https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Potheri_Kunjambu_VakilPotheri Kunjambu Vakil - Revision history2026-10-28T17:14:53ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.43.6https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?title=Potheri_Kunjambu_Vakil&diff=526062&oldid=prevDonteOnslow6 at 12:20, 25 June 20252025-06-25T12:20:28Z<p></p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{Short description|Indian poet}}<br />
{{Infobox person<br />
| name = Potheri Kunjambu Vakil<br />
| birth_date = June 6, 1857, Kannur District<br />
| death_date = 1919<br />
| occupation = [[Poet]], [[lawyer]], [[social worker]], [[Rationalism|rationalist]]<br />
}}<br />
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'''Potheri Kunjambu Vakil''' (1857–1919) was one of the earliest [[Malayalam]] poets and a [[rationalist]], [[novelist]], [[social worker]] and [[lawyer]] from [[Kannur district]].<ref name="123ss"/> He wrote about and worked for the upliftment of the downtrodden. He is best known for his novel ''Saraswati Vijayam''.<ref name="nn23">Bagyaseelan Chalakkad(2009), ''"Kalvilakkukal"''. Vangmaya books, Kannur</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Singh |first1=Gajendra |last2=Singh |first2=Gurudarshan |title=NCERT Solutions - Social Science for Class 10th |date=1 January 2014 |publisher=Arihant Publications India limited |isbn=978-93-5141-545-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2YRIEAAAQBAJ |access-date= |language=en}}</ref><br />
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In his writings, he propagated the idea that the upliftment of the downtrodden was possible through education and the eradication of [[superstition]]s. He is said to have been the first to give the [[Pulaya]] bride the name ''Panchamar''.<ref>Ulloor, ''[[Keralasahithycharithram]]'', vol. 5</ref><br />
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==Early life and education ==<br />
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Potheri Kunjambu was born on June 6, 1857, at Pannenpara, [[Pallikunnu]] near Kannur. After studying at Ezhuthupalli run by his father Potheri Kunjakkan, he was educated in [[Sanskrit]] and [[Malayalam]]. He later studied at the Government English School in Kannur, he passed matriculation and dropped out of higher education due to poverty.<ref name="nn23"/><br />
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== Career ==<br />
Kunjambu worked as a court clerk for a short time and later passed the legal examination and became a lawyer in [[Taliparamba]] and [[Kannur]]. He was the legal advisor of the [[Kolathiri|Chirakkal royal family]].<ref name="123ss"/><ref>{{cite book |last1=Kunhambu |first1=Potheri |title=Saraswativijayam |date=2002 |publisher=Book Review Literacy Trust |isbn=978-81-88434-01-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DVlkAAAAMAAJ |access-date= |language=en}}</ref> The lawyer, who was traveling in a royal chariot, was also the landlord who owned several acres of land. Kunjambu Vakil was a fan of [[Sree Narayana Guru]].<ref name="nn23"/><ref name="123ss">{{cite web| url = https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/kozhikode/these-walls-have-a-story-to-tell/article4985023.ece| title = These walls have a story to tell - The Hindu| website = [[The Hindu]]}} </ref><br />
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==Bibliography==<br />
* ''Saraswativijayam''<br />
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==Works==<br />
He understood the problems of the evil community in which he was born. Kunjambu was more worried about the lives of the downtrodden brides than the Theas{{definition needed|date=December 2023}}. He wrote sharp essays on religious reform and [[Sadhujana]] upliftment in newspapers like ''[[Kerala Pathrika]]'', ''[[Kerala Sanchari]]'' and ''[[Bhashaposhini]]''.<ref name="nn23"/> He argued that a board should be formed for the administration of [[Hindu temple]]s and that a certain percentage of the temple revenue should be used for the educational advancement of brides. In 1890, he established his own primary school for brides. Since the teachers did not even come forward from Theera, he assigned his own brother to teach there.<br />
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Aware of the importance of women's education, Kunjambu sent her daughter to [[Madras Medical College]] to become a doctor and a [[role model]] for the society. Paruvamma, the daughter of a lawyer, was the first woman doctor in [[Malabar Coast|Malabar]].<br />
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Kunjambu also set up a printing press called Edward Press in Kannur. He has been the chairman of [[Kannur Municipality]] for ten years. In his writings, he propagated the idea that the upliftment of the downtrodden was possible through education and the eradication of superstitions. He is said to have been the first to give the bride the name Panchamar.<ref name="nn23"/><ref>{{cite book |last1=Rani |first1=K. Suneetha |title=Influence of English on Indian Women Writers: Voices from Regional Languages |date=25 September 2017 |publisher=SAGE Publishing India |isbn=978-93-81345-34-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8RpBDwAAQBAJ |access-date= |language=en}}</ref><br />
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==Bibliography==<br />
* Saraswativijayam<br />
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==See also==<br />
*[[Muliyil Krishnan]]<br />
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==References==<br />
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{{Reflist}}<br />
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{{Malayalam Literature}}<br />
{{Authority control}}<br />
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[[Category:Malayalam poets]]<br />
[[Category:Poets from Kerala]]<br />
[[Category:People from Kannur district]]<br />
[[Category:19th-century Indian male writers]]<br />
[[Category:20th-century Indian male writers]]<br />
[[Category:19th-century Indian poets]]<br />
[[Category:20th-century Indian poets]]<br />
[[Category:1857 births]]<br />
[[Category:1919 deaths]]<br />
[[Category:Novelists from British India]]<br />
[[Category:Poets from British India]]</div>DonteOnslow6