ReinaSligo4 at 05:51, 2 May 2026

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{{Short description|Indian engineer and writer (born 1962)}}
{{Infobox writer
| name = C. S. Meenakshi
| image = State of the Map Kerala 2024 Day 1 (193).jpg
| image_size =
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1962|03|28}}
| birth_place = [[Kozhikode]], Kerala
| occupation = Engineer, writer and public speaker
| years_active =
| death_place =
| death_date =
| alma_mater = [[Government Engineering College, Thrissur]]
| movement =
| notableworks = {{ubl|''Bhaumachapam- Indian Bhoopada nirmmanatthinte vismaya charithra''| ''Penpattu Tarakal- Malayala Chalachitra Ganangalile Pennavishkarangal''}}
| spouse = Ajith Kumar
| children =
| parents =
| awards = {{bullet list|G.N. Pillai Award, given by the [[Kerala Sahitya Akademi]]|[[Kerala State Film Award for Best Book on Cinema]]|[[O. V. Vijayan Literary Award]]}}
| influences =
| signature =
}}
'''C. S. Meenakshi''' is an Indian engineer, writer and public speaker from [[Kozhikode]], Kerala. She has received several awards including the G.N. Pillai Award that was given by the [[Kerala Sahitya Akademi]], the [[O. V. Vijayan Literary Award]], the Kerala Science and Technology Council's Popular Writing Award, the Kerala Film Critics Association's Mannarakkayam Baby Award for Best Film Book, and the [[Kerala State Film Award for Best Book on Cinema]].

==Biography==
C. S. Meenakshi C.S. was born on 28th March 1962.<ref name="KAF">{{cite web |title=C.S. Meenakshi- Speaker in Kerala Architectural Festival KAF –2019{{!}} Keralaarchitecturalfestival.com |url=http://www.keralaarchitecturefestival.com/speakers_more.aspx?id=MTIz |website=www.keralaarchitecturefestival.com}}</ref> She is a native of Kozhikode.<ref name="Deshabhimani">{{cite news |title=സി എസ്‌ മീനാക്ഷി വെള്ളിത്തിരയിലേക്ക് |url=https://www.deshabhimani.com/district-news/-85521/---73822 |work=[[Deshabhimani]] |language=en}}</ref> After completing degree in Civil engineering from [[Government Engineering College, Thrissur]], she worked in Neyveli Lignite Corporation, [[Kerala Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation]], [[Kerala Water Authority]] and retired from the [[Local Self Government Department (Kerala)|Kerala Local Self Government Department]] as the Executive Engineer.<ref name="KAF"/><ref name="KLF">{{cite web |title=C S Meenakshi |url=https://keralaliteraturefestival.com/speakerview/516/c-s-meenakshi |website=keralaliteraturefestival.com |publisher=[[Kerala Literature Festival]]}}</ref>

===Personal life===
Meenakshi is married to Ajith Kumar, a retired superintending engineer from the Irrigation Department, poet and documentary director.<ref name="Deshabhimani"/>

==Literary contributions==
''Bhaumachapam- Indian Bhoopada nirmmanatthinte vismaya charithram'' [Meaning:The Arc of the Earth - The Amazing History of Indian Mapmaking] written by Meenakshi is a scholarly book that tells the history of the [[Great Trigonometrical Survey]], which was conducted in India from 1802 to 1871.<ref>{{cite web |title=ഇന്ത്യൻ ഭൂപട നിർമ്മാണത്തിന്റെ വിസ്മയ ചരിത്രം - സി.എസ്.മീനാക്ഷി - LUCA TALK |url=https://luca.co.in/cs-meenakshi-talk/ |website=luca.co.in |publisher=[[Kerala Sasthra Sahithya Parishad]] |date=18 June 2025}}</ref> The book by Meenakshi, a civil engineer, has been foreword by [[Anand (writer)|Anand]], a writer and civil engineer.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=ഭൗമചാപം - ഇന്ത്യൻ ഭൂപടനിർമ്മാണത്തിന്റെ വിസ്മയ ചരിത്രം: രസകരമായൊരു ഭൂപടവായന |url=https://www.deshabhimani.com/books/book-shelf/778719 |access-date=2026-03-15 |website=Deshabhimani |language=en}}</ref> The book has six chapters. The first two chapters discuss various topics such as the history of the survey, the colonial interests behind the survey, and how the survey helped the British occupation.<ref name=":0" /> The third chapter discusses the various surveys conducted by the British till then, such as the Revenue Survey, Topographical Survey, Leveling Survey, and Irrigation Survey.<ref name=":0" /> The fourth chapter explains the scientific aspects of the GTS, the interesting experiences related to the survey, and the difficulties the survey team had to overcome.<ref name=":0" /> The fifth chapter is about the survey team's journeys across the various terrains of the subcontinent, the various mountains and rivers in these places, the shortcuts used to conduct the survey in inhospitable places, the journeys, routes, and challenges they faced, including the foreigners and the locals they appointed.<ref name=":0" /> Chapter 6 depicts the Indians in this British survey and how the survey was viewed by ordinary people in India (fears, superstitions, and defenses).<ref name=":0" />

Meenakshi's ''Penpattu Tarakal- Malayala Chalachitra Ganangalile Pennavishkarangal'' [meaning: Paths of Female Singers-How women are mentioned in Malayalam flim songs], which meticulously analyzes the role of women in the Malayalam film and music industry, also deals with various streams of music, history of songs, interventions of classical music, singing styles, and dominant tendencies along with the history of Malayalam film singers from the old generation to the new generation.<ref name="manoramaonline">{{cite news |title=കർപ്പൂരനാളമായ് ഇനിയും കത്തിയെരിയുമെന്നോ, കണ്ണീരിൽ മുങ്ങും തുളസിക്കതിരാകുമെന്നോ; പാട്ടുകളുടെ ജുഡീഷ്യൽ കമ്മിറ്റി റിപ്പോർട്ടും പുറത്ത് |url=https://www.manoramaonline.com/literature/bookreview/2024/08/27/book-review-penpaattuthaarakal-by-c-s-meenakshi.html |publisher=[[Malayala Manorama]] |language=ml}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=പെൺപാട്ടുതാരകൾ |url=https://www.manoramaonline.com/literature/new-books/2024/06/08/book-penpaattuthaarakal-by-c-s-meenakshi.html |work=[[Malayala Manorama]] |language=ml}}</ref>

The book ''Penpattu Tarakal'' is divided into three sections: Uravakal, Pennuruvakal, and Uriyadal. In the first section, Uravakal, the author explains how gender roles work in music. In this, the author argues with reason that from the Puranas to the philosophers and social reformers known in Kerala history, women have been objectified.<ref name="Mathrubhumi">{{cite news |title='പെണ്‍പാട്ടു താരകള്‍' പറയും; 'ആഘോഷമാക്കിയ ഒരുപാട് ചലച്ചിത്രഗാനങ്ങള്‍ക്ക് മറ്റൊരു അര്‍ഥംകൂടിയുണ്ട്' |url=https://www.mathrubhumi.com/books/reviews/author-c-s-meenakshi-penpaattuthaarakal-book-review-mathrubhumi-books-88461d85 |work=@mathrubhumi |publisher=[[Mathrubhumi]] |date=22 June 2024 |language=en}}</ref> In the second chapter of Uravakal, discussions about women's participation in non-cinematic music genres in Kerala come to the fore.<ref name="Mathrubhumi"/>

The second and main part, Pennuruvangal, examines the cultural history of Malayalam film songs spanning eight and a half decades, chronologically.<ref name="Mathrubhumi"/> The third part, Uriyadalal, deals with the marginalization and misadventures of female artists in the music industry.<ref name="Mathrubhumi"/> It also includes an interview with Vimala B. Varma, the singer from Nirmala, the first Malayalam film to feature a playback song, followed by detailed notes on important female singers in the history of Malayalam film songs.<ref name="Mathrubhumi"/>

Her third book, ''Anpenthiya Villali'', about poet and lyricist [[P. Bhaskaran]], was released in 2025.<ref>{{cite news |title=എഴുത്തുകാരി വെള്ളിത്തിരയിലേക്ക് |url=https://www.metrovaartha.com/entertainment/writer-to-actor-cs-meenakshi#google_vignette |work=Metro Vaartha |date=14 November 2025 |language=ml}}</ref>

==Acting career==
Meenakshi played the role of a teacher in 'Bhagyalakshmi', directed by Sajinlal, with journalist Babu Velappay's story and screenplay written.<ref name="Deshabhimani"/>

==Awards and honors==
In 2019, Meenakshi received the G.N. Pillai Award that is given by the Kerala Sahitya Akademi for the second-place work in the non-fiction category for her work ''Bhaumachapam- Indian Bhoopada nirmmanatthinte vismaya charithram''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=അവാർഡുകൾ |url=https://keralasahityaakademi.org/%E0%B4%85%E0%B4%B5%E0%B4%BE%E0%B5%BC%E0%B4%A1%E0%B5%81%E0%B4%95%E0%B5%BE |access-date=2026-03-15 |website=Kerala Sahithya Academi}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2021-02-15 |title=2019 ലെ കേരളാ സാഹിത്യ അക്കാദമി പുരസ്കാരങ്ങൾ പ്രഖ്യാപിച്ചു; എസ്. ഹരീഷിന്‍റെ 'മീശ' മികച്ച നോവൽ |url=https://www.mediaoneonline.com/2019-kerala-sahitya-akademi-awards-2019-announced |access-date=2026-03-15 |website=www.mediaoneonline.com |language=ml}}</ref> This book also received the Kerala Science and Technology Council's Popular Writing Award, and the [[O. V. Vijayan Literary Award]].<ref name="KLF"/> Her book titled, ''Penpattu Tharakal - Malayala Chalachitra Ganangalile Pennavishkarangal'', received the Satyajit Ray Film Society Award, and the Kerala Film Critics Association's Mannarakkayam Baby Award for Best Film Book of 2024.<ref name="KLF"/><ref>{{cite news |title=ഫിലിം ക്രിട്ടിക്സ് മണ്ണാറക്കയം ബേബി പുരസ്‌കാരം സി.എസ്. മീനാക്ഷിക്ക് |url=https://www.mathrubhumi.com/literature/news/cs-meenakshi-film-critics-award-eetc0zwi |work=@mathrubhumi |date=29 October 2025 |language=en}}</ref> In 2024, her book ''Penpattu Tharakal'', received the [[Kerala State Film Award for Best Book on Cinema]].<ref name="Deshabhimani"/>

==References==
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Meenakshi, C. S.}}
[[Category:1962 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Malayali people]]
[[Category:Malayalam-language writers]]
[[Category:21st-century Indian women writers]]
[[Category:Women writers from Kerala]]
[[Category:Writers from Kozhikode]]
[[Category:Government Engineering College, Thrissur, alumni]]
[[Category:Kerala State Film Award winners]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award]]

C. S. Meenakshi - Revision history

ReinaSligo4 at 05:51, 2 May 2026