CleanupBot II at 11:55, 14 August 2023

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{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2014}}
{{Infobox person
| name = C.N.Sreekantan Nair
| image = C.n.SreekantanNair.jpg
| imagesize =
| caption =
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1928|3|31}}
| birth_place = [[Chavara]], [[Karunagappally]], [[Kollam]], [[Kerala]], India
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1976|12|17|1928|3|31}}
| death_place =
| restingplace = Chavara, Kollam district, Kerala
| restingplacecoordinates =
| othername =
| occupation = Writer, playwright, screenwriter, Journalist
| yearsactive =
| spouse = Kanakangi Amma
| domesticpartner =
| children = C.N.Unnikrishnan,
Ambika Kumar
| parents = Madavoor S.Neelakanta PIllai, Madhavikutty Amma
| influences =
| influenced =
| notable_works = {{ubl|''[[Kanchana Sita (play)|Kanchana Sita]]''|''Lankalakshmi''|''Saketham''|''Nashtakkachavadam''}}
| awards = Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Drama, M. P. Paul Prize
}}
'''C. N. Sreekantan Nair''' (1928–1976) was an Indian independence activist, a [[Malayalam]] writer, short story writer, playwright and screenwriter, best known for his ''[[Ramayana]]'' trilogy – ''[[Kanchana Sita (play)|Kanchana Sita]]'', ''Saketham'' and ''Lankalakshmi''. His oeuvre consists of 10 plays, 4 short story anthologies, book of non-fiction and collected works. [[Kerala Sahitya Akademi]] awarded him their [[Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Drama|annual award for drama]] in 1962. He was also a recipient of the [[M. P. Paul]] Prize.

== Biography ==
[[File:Young C.N.Sreekantan Nair.jpg|left|thumb|225x225px]]
C. N. Sreekantan Nair was born on March 31, 1928 at [[Chavara]], in [[Karunagappally]] taluk of [[Kollam district]] in the south Indian state of [[Kerala]] to Madavoor S.Neelakanta PIllai and Madhavikutty Amma.<ref name="Biography on Kerala Sahitya Akademi portal">{{Cite web |url=http://www.keralasahityaakademi.org/sp/Writers/PROFILES/CNSreekantanNair/Html/CNgraphy.htm |title=Biography on Kerala Sahitya Akademi portal |date=2019-04-15 |website=Kerala Sahitya Akademi portal |access-date=2019-04-15}}</ref> After schooling at local schools, he did his college education at [[Thiruvananthapuram]] during which time he was involved in student politics and served as the secretary of Akhila Thiruvithamcoor Vidyarthi Congress and as the vice president of the Akhilendhya Vidyarthi Congress. He participated in the Vidyarthi Congress of 1947 which was banned by [[C. P. Ramaswami Iyer]], the then [[Diwan of Travancore]], and he had to go into hiding. After the Indian independence, he completed his graduate studies and joined ''Prabhodham'' daily run by [[A. P. Udhayabhanu]]. Later, he worked in a number of publications, such as ''Navabharatham'', ''Kaumudi'', ''Tharapadham'', ''Kathamalika'' and ''Deshabhandhu''.<ref name="C. N. Sreekantan Nair - Veethi profile">{{Cite web |url=https://www.veethi.com/india-people/c._n._sreekantan_nair-profile-9139-25.htm |title=C. N. Sreekantan Nair - Veethi profile |date=2019-04-15 |website=veethi.com |access-date=2019-04-15}}</ref> He also worked as the district information officer of [[Department of Information and Public Relations (Kerala)|Department of Information and Public Relations]], a job he quit, following a difference with [[R. Sankar]], the then chief minister of Kerala.<ref name="Biography on Kerala Sahitya Akademi portal" />

Sreekantan Nair was married to Karimuttathuveettil<ref>{{Cite web|title=C.N. Sreekantan Nair.pdf|url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B56vafP8F6HxNzkxM2Q2YzUtMDI0Ny00MWQyLTkyMzMtYzMzYzI5NDlmZDk3/view?hl=ml&usp=embed_facebook|access-date=2020-08-01|website=Google Docs}}</ref> Kanakangi Amma<ref>{{Cite web|title=CN SREEKANDAN NAIR Archives|url=https://tvsamskara.com/tag/cn-sreekandan-nair/|access-date=2020-08-01|website=TVSAMSKARA|language=en-US}}</ref> and the couple has two children.Towards the later part of his life, he turned spiritual and was involved in the running of a press, Sreemudralayam, in [[Kottayam]] which was later shifted to [[Ernakulam]]. He died on December 17, 1976, at the age of 48.<ref name="Biography on Kerala Sahitya Akademi portal" />
[[File:CN Sreekantan nair.jpg|thumb|300x300px]]

== Legacy and honours ==
Sreekanatan Nair, whose body of work comprises 10 plays, 4 short story anthologies and a book of non-fiction,<ref name="List of works">{{Cite web |url=http://www.keralasahityaakademi.org/sp/Writers/PROFILES/CNSreekantanNair/Html/CNBooks.htm |title=List of works |date=2019-04-15 |website=Kerala Sahitya Akademi |access-date=2019-04-15}}</ref> is best known for his [[Ramayana]]-based trilogy,<ref name="The Hindu : Kerala News : Retelling the Ramayana">{{Cite web |url=https://www.thehindu.com/2005/08/21/stories/2005082101820200.htm |website=[[The Hindu]] |title=Kerala News : Retelling the Ramayana |date=2005-08-21 |access-date=2019-04-15}}{{dead link|date=April 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> ''Saketham'', ''Lankalakshmi'' and ''[[Kanchana Sita (play)|Kanchana Sita]]''.<ref name="Dialogue was its forte">{{cite news |url=http://www.hindu.com/fr/2010/02/12/stories/2010021251310500.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101212083652/http://www.hindu.com/fr/2010/02/12/stories/2010021251310500.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=12 December 2010 |title=Dialogue was its forte |last=Suganthy Krishnamachari |date=12 February 2010 |newspaper=[[The Hindu]] |access-date=11 April 2011}}</ref><ref name="Retelling the Ramayana">{{cite news |url=http://www.hindu.com/2005/08/21/stories/2005082101820200.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070811132325/http://www.hindu.com/2005/08/21/stories/2005082101820200.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=11 August 2007 |title=Retelling the Ramayana |last=K. Venkiteswaran |date=21 August 2005 |newspaper=[[The Hindu]] |access-date=11 April 2011}}</ref> [[Ayyappa Panicker]], a noted poet and scholar, observed that ''Lankalakshmi'' brought out the playwright in Sreekantan Nair, while ''Saketham'' and ''Kanchana Sita'' highlighted the poet and the philosopher in the playwright.<ref name="The King of Lanka">{{cite news |url=http://www.hindu.com/fr/2011/01/14/stories/2011011450980400.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121109040528/http://www.hindu.com/fr/2011/01/14/stories/2011011450980400.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=9 November 2012 |title=The King of Lanka |last=Anand Haridas |date=14 January 2011 |newspaper=[[The Hindu]] |access-date=11 April 2011}}</ref> His first major play was ''Nashtakachavadam'', which was a short story in the beginning but was later rewritten as a play in 1957 and ''Kali'' a play he wrote in 1967 is known as the first [[Surrealism|surrealist]] play in [[Malayalam literature]].<ref name="Biography on Kerala Sahitya Akademi portal" /> Nair, who experimented with stage direction and concepts of theatre,<ref name="Epic moments">{{Cite web |url=https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-metroplus/epic-moments/article3188727.ece |title=Epic moments |date=2006-03-09 |website=The Hindu |language=en-IN |access-date=2019-04-15}}</ref> co-founded ''Nataka Kalari'', a Kollam-based forum for the promotion and practice of theatre; several known writers and artists such as [[M. Govindan]], [[Ayyappa Panikkar]], [[G. Aravindan]], [[Kainikkara Kumara Pillai]] and [[G. Sankara Pillai]] were involved with the movement.<ref name="Man behind Nataka Kalari fading into insignificance">{{Cite web|last=Sethunath|first=K. P.|date=2017-12-17|title=Man behind Nataka Kalari fading into insignificance|url=https://www.deccanchronicle.com/lifestyle/viral-and-trending/171217/man-behind-nataka-kalari-fading-into-insignificance.html|access-date=2019-04-15|website=Deccan Chronicle|language=en}}</ref> "Thanathunatakavedi", the idea of having a theatre involving indigenous art forms of Kerala was first evolved from C.N. He published an article "Thanathunatakavedi" in 1967 detailing his thoughts. He was the organiser of the 5th All India Writers Conference at Eloor, Kerala and The World Parliament of Religions in 1968 at Sasthamkotta, Kerala.

Sreekantan Nair's involvement with Malayalam cinema started with the 1966 film, [[Archana (film)|Archana]], directed by [[K. S. Sethumadhavan]], and he wrote the story, screenplay and dialogues for the film.<ref name="Archana (1966)">{{Cite web |url=https://www.malayalachalachithram.com/movie.php?i=174 |title=Archana (1966) |website=www.malayalachalachithram.com |access-date=2019-04-15}}</ref> His next venture was for ''Kamuki'', an [[Adoor Gopalakrishnan]] film, which was based on Nair's story but the film never released.<ref name="Kaamuki (1971)">{{Cite web |url=https://www.malayalachalachithram.com/movie.php?i=399 |title=Kaamuki (1971) |website=www.malayalachalachithram.com |access-date=2019-04-15}}</ref> [[Theerangal]], a film by [[Rajeevnath]] in 1978 was based on his story and he wrote the dialogues for the movie and collaborated with the director on the screenplay.<ref name="Theerangal (1978)">{{Cite web |url=https://www.malayalachalachithram.com/movie.php?i=896 |title=Theerangal (1978) |website=www.malayalachalachithram.com |access-date=2019-04-15}}</ref> His play, ''Kanchana Sita'' was adapted into a [[Kanchana Sita|film with same name]] by [[G. Aravindan]] and the film fetched the [[National Film Award for Best Direction]] for its director.<ref name="Aravindan's art">{{cite magazine |url=http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl2701/stories/19890610160.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101020084908/http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl2701/stories/19890610160.htm |url-status=usurped |archive-date=20 October 2010 |title=Aravindan's art |last=Sashi Kumar |date=2–15 January 2010 |magazine=[[Frontline (magazine)|Frontline]] |access-date=11 April 2011}}</ref>

Sreekantan Nair received the [[Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Drama]] in 1962 for the play, ''[[Kanchana Sita (play)|Kanchana Sita]]''.<ref name="Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Drama">{{Cite web |url=http://www.keralasahityaakademi.org/sp/Writers/ksa/Awards/Play.htm |title=Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Drama |date=2019-04-15 |website=Kerala Sahitya Akademi |access-date=2019-04-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180516212809/http://www.keralasahityaakademi.org/sp/Writers/ksa/Awards/Play.htm |archive-date=16 May 2018 |url-status=dead }}</ref> He was also a recipient of the M. P. Paul Prize, his play, ''Nashtakachavadam'', fetching him the award.<ref name="C. N. Sreekantan Nair - Veethi profile" />

== Works ==
[[File:C.N. in his youth.jpg|thumb]]

=== Plays ===

* Saketham
* Lankalakshmi
* Kanchana Sita
* Nadakathrayam
* Aa kani thinnaruthu
* Aettile Pasu
* Kali
* Sneham Bhakti
* Nashtakachavadam
* Madhuvidhu
* Manyathayude mara

=== Short stories ===

* Thilakkunna mannu
* Pichipoo
* Puliyilakkara neryathu
* Sindoora pottu

=== Essay ===

* Randilayum oru thiriyum

== Bibliography ==
{{Div col|colwidth=40em}}
* {{Cite book |url=https://catalog.uoc.ac.in/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=85929&query_desc=an%253A%252216141%2522 |title=C N Sreekantan nayarute krithikal sampoornam |last=Sreekantan Nair |first=C. N. |date=2008 |publisher=D.C. Books |isbn=9788126418404 |location=Kottayam}}
* {{Cite book |url=https://catalog.uoc.ac.in/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=305555&query_desc=an%253A%252216141%2522 |title=Kazhinjakala chithrangal |last=Sreekantan Nair |date=1982 |publisher=National Book Stall |location=Kottayam}}
* {{Cite book |url=https://catalog.uoc.ac.in/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=84426&query_desc=an%253A%252216141%2522 |title=Naataka thrayam |last=Sreekantan Nair |first=C. N. |date=2002 |publisher=D.C. Books |isbn=9788126403929 |edition= 2nd. |location=Kottayam}}
* {{Cite book |url=https://www.bookdepository.com/Shade-Sahyadri-C-N-Sreekantan-Nair/9780198092179 |title=In the Shade of the Sahyadri |last=C. N. Sreekantan Nair |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2013 |isbn=9780198092179}}
* {{Cite book |url=https://www.bookdepository.com/Kanchanaseetha-Sreekantan-Nair-C-N/9788126411948 |title=Kanchanaseetha |last=Sreekantan Nair C N |publisher=DC Books |year=1961|isbn=9788126411948 |location=Kottayam}}
* {{Cite book |url=https://www.bookdepository.com/Lankalakshmi-Sreekantan-Nair-C-N/9788126411214 |title=Lankalakshmi |last=Sreekantan Nair C N |publisher=DC Books |year=1974 |isbn=9788126411214 |location=Kottayam}}
* {{Cite book |url=https://www.amazon.in/Kali-C-N-Sreekandan-Nair/dp/B007E4X1NI/ref=sr_1_4?qid=1555350611&refinements=p_27%253AC.N+sreekandan+nair&s=books&sr=1-4 |title=Kali |last=Nair |first=C. N. Sreekandan |date=2005-03-12 |publisher=Current Books Thrissur}}
* {{Cite book |url=https://www.goodreads.com/work/best_book/50835901-saketham |title=Saketham |last=Sreekantan Nair C N}}
*''Nashtakkachavadam''
*''Aa Kani Thinnaruth''
*''Aettile Pashu''
*''Madhuvidhu''
*''Sindoorappottu''
*''Thilakkunna Ponnu''
*''Pichippoo''
*''Puliyilakkara Neryath''
{{div col end}}

== See also ==
{{Div col|colwidth=40em}}
* [[List of Malayalam-language authors by category]]
* [[List of Malayalam-language authors]]
{{div col end}}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book
| url =
| title = Retelling the Ramayana
| author = C. N. Sreekantan Nair
| author2 = Sarah Joseph
| author2-link = Sarah Joseph (author)
| year = 2005
| publisher = [[Oxford University Press]]
| isbn = 0-19-566623-2
}}
* {{cite journal
| url =
| title = Treatment of Myth in C N Sreekantan Nair's Kanchana Sita
| author = ((Rakhi, K.R., M.A., PhD))
| journal = Language in India
| year = 2013
| publisher = [[Oxford University Press]]
| issn = 1930-2940
}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20140502005350/http://samyukta.info/site/book/export/html/308 Lankalakshmi – English Translation by Vasanthi Sankaranarayanan]
* {{cite book
| url =
| title = C. N. Sreekantan Nair – Vision & Mission of a theatre Activist
| author = Abhilash Pillai
| year = 2007
| publisher = Sahitya Akademi
| asin = B004RC2Y42
}}
* {{cite book
| url =
| title = In the shade of Sahyadri
| author = C. N. Sreekantan Nair
| year = 2013
| publisher = OUP India
| isbn = 9780198092179
}}

==External links==
* {{YouTube|NX6KuNLshuA|'''Lankalakshmi'''}}
* {{Cite web |url=http://www.keralasahityaakademi.org/sp/Writers/PROFILES/CNSreekantanNair/Html/CNSreekantanNair.htm |title=Portrait commissioned by Kerala Sahitya Akademi |date=2019-04-15 |website=Kerala Sahitya Akademi |access-date=2019-04-15}}
* {{Cite web |url=http://www.keralasahityaakademi.org/sp/Writers/PROFILES/CNSreekantanNair/Html/CNSNscript.htm |title=Handwriting |date=2019-04-15 |website=Kerala Sahitya Akademi |access-date=2019-04-15}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nair, C. N. Sreekantan}}
[[Category:Indian male dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:Writers from Kollam]]
[[Category:Malayali people]]
[[Category:Malayalam-language writers]]
[[Category:Malayalam-language dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:1928 births]]
[[Category:1976 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:Dramatists and playwrights from Kerala]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian male writers]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian short story writers]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:Screenwriters from Kerala]]
[[Category:Malayalam screenwriters]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian screenwriters]]

C. N. Sreekantan Nair - Revision history

CleanupBot II at 11:55, 14 August 2023