Edasseri Govindan Nair

Edasseri Govindan Nair (Malayalam: ഇടശ്ശേരി ഗോവിന്ദൻ നായർ; 23 December 1906 – 16 October 1974) was a prominent Indian poet from Kerala who wrote in his native Malayalam tongue. His works include 19 books and over 300 poems in 10 anthologies, 6 books of plays and a collection of essays.

Born in Kuttippuram, in Malappuram District in Kerala, India on 23 December 1906. Father was P. Krishna Kurup and mother Edasseri Kalathil Kunjukutty Amma. The child was named "Govindan", a very common name meaning "Lord Krishna".

"Edasseri Kalathil" is the name of Tharavad or ancestral home. Being "Nair" by caste Govindan was subjected to the matriarchal custom which was prevalent amongst Nairs. The custom placed mother's eldest brother as head of family or "Karanavar" and in a position of economic power and decision making in the family. The Karanavar was expected to manage the property and meet the needs of the sister and her children. But the system had degenerated and neglect of the nephews by the Karanavars had become rampant. Edasseri Tharavad had fallen to hard days on account of poverty. Govindan received hardly any support from the Tharavad and the sad demise of his father in 1921 brought Govindan's education to an abrupt end at primary level itself. His mother ardently wished to admit him to the High School, but she did not have the means.

Faced with the harshness of poverty the son thought only how to take up a paying job so that he could earn sufficient income to save his mother from the pangs of hunger. With this aim in mind he went to the town of Alappuza with his cousin called Sankarettan. There was to be no pay during apprenticeship, just a dole to keep body and soul together!

At Alappuza, he managed to give tuition and could save Rs. 2/- when an acquaintance from the home village, Kuttippuram, happened to visit Alappuza. Edasseri entrusted the princely amount of Rs. 2/- to him for buying a blanket for his mother. But, as fate would have it, the mother was not lucky to receive the amount, for she was by then stricken with smallpox and died on the day previous to the day the man arrived at Kuttippuram. Edasseri never recovered from this sense of unredeemed debt. His inconsolable sadness later found expression in the poem "Bimbisarante Edayan (Shepherd of King Bimbisara)".

After working as a clerical apprentice under Sankarettan for ten months, Edasseri joined M. Krishna Menon as a resident assistant clerk. During this period he came in contact with Manjoor Parameswaran Pillai in Alappuza and a highly erudite person. Thus far Edaseri's literary world was confined to a few works of Ezhuthachan (considered as father of Malayalam poetry- Adhyatma Ramayanam being his masterpiece), Cherusseri, Kunjan Nambiyar, Venmani poets, Naduvam and Vallathol. Association with Manjoor greatly enlarged Edasseri's capacity to appreciate good literature. The duo was in fact madly in love with literature paying more attention to literary discussions and reading to the neglect of their office work. This trait obviously did not make them any dearer to those under whom they were working. Once the friends went up to the Pier of Alappuza to receive a copy of "Malayala Manorama" in which the celebrated poem "Kochu Seetha (The Little Seetha)" was being published in serial. So much was their eagerness to read the poem that they altogether forgot about the clients waiting for them in their offices! The employers did not take to their love of poetry kindly which according to them was nothing more than an "obsession with titillation"! Edasseri did not dispute his employer, but had to remain humble. As a result, he had to be secretive about his literary activities and ensure that it did not in any way interfere with the long hours of office work. At the end of seven years when he decided to return to Kuttippuram, Edasseri was not very confident professionally. As for Manjoor, he never overcame poverty so much so that in the later years when on occasions he visited Edasseri, despite his own unenviable finances the latter would secretly place some cash in his friend's pocket without the knowledge even of his wife.

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