K. P. Ramanunni | |
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Born | 1955 Ponnani, Malabar District, Madras State, India |
Occupation | Writer Administrator, Thunjan Memorial Trust, Tirur |
Spouse(s) | Raji |
Children | Sreedevi |
K. P. Ramanunni (Malayalam:കെ.പി.രാമനുണ്ണി) is a novelist and short-story writer from Kerala, India. His first novel Sufi Paranja Katha (What the Sufi Said) won Kerala Sahitya Akademi award in 1995 and his latest novel Daivathinte Pusthakam (God's Own Book) won 2011 Vayalar Award.
Ramanunni was born to Damodharan Nair and Janaki Amma in 1955. His school education was in AV High School, Ponnani. He graduated in English literature from Malabar Christian College, Calicut. He worked as assistant Manager in SBI and took voluntary retirement from his service to fully engage in literary works. Currently he is administrator of Thunjan Memorial Trust, Tirur, Kerala. He lives at Poovattuparmbu, Calicut.
His debut novel Sufi Paranja Katha (What the Sufi Said) was serialised in Kalakaumudi weekly with the accompaniment of illustrations by the acclaimed Artist Namboothiri. It was published as a book in 1990. Its story revolves around the love and marriage between Mamootty, a Muslim and Karthy, a Nair Hindu. Though converted to Islam, Karthy is unable to resist the primeval tug of her original religion. The novel speaks about religious feelings and relationships and the mystic reach of these aspects. The novel has been translated into eight languages, including English and French. Priyanandanan adapted the novel into a film of the same name in 2010. K. P. Ramanunni himself wrote the dialogue and script of the film.
It took nearly four years for Ramanunni to produce his next novel, Charama Varshikam (Death Anniversary). And five years more to write his latest novel Daivathinte Pusthakam (God's Own Book). The theme of the novel is woven around the life of a bank officer in the grip of amnesia. It was urban hypocrisy and the rural benevolence that he tried to portray in it. Experiences from his own life had added colour to the story, he says. Critics have hailed Jeevithathinte Pusthakam as a significant contribution to Malayalam literature.