THIRUNALLOOR KARUNAKARAN

THIRUNALLOOR KARUNAKARAN

Thirunalloor Karunakaran - 'Thirunalloor', his family name was born in the village of  Perinad in  Kollam district in Kerala. He started learning Sanskrit in the traditional way before joining primary school and was associated with the working class political movement early in his life. He published his first book-the Malayalam translation of a poem by Oliver Goldsmith while in school. During student days he wrote several poems, lyrics and articles in periodicals and made his mark during the Pink Decade in Malayalam poetry. By the time of his joining college his close contacts with Communist leaders like R. Sugathan and M.N Govindan Nair had made him a staunch sympathiser of the Communist Party.

After taking his BA degree in History from S.N College,Kollam  he worked as a tutor there for a brief stint. Soon he joined University College Thiruvananthapuram for post graduate studies in Malayalam where he did some advanced study of Kerala history under Prof.  Elamkulam Kunjan Pillai, famous historian and scholar who was a major influence in his intellectual life. After taking his MA in Malayalam he joined the government service as college lecturer and taught at Government Arts College and University College. He served as a member of the  Kerala Public Service Commission for 6 years. Later he worked as the editor of Janayugam, a weekly cultural magazine of the  Communist Party of India In 1973 he visited the  Soviet Union as a member of the delegation of Indian writers who participated in the  Afro-Asian Writers Conference held in Kazhakhstan. Awards conferred on him include Asan Award (1984), Vayalar Award(1988) Muloor Award (1992), Abudabi Shakthi Award, Kerala Sahitya Award for lifetime contribution (2000) etc.He died on July 5, 2006 at his residence in  Kollam. He was buried without any customary religious rites or ceremonies, as he had wishedDuring his last years he was engaged in writing a long poem titled 'Seetha' reinterpretting the Ramayana legend.

A three-day long cultural festival called “Thirunalloor Kavyosavam” ' is held every year from May 1, International Workers Day on the banks of the  Ashtamudi lake in Kollam to perpetuate his memory. 2012 Annual three-day Thirunellur poetry festival will begin at the Public Library complex here on May 1.The festival is organised in the memory of poet Thirunellur Karunakaran who passed away six years ago.It will begin with a recitation competition on Thirunellur poems for school and college students. In the evening, there will be a group music programme organised by the Eravi Library. This will be followed by a programme in which people of various age groups will sing revolutionary group songs penned by Thirunellur.On May 2, there will be a painting competition for students up to 16 years of age and a painting exhibition ‘Kavya Chithrangal' on paintings based on the poems of Thirunellur. At 10 a.m., a get-together of poetry readers and poets will be held. The programme will be coordinated by poet Kureepuzha Sreekumar and journalist Saritha Varma. The valedictory will be held at 4.30 p.m. on May 3.

                                Prof. John Kurakar