George Varghese Kakkanadan , commonly known as Kakkanadan, was a Malayalam language

Malayalam language

Malayalam , is one of the four major Dravidian languages of southern India. It is one of the 22 scheduled languages of India with official language status in the state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry. It is spoken by 35.9 million people...

 short story

Short 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...

 writer and novelist from Kerala state, South India

South India

South India is the area encompassing India's states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu as well as the union territories of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry, occupying 19.31% of India's area...

. He is often credited with laying the foundation of modernism

Modernist literature

Modernist literature is sub-genre of Modernism, a predominantly European movement beginning in the early 20th century that was characterized by a self-conscious break with traditional aesthetic forms...

 in Malayalam literature. He is a recipient of Kendra Sahithya Academy Award.

Professional career

Born in Thiruvalla and later moved to Kottarakkara

Kottarakkara

Kottarakkara , also transliterated as Kottarakara, is a town and taluk in Kollam District , in Kerala state, India. The town is close to the Kollam port which has a rich history linked to the early medieval period as well as a reputation for being an important commercial, industrial and trading...

, Kakkanadan started his professional career as a school teacher. He quit the job to join Southern Railway

Southern Railway (India)

The Southern Railway is the earliest of the 16 zones of the Indian Railways created in independent India. It was created on April 14, 1951 by merging three state railways namely Madras and Southern Mahratta Railway, the South Indian Railway, and the Mysore State Railway. The South Indian Railway...

 as an officer and later shifted to Ministry of Indian Railways

Ministry of Railways (India)

The Ministry of Railways in India is in charge of the Indian Railways, an organisation that operates as a monopoly in rail transport in India. Dinesh Trivedi is the current minister responsible for railways....

. He went to Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 to pursue research in physics

Physics

Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...

 but abandoned midway. He had won the Kerala Sahithya Akademi Award for his novel Orodha in 1984. In 2005 he won the Kendra Sahithya Akademi Award and in 2008 he was bestowed with the Kerala Sahithya Akademi Fellowship. Kakkanadan was a craze among the younger generation of Kerala during the 1960s and 1970s.

Major works

• Ushnamekhala
• Vasoori
• Japana Pukayila
• Kakkanadante Priyakathakal
• Saakshi
• Orotha
• Kambolam
• Parangimala

Awards and honors

Kakkanadan received Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award

Kerala Sahithya Academy

Kerala Sahitya Akademi or Academy for Malayalam literature is an autonomous body established to promote Malayalam language and literature. It is situated in Thrissur, Kerala in India. The academy was inaugurated on October 15, 1956, by Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma, the former king of...

(2002) for life-time achievement in Malayalam literature.

• Kendra Sahithya Academy Award (2005)
• Balamaniamma Award (2008)
• Padma Prabha Award (2002)
• Muttathy Varkey Award
• Bahrain Keraleeya Samajam "Sahithya Award" (2009)