V. Balakrishnan (author)
Encyclopedia
V. Balakrishnan was a prolific Malayalam writer and translator of texts between Malayalam, Sanskrit
and English. He participated in the Indian independence movement
, which resulted in his expulsion from college.
, entitled Neelakoduveli ('നീലക്കൊടുവേലി'), was awarded first place in a competition conducted by the Kerala Dhwani ('കേരള ധ്വനി') newspaper. The children's book, Ithu Nammute Naatanu ('ഇതു നമ്മുടെ നാടാണ്'), came first in the competition held by Sahitya Pravarthaka Sahakarana Sangam ('സാഹിത്യപ്രവര്ത്തക സഹകരണ സംഘം'). Later, in 1962, his story about a rogue elephant, Ottayan ('ഒറ്റയാന്'), won first prize in the contest held by Southern Language Book Trust (ദക്ഷിണഭാഷാ ബുക്ക് ട്രസ്റ്റ്). It was later translated to all South Indian languages.
After his marriage to Dr. R. Leela Devi, they started their literary career together. As he required more time for his writing endeavours, he resigned his job as a high school teacher. They compiled the first Malayalam Encyclopedia in 1967. Thereafter he continued his activities together with his wife until her death in 1998.
Together they translated most of the Sanskrit
Vedic
works; including the Vedas, Puranas, Aranyaka
s, Upanishad
s, Dharsanas, Mahabharata
, Valmiki Ramayana
, Devi
and Bhagavata Purana
to Malayalam. He has 11,394 printed pages (D1/8 size) in 67 books in the genre of children's literature alone. Amir Hamsa ('അമീര് ഹംസ'), a book for children, has 1148 pages with 500 illustrations. Together, he and his wife authored sixteen books related to Islam
, including an Encyclopedia on the religion, as well as publications related to Hinduism and Christianity. In total, they have eleven publications in the English language.
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
and English. He participated in the Indian independence movement
Indian independence movement
The term Indian independence movement encompasses a wide area of political organisations, philosophies, and movements which had the common aim of ending first British East India Company rule, and then British imperial authority, in parts of South Asia...
, which resulted in his expulsion from college.
Biography
In 1960, his short storyShort story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
, entitled Neelakoduveli ('നീലക്കൊടുവേലി'), was awarded first place in a competition conducted by the Kerala Dhwani ('കേരള ധ്വനി') newspaper. The children's book, Ithu Nammute Naatanu ('ഇതു നമ്മുടെ നാടാണ്'), came first in the competition held by Sahitya Pravarthaka Sahakarana Sangam ('സാഹിത്യപ്രവര്ത്തക സഹകരണ സംഘം'). Later, in 1962, his story about a rogue elephant, Ottayan ('ഒറ്റയാന്'), won first prize in the contest held by Southern Language Book Trust (ദക്ഷിണഭാഷാ ബുക്ക് ട്രസ്റ്റ്). It was later translated to all South Indian languages.
After his marriage to Dr. R. Leela Devi, they started their literary career together. As he required more time for his writing endeavours, he resigned his job as a high school teacher. They compiled the first Malayalam Encyclopedia in 1967. Thereafter he continued his activities together with his wife until her death in 1998.
Together they translated most of the Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
Vedic
Vedic period
The Vedic period was a period in history during which the Vedas, the oldest scriptures of Hinduism, were composed. The time span of the period is uncertain. Philological and linguistic evidence indicates that the Rigveda, the oldest of the Vedas, was composed roughly between 1700–1100 BCE, also...
works; including the Vedas, Puranas, Aranyaka
Aranyaka
The Aranyakas are part of the Hindu śruti, the four Vedas; they were composed in late Vedic Sanskrit typical of the Brahmanas and early Upanishads; indeed, they frequently form part of either the Brahmanas or the Upanishads....
s, Upanishad
Upanishad
The Upanishads are philosophical texts considered to be an early source of Hindu religion. More than 200 are known, of which the first dozen or so, the oldest and most important, are variously referred to as the principal, main or old Upanishads...
s, Dharsanas, Mahabharata
Mahabharata
The Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India and Nepal, the other being the Ramayana. The epic is part of itihasa....
, Valmiki Ramayana
Ramayana
The Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic. It is ascribed to the Hindu sage Valmiki and forms an important part of the Hindu canon , considered to be itihāsa. The Ramayana is one of the two great epics of India and Nepal, the other being the Mahabharata...
, Devi
Devi
Devī is the Sanskrit word for Goddess, used mostly in Hinduism, its related masculine term is deva. Devi is synonymous with Shakti, the female aspect of the divine, as conceptualized by the Shakta tradition of Hinduism. She is the female counterpart without whom the male aspect, which represents...
and Bhagavata Purana
Bhagavata purana
The Bhāgavata Purāṇa is one of the "Maha" Puranic texts of Hindu literature, with its primary focus on bhakti to the incarnations of Vishnu, particularly Krishna...
to Malayalam. He has 11,394 printed pages (D1/8 size) in 67 books in the genre of children's literature alone. Amir Hamsa ('അമീര് ഹംസ'), a book for children, has 1148 pages with 500 illustrations. Together, he and his wife authored sixteen books related to Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
, including an Encyclopedia on the religion, as well as publications related to Hinduism and Christianity. In total, they have eleven publications in the English language.
Published works
- 7 Encyclopedias including a Hindu Encyclopedia
- 21 Novels
- 24 Dictionaries
- Various travelogueTravel literatureTravel literature is travel writing of literary value. Travel literature typically records the experiences of an author touring a place for the pleasure of travel. An individual work is sometimes called a travelogue or itinerary. Travel literature may be cross-cultural or transnational in focus, or...
s, short storiesShort StoriesShort Stories may refer to:*A plural for Short story*Short Stories , an American pulp magazine published from 1890-1959*Short Stories, a 1954 collection by O. E...
, biographies, studies, translations, study guides etc. numbering around 290 - From Representation to Participation (First book on Panchayatiraj)
- Sarojini Naidu (Biography)
- Blue Jasmine (Fantasy novel)
- Saffron (a novel exploring the mythsMythologyThe term mythology can refer either to the study of myths, or to a body or collection of myths. As examples, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece...
of KashmirKashmirKashmir is the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term Kashmir geographically denoted only the valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal mountain range...
) - Mannatthu Padmanabhan and the Revival of NairNairNair , also known as Nayar , refers to "not a unitary group but a named category of castes", which historically embody several castes and many subdivisions, not all of whom bore the Nair title. These people historically live in the present-day Indian state of Kerala...
s in KeralaKeralaor 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.... - An Epoch in Kerala History
- History of Malayalam Literature
- Kerala History
- Influence of English on Malayalam Literature
- Indian National Congress - Hundred Years (History of the Indian National CongressIndian National CongressThe Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...
published for its centenary)