Hojjathassanpour2023: fixed details based on references and updated info as per guidelines

2026-03-03T15:41:23Z

fixed details based on references and updated info as per guidelines

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2021-08-02T02:07:00Z

Life: deleted "is survived by..." per MOS:BIO's "Out-of-date material" section

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{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=October 2018}}
'''Unnikrishnan Puthur''' (15 July 1933 – 2 April 2014) was a [[Malayalam|Malayalam–language ]] [[novelist]] and [[short story]] writer.<ref name="The Hindu"/> Puthur wrote about 700 short stories and published 29 collections of short stories, 15 novels, a collection of poems and autobiographical writings, among others. He was awarded [[Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award]] for the novel ''Balikkallu'' in 1968. He received the [[Malayalam literary awards#Odakkuzhal Award|Odakkuzhal Award]] in the year 2010 for the novel ''Anubhavangal Ner Reghakal''.

==Life==
Born in the village of [[Engandiyur]], in [[Thrissur]] district of [[Kerala]], as the son of Kallat Chulliparambil Sankunni Nair and Puthur Janaki Amma, Unnikrishnan Puthur studied at the [[Chavakkad]] Board School and [[Government Victoria College, Palakkad]]. He started his career in college and parallelly worked as a newspaper correspondent for two years, then joined the [[Guruvayur temple|Guruvayur Sreekrishna temple]] Devaswom office as a clerk and retired as head of the establishment wing of the Guruvayur Devaswom Library in the year 1987. He was a trade union leader and a socialist. He was nominated to the Temple Managing Committee as the representative of the temple employees.{{fact|date=October 2018}}

He also served as the president of the Sahitya Pravarthaka Cooperative Society, member of the executive committee of the [[Kerala Sahitya Akademi]] and the general council of the [[Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi]], and founder-member of the editorial committee of ''Bhakthapriya'' magazine.{{fact|date=October 2018}}

He died on 2 April 2014 at a private hospital in Chavakkad.<ref name="The Hindu">{{cite news|url=http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-kerala/unnikrishnan-puthur-dead/article5865476.ece |title=Unnikrishnan Puthur dead |author=K. Santhosh |newspaper=The Hindu |date=3 April 2014 |access-date=11 April 2014}}</ref> He had been undergoing treatment for age related ailments for quite some time.<ref name=express>{{cite news|url=http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/kerala/Unnikrishnan-Puthur-is-Dead/2014/04/03/article2146524.ece |title=Unnikrishnan Puthur is Dead |newspaper=The New Indian Express |date=3 April 2014 |access-date=11 April 2014}}</ref>

==Writing==
Unnikrishnan Puthur belongs to writers of modern era with vivid taste in selecting the topics. His works include ''Jalasamadhi, Dharmachakram, Gajarajan Guruvayur Kesavan, Puthurinte Kathakal, Thallaviral, Akashavani, Kuttasammatam, Atmaviboothi, Aanappaka, Amruthamadhanam, Karayunna Kalpadukal, Nashtapetta Ponnonam, Kamsan, Dylan Thomasinte Ganam, Sundari Cheriamma'', and ''Kalpakapoomazha'' (collection of poems).

His novels and scores of short stories narrated the tales of ordinary men and women bound to the famous Guruvayur temple, unnoticed in the hustle and bustle of the pilgrim town visited by thousands from outside. It was his novels like ''Balikkallu'' and ''Anappaka'' that brought to light the plight of men and women destined to eke out a living by doing menial chores for the rich temples, as mahouts and charwomen. ''Nazhikamani'' records the rituals and life around Guruvayur temple, where he worked for 32 years. ''Balikkallu'' too emerged from this experience. ''Aattukattil'' documents the growth and break-up of the [[Nair]] ''[[tharavad]]'' (ancestral house) in the feudal era. ''Panchara Mavu Veenu, Bhagam, Ozhivudinam, Gopuravelicham, Eeeranmundum Nananja Kannukalum, Nakshatrakunju, Pavakkalyanam'', and ''Kadinjool Prasanam'' too are set in the matrilineal Nair milieu. Puthur writes about the complexities of life in a simple style. There are echoes of [[Kesavadev]] and [[Ponkunnam Varkey]] in his writings. Puthur's troubling remarks about Malayalam author [[Rajalakshmi]] in his memoirs written in ''[[Mathrubhumi Weekly]]'' had stirred a huge controversy in Kerala literary circles.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-kerala/the-why-remains-47-years-later/article3634104.ece |title=The ‘why’ remains, 47 years later |author=K. Santhosh |newspaper=The Hindu |date=13 July 2012 |access-date=11 April 2014}}</ref>

==Novels and short stories==
*''Balikkallu''
*''Jalasamadhi''
*''Dharmachakram''
*''Gajarajan Guruvayoor Kesavan''
*''Puthurinte Kathakal''
*''Nazhikamani''
*''Thallaviral''
*''Akashvani''
*''Kuttasammatam'' (''The Confession'')
*''Athmaviboothi''
*''Aanappaka''
*''Aattukattil''
*''Amruthamadhanam''
*''Marakkanum Porukkanum''

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
* ''The Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature'' by Amaresh Datta

{{Malayalam Literature |state=collapsed}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Puthur, Unnikrishnan}}
[[Category:Recipients of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award]]
[[Category:Malayalam-language writers]]
[[Category:People from Thrissur district]]
[[Category:Malayalam novelists]]
[[Category:Malayalam short story writers]]
[[Category:1933 births]]
[[Category:2014 deaths]]
[[Category:Government Victoria College, Palakkad alumni]]
[[Category:Novelists from Kerala]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian short story writers]]
[[Category:Indian male short story writers]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian novelists]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian male writers]]

Unnikrishnan Puthur - Revision history

Hojjathassanpour2023: fixed details based on references and updated info as per guidelines

->UrielAcosta: /* Life */deleted "is survived by..." per MOS:BIO's "Out-of-date material" section