V. K. N.
| V.K.N. | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
6 April 1932 Thiruvilwamala, Thrissur, Kingdom of Cochin, British India |
| Died | 25 January 2004 (aged 71) Thiruvilwamala, Thrissur, Kerala, India |
| Occupation | Writer, journalist |
| Language | Malayalam, English |
| Nationality | India |
| Genre | Novel, short story, humour, essay |
| Notable works | Arohanam, Payyan Kathakal |
| Spouse | Vedavathi |
| Children | Balachandran,Ranjana |
| Relatives | Methil Devika |
Vadakkke Koottala Narayanankutty Nair, commonly known as V.K.N. (6 April 1932 – 25 January 2004), was a famous Malayalam writer, noted mainly for his high-brow satire. He wrote novels, short stories and political commentaries. His works are noted for their multi-layered humour, trenchant criticism of the socio-political classes and ability to twist the meanings of words contextually and lend a touch of magic to his language.
A native of Kerala in south India, V.K.N. was born on 6 April 1932 in Thiruvilwamala in Thrissur district. (C. P. Nair, one of his close friends, tells that V.K.N's correct date of birth is 7 April 1929.) After completing his matriculation, he joined the Malabar Devaswom Board and worked there for 9 years. Like a number of modern Malayalam writers such as O. V. Vijayan, V.K.N. spent many years in New Delhi (from 1959 to 1969) as an English journalist. The experiences he gained during these years, which coincided with the nascent post-independent India, are reflected in his book, Pitamahan (The Great Grandfather). V.K.N.'s first story Parajithan was published in the October 1953 issue of Mathrubhumi Weekly.
V.K.N is married to Vedavathi Amma.They have a son Balachandran & a daughter Ranjana.
VKN's entry into Malayalam literature was in 1950s. Like for many others, his first love had been poetry. Though, before long, he gave it up, he kept up this adolescent infatuation all through his life. And he could quote from the Megasandesha or the Ramayanam chambu as quickly and effortlessly as he could from a new generation poet. This textual proficiency did not confine to poetry or literature alone. It was generic. Anything from under the sun, from contemporary politics to primitive occultism, from modern astrophysics to Chanakya's Arthashastra, or from Das Kapital to Kamasutra, was a narrative device for him, which he brought into play in his stories and novels.
It was in the 1960s that VKN came to prominence as a writer. But, by then he had left Kerala for New Delhi, where he spent about 10 years as a journalist. The New Delhi of the 1960s had a defining role in modern Malayalam literature. It was the group of young writers who happened to come together on various professional engagements in the country's capital that made Malayalam literature, fiction in particular, what it is today. Prominent among whom were O.V. Vijayan, M. Mukundan, George Varghese Kakkanadan and M. P. Narayana Pillai. VKN "landed" in this circle. These writers used to meet regularly to thrash out literature, politics or whatever else was the topic of the day – a preparation that capacitated them to accomplish new heights in writing.
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