THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: V Madhusoodanan Nair who won the Kendra Sahitya Akademi award for his poem ‘Achan Piranna Veedu’ (The home where my father was born) on Wednesday, is one poet who has always stood out from the rest in modern Malayalam poetry.
With his simple and direct verses, Madhusoodanan Nair communicated easily with his readers. A significant character of his poems is its deep connection with Kerala’s cultural heritage and an innate sense of pride in its varied heredity.
The traditional Kerala style, its classical traits and its own linguistic peculiarities can be seen in abundance in his poetry. That is why some of his lyrics in ‘Naranathu Bhranthan’ or ‘Agasthya Hridayam’ are still popular among poetry lovers.
Interestingly, he was one among those who were derided by a section of established poets as ‘Cassette Kavikal’ (Cassette Poets), mocking their widespread popularity for their audio versions of poems, in the 90s. His first collection and arguably the most celebrated poem, ‘Naranathu Bhranthan’ was published in 1992. Naranathu Bhranthan is still one of the best sellers in the country, with the first 22 editions being brought out in just eight years.
Born at Aruviyodu in Neyyattinkara, he imbibed the tradition of ritualistic songs from his father K Velayudhan Pillai who was a reciter of Thottam Pattu. He took to poetry while still in school, but only started publishing his works in the 80s. Agasthya Hridayam, Punyapuranam Ramakatha, Vaakku, Ganga and Bharatheeyam are some of his other well-known works. He has written and rendered lyrics for a few Malayalam movies too.
A recipient of many awards including the Kerala Sahitya Akademi award, Asan award, Kunju Pillai award, K Balakrishnan award, R G Mangalam award and Souparnikatheeram award, Professor Madhusoodanan Nair retired as Professor and Head of the Department of Malayalam, St Xavier’s College, Thiruvananthapuram.
Madhusoodanan Nair also played a prominent role in the state government giving its nod for the Malayalam language oath written by Jnanpith awardee MT Vasudevan Nair. About four years ago, while addressing the students of Malayalam Pallikkoodam, a novel initiative led by Madhusoodanan Nair to promote Malayalam language and culture, MT Vasudevan Nair, on being gently prodded by Madhusoodanan Nair to pen something for the students, readily scribbled a few verses on the board. These verses were later adopted as the official language oath by the Kerala government.
In an earlier interview with TNIE, Madhusoodanan Nair had described the oath as multi-dimensional and one that ideally captured the essence of one’s own mother tongue in the true sense of the term. “If there is one factor that can unite people and bring in a sense of fraternity among them, it is the mother tongue. Nothing else can unite them, be it religion, caste or party affiliations. Favouring a foreign language over one’s own mother tongue is akin to being a slave,” he had said.