Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai

Born: 17 April 1912

Died: 10 April 1999

• He popularly known as Thakazhi after his place of birth, was an Indian novelist and short story writer of Malayalam literature.
• He wrote over 30 novels and novellas and over 600 short stories focusing on the lives of the oppressed classes.
• Known for his works such as Kayar (Coir, 1978) and Chemmeen (Prawns, 1956), he was a recipient of the Padma Bhushan, the third highest Indian civilian award.
• He was also a recipient of the Jnanpith, India’s highest literary award, awarded in 1984 for the novel Kayar.
• His first short story was Daridran (The Poor) which was published in 1929.
• After many short stories, he wrote Thyagathinu Prathiphalam (Fruits of sacrifice) in 1934 which primarily dealt with the social injustices prevalent during that time.
• This was the first of his 39 novels, he also published 21 anthologies composed of over 600 short stories, two plays and four memoirs.
• He received the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1957 for the love epic, Chemmeen.
• Kerala Sahitya Akademi selected Enippadikal for their annual award for novels in 1965.
• He received the highest Indian literary award, Jnanpith Award in 1984.

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