Kadammanitta Ramakrishnan (M. R. Ramakrishna Panikkar) (March 22, 1935 – March 31, 2008), popularly known as Kadammanitta, was an India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

n poet. He was born in Kadammanitta

Kadammanitta

Kadammanitta is a village in Pathanamthitta District and is famous for its Kadammanitta Devi Temple. Its located at a distance of 6 km from Pathanamthitta. The Annual temple Festival is held in the month of May/June. The Ten Day long Padayani Performances conducted as part of the Festival...

 province of Pathanamthitta

Pathanamthitta

Pathanamthitta is a large town and a municipality situated in the central Travancore region in the state of Kerala, south India, spread over an area of 23.50 km2. It is the administrative capital of Pathanamthitta district. The city has a population of 38,000...

 district, Kerala

Kerala

or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....

. His childhood experiences, especially the Patayani

Patayani

Patayani or Padayani, is a popular folk dance and ritual art of Kerala. "Kadammanitta Padayani" is being performed along with the 10 days long Pathamudaya Maholsavam at Kadammanitta Devi Temple during March - April of every year...

 songs, imparted strong influence in his literary work. With his powerful and mind provoking poems he became one of the rebellious voices in modern Malayalam literature

Malayalam literature

The term Malayalam literature refers to Literature written in Malayalam language. Malayalam is the language spoken by around 35 million people, mainly the inhabitants of the state of Kerala and the union territory of Lakshadweep Islands in India. Malayalam is a Dravidian language and thus has close...

. More than anything, it was his style of reciting his own poems in a powerful and efficient manner that made him darling of many progressives. He was awarded the Kerala Sahithya Academy

Kerala Sahithya Academy

Kerala Sahitya Akademi or Academy for Malayalam literature is an autonomous body established to promote Malayalam language and literature. It is situated in Thrissur, Kerala in India. The academy was inaugurated on October 15, 1956, by Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma, the former king of...

 award in 1982.

Early life

Ramakrishnan was born to Meletharayil Raman Nair and Kuttiyamma. He was influenced by the traditional religious art form of Patayani even from his childhood. After his degree studies, he went to Kolkata

Kolkata

Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...

, and then reached Chennai

Chennai

Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...

. He was employed with the Postal Audits and Accounts department in 1959. He worked in Thiruvananthapuram

Thiruvananthapuram

Thiruvananthapuram , formerly known as Trivandrum, is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala and the headquarters of the Thiruvananthapuram District. It is located on the west coast of India near the extreme south of the mainland...

 from 1967 till his retirement in 1992.

Literary life

Ramakrishnan's poem 'Njan' was published in 1965. His first book was published by Kerala Kavitha Granthavari in 1976. There are more than 75 books to his credit.

Noted works

• Kurathi
• Kadinjool Pottan
• Misrathalam
• Mazha Peyyunnu Maddhalam Kottunnu
• Kadammanittayude Kavithakal
• Vellivelicham
• Sooryasila
• Shantha

Awards

• Kadammanittayude Kavithakal- Asan Prize 1982, Kerala Sahithya Academy
  Kerala Sahithya Academy
  Kerala Sahitya Akademi or Academy for Malayalam literature is an autonomous body established to promote Malayalam language and literature. It is situated in Thrissur, Kerala in India. The academy was inaugurated on October 15, 1956, by Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma, the former king of...
  
   Award 1982
• Abudhabi Malayalam Samajam Award
• New York Malayalam International Foundation Award
• Muscat Kerala Samskarika Kendram Award.

Other activities

During his college days, he was involved with the student federation as well as communist party. In 1992 he became the vice president of Purogamana Kala Sahitya Sangham

Purogamana Kala Sahitya Sangham

Purogamana Kala Sahitya Sangham an Association for Art and Letters, also known as the PuKaSa, is an organization of artists, writers and art and literature enthusiasts based in Kerala. The association was formed on August 14, 1981, under the leadership of Malayalam poet Vyloppilli Sreedhara Menon...

 (Progressive Association for Art and Letters), and in 2002 its president. In 1996, he was elected to Kerala state legislative assembly from Aranmula

Aranmula

Aranmula is about 128 km from Trivandrum, capital city of Kerala, the south western state in India. It is situated on the banks of the river Pampa. Traditions, cultural variations, traditional village life, sceneries are unique for Aranmula. It is a suburb of Kozhencherry in Pathanamthitta...

 constituency in Pathanamthitta

Pathanamthitta

Pathanamthitta is a large town and a municipality situated in the central Travancore region in the state of Kerala, south India, spread over an area of 23.50 km2. It is the administrative capital of Pathanamthitta district. The city has a population of 38,000...

district.