Manu V. Devadevan
Encyclopedia
Manu V. Devadevan is a new poet writing in Kannada. His collection of poems in Kannada, Khandavide Ko Mamsavide Ko was published in 2008 and Suryagayathri in 2009. Devadevan is also a translator. He has translated Malayalam and Uttaradhunik Bangla poetry into Kannada and Kannada poetry and plays into Malayalam.
, in Pathanamthitta
district of Kerala
. He had his schooling in Bangalore
. He discontinued studies after Pre University Course and joined Indian railways
in 1996, where he worked for five years with the Civil Engineering department at the Hubli divisional office of what was then South Central Railway. In 2001, he resigned from railways and began study into history, political theory, philosophy and literature. Devadevan obtained his Master's degree in history from Jawaharlal Nehru University
, New Delhi
in 2005 and won the fellowship in Kannada literature
awarded by the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Govt. of India. He is Assistant Professor at the Department of Social History, Philosophy and Buddhist Studies at NISWASS, Bhubaneswar.
, leftist, feminist and queer movements are dangerous and will soon turn into fundamentalist phenomenon like nationalism
and fascism
. It is only a matter of time before an emancipatory project takes a destructive turn and becomes virile. Some of his poems like Musuku, Pagadeyata, Tarkovskiya Diary and Modala Patha explore this form of Nihilism.
and Kannada on political theory and Indian history. His studies explore reification
, forms of selfhood, subjectivity
and normativity in their relationship with private property
and the political economy
. His work Pruthviyallodagida Ghatavu: Karnatakada Ninnegalu has been acknowledged as an important book and a work of signigicance.
Life and career
Devadevan was born in KozhencherryKozhencherry
Kozhencherry is a small town in Pathanamthitta district of Central Travancore region in Kerala state, South India. It is on the banks of river Pampa. It is a commercial centre with many of the Banks and trade companies have their establishments here. It is believed that once the Kovilans of...
, 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 of 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....
. He had his schooling in Bangalore
Bangalore
Bengaluru , formerly called Bengaluru is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and...
. He discontinued studies after Pre University Course and joined Indian railways
Indian Railways
Indian Railways , abbreviated as IR , is a departmental undertaking of Government of India, which owns and operates most of India's rail transport. It is overseen by the Ministry of Railways of the Government of India....
in 1996, where he worked for five years with the Civil Engineering department at the Hubli divisional office of what was then South Central Railway. In 2001, he resigned from railways and began study into history, political theory, philosophy and literature. Devadevan obtained his Master's degree in history from Jawaharlal Nehru University
Jawaharlal Nehru University
Jawaharlal Nehru University, also known as JNU, is located in New Delhi, the capital of India. It is mainly a research oriented postgraduate University with approximately 5,500 students and a faculty strength of around 550.-History:...
, New Delhi
New Delhi
New Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...
in 2005 and won the fellowship in Kannada literature
Kannada literature
Kannada literature is the corpus of written forms of the Kannada language, a member of the Dravidian family spoken mainly in the Indian state of Karnataka and written in the Kannada script....
awarded by the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Govt. of India. He is Assistant Professor at the Department of Social History, Philosophy and Buddhist Studies at NISWASS, Bhubaneswar.
Poems
Devadevan's poems show a sense of political restlessness. Most of Devadevan's poems display dark and farcical humor. He uses subjects ranging from myths, history, folklore, religion, metaphysics, politics and contemporary life. An acute sense of cynicism bordering on sadism is the common thread of these poems. Nagamandala, Chandrakauns and Bahuroopa are his experimental poems using different language forms ranging from theatre language to the style of inscriptions.Political Nihilism
In his poems and literary essays Devadevan exhibits a form of political nihilism which treats all human affiliations as potentially dangerous in today's political context. He holds that all radical affiliations, including dalitDalit
Dalit is a designation for a group of people traditionally regarded as Untouchable. Dalits are a mixed population, consisting of numerous castes from all over South Asia; they speak a variety of languages and practice a multitude of religions...
, leftist, feminist and queer movements are dangerous and will soon turn into fundamentalist phenomenon like nationalism
Nationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
and fascism
Fascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
. It is only a matter of time before an emancipatory project takes a destructive turn and becomes virile. Some of his poems like Musuku, Pagadeyata, Tarkovskiya Diary and Modala Patha explore this form of Nihilism.
History and Political Theory
Devadevan has published in both EnglishEnglish language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
and Kannada on political theory and Indian history. His studies explore reification
Reification
Reification generally refers to bringing into being or turning concrete.Specifically, reification may refer to:*Reification , making a data model for a previously abstract concept...
, forms of selfhood, subjectivity
Subjectivity
Subjectivity refers to the subject and his or her perspective, feelings, beliefs, and desires. In philosophy, the term is usually contrasted with objectivity.-Qualia:...
and normativity in their relationship with private property
Private property
Private property is the right of persons and firms to obtain, own, control, employ, dispose of, and bequeath land, capital, and other forms of property. Private property is distinguishable from public property, which refers to assets owned by a state, community or government rather than by...
and the political economy
Political economy
Political economy originally was the term for studying production, buying, and selling, and their relations with law, custom, and government, as well as with the distribution of national income and wealth, including through the budget process. Political economy originated in moral philosophy...
. His work Pruthviyallodagida Ghatavu: Karnatakada Ninnegalu has been acknowledged as an important book and a work of signigicance.
Works
- Khandavide Ko Mamsavide Ko
- Suryagayathri
- Navilata
- Meghabhairavi
- Bhoosookta
- Prashnopanishad: Anuvaada, Adhyayana
- Indumauliya Besanadinda
- And God Said Let There Be Light
- Pruthviyallodagida Ghatavu
- Vaagartha
- Kavyameemamse: Taulanika Pariprekshe
External links
- English Translation of Leukemia in Muse India: http://www.museindia.com/showcurrent10.asp?id=1070
- http://www.hindu.com/fr/2009/05/01/stories/2009050151030400.htm
- http://www.hindu.com/fr/2010/04/30/stories/2010043050940400.htm
- Devadevan's article on Territoriality in South Asia, http://phalanx.in/pages/article_i004_territoriality.html
- http://brill.publisher.ingentaconnect.com/content/brill/sho/2006/00000049/00000002/art00003