural beauty of Kerala through his words and poems. Born in Bellikoth near Kanhangad of North Malabar on October 4, 1905, he was simply known as ‘P’. His works include poetry collection, essays, stories, plays and autobiography. His autobiographies are Kaviyude kalpadukal, Nithyakanyakaye thedi and Ennethirayunna njan. 'Kaviyude Kaalpaadukal' is regarded as the most noted autobiography of this author. He has received both the Kerala Sahithya Akademi and the Kendra Sahithya Academy Award. He received Kendra Sahitya Academy award for Poetry collections – Thamara thoni in 1967. He was the first receiver of Kerala sahitya academy award. He received the award for Kaliyachan in 1959.

Central belt of Kerala, known by the name Valluvanud in local terms has inspired his works a lot. He often tells about traditional dance form of Kerala, Kathakali a lot. Though he has worked on prose and poems, he was most attached to the beauty of poetry. He started writing at the age of 12 and continued it till he passed away on May 27, 1978 aged 72. He was proficient in Sanskrit also. He started his career in a printing press in Thrissur. Then he published a newspaper from Kannur and finally took teaching as his profession. He was fondly called ‘Kavi maash’ (poet teacher) by his students. He continued writing alongside his work and continued it till his end of life journey.

His noted poetry collections include – Kaliyachhan, Onasadya, Pookkaalam, Mekalaeyude magal, Thamarathen, Vasantholsavam, Chilamboli and Ratholsavam. His popular short stories are Chaaithraraksha, Indira, Nirmala, Ramabai and Veerapratinha. His plays are Poonilavu, Rangamandapam, Upasana, Chandramandalam and Swapnasanchari. Vichaaravibhaatam and Satyaraksha are his popular essays. His poems are best illustrations of devotion, natural beauty of Kerala, temples, deities, stories of epics, rituals and customs.

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Updated: January 27, 2014