For over half a century till his death in 1989, N V Krishna Warrier remained the most versatile figure in Malayalam literature. The two letters N V described him fully for millions of literary lovers in Kerala. His genius was felt across several spheres - as a poet, journalist, linguist, literary mentor and scholar extraordinary. He was also the acknowledged voice of Malayalam literature for the world outside.
NV shot into fame in 1954 when he was entrusted with the task of translating to Malayalam an address by the Vice President of India
Dr Radhakrishnan at the Kerala Sahitya Parishad meeting at Ottapalam, a small town in Kerala.
The translation with its fluency and precision overwhelmed the audience and the speaker himself who was pleased to know that the translator was a young Sanskrit scholar and a rising star in Malayalam literature.
That moment set the stage for one of the most remarkable careers in Malayalam language and literature.
NV generated a phenomenal literary output - 14 collections of poems, 20 volumes of essays and literary criticism, five translations, three travelogues, three plays and two stories for kathakali performance. While he was at ease in his diverse roles, it was his poetic experiments that were regarded as transformational.
NV came to the scene when the Malayalam literary world was under the magic spell of the legendary Changapuzha and his intensely romantic verse. He chose a path less travelled and picked up themes from the contemporary world that was facing a crisis of humanity and an erosion of values.
His widely read three poems - ‘Mohan Das Gandhiyum Nathuram Godseyum’ (Mohandas Gandhi and Nathuram Godse), ‘Swana Pradarshanam’ (Dog Show) and ‘Elikal’ (Rats) capture the moral vacuum and hypocrisy of our life and times.
In ‘Mohan Das Gandhiyum...’, the poet pictures Gandhi as an ordinary Indian standing in queue to buy ration while Godse is seen moving around in a plush, modern limousine. Later, Godse arrives at Raj Ghat to place a wreath on Gandhi’s anniversary and poses to be photographed. In ‘Swana Pradarshanam’, the poet uses the imagery of a dog show to describe the contradictions of an unequal society.
While on the one hand, a few dogs are decorated and paraded for a glittering show, on the other hand, the Corporation’s dog squads are chasing the street dogs to clean the city. ‘Elikal’ (Rats) is a strong indictment of colonialism which brought about situations like the Bengal famine.
Every NV poem turns out to be a statement on the world today and it’s moral failings.
NVs role as a literary mentor to a generation of young, talented writers has been widely commended. Many of them in later years emerged as leading lights in Malayalam literature, SugathaKumari, Vishnu Naranayan, K V Ramakrishnan, K P Sankaran and several others.
M G S Narayanan, a noted historian, recently observed that during his stint as the editor of the prestigious Mathrubhumi Weekly, NV often went out of the way in search of new talents in science and history, subjects far from literature to create a talent pool of writers and thinkers”.
He often showed incredible courage to speak on his convictions irrespective of situations and circumstances. Once at a Kalidasa festival, he mounted the podium and stunned the audience by stating that “Kalidasa is indeed a great poet. But at the moment our focus is on G Sankara Kurup”.
NV considered Kurup as the greatest of contemporary Malayalam poets, a stand which often brought him into conflict with Kurup’s long time critic, the irrepressible Sukumar Azhikode.
They fought many intellectual battles on Kurup’s place in Malayalam literature. Ultimately NV silenced his critics when Sankara Kurup was awarded the very first JnanPith Award in 1965.
It is no cliche to say that N V Krishna Warrier’s absence has left a void in Malayalam literature. M T Vasudevan Nair, the distinguished Malayalam writer and novelist described NV as ‘The Wonder of Wisdom’.
NV Krishna Warrier Smaraka Trust established in 1992 to commemorate NV’s contributions has published a complete collection of his poetic works. The trust plans to observe 2015-2016 as the NV year in Malayalam literature.