Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai

Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai (Malayalam: തകഴി ശിവശങ്കര പിള്ള) (17 April 1912 – 10 April 1999) was a novelist and short story writer of Malayalam language. He is popularly known as Thakazhi, after his place of birth. He focused on the oppressed classes as the subject of his works, which are known for their attention to historic detail. He wrote several novels and over 600 short stories. His most famous works are Kayar (Coir, 1978) and Chemmeen (Prawns, 1956). Pillai, a recipient of the Padma Bhushan, was awarded India's highest literary award, the Jnanpith in 1984 for the epic novel Kayar.

Literary career

Born in the village of Thakazhy, in Kuttanad, Alappuzha district of Kerala, he started to write stories when he was a schoolboy. His literary taste was nurtured by his high school headmaster Kainikkara Kumara Pillai (1900–1988) who exposed him to Indian literature. He met Kesari A Balakrishna Pillai (1889–1960) while pursuing his law studies in Tiruvanantapuram. He introduced Thakazhi to modern European literature and thought.

Thakazhi (film)

Thakazhi is a 1998 Malayalam documentary film made by M. T. Vasudevan Nair on renowned Malayalam writer, Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai (1912–1999). The 57-minute film was written, directed and narrated by Nair for Sahitya Akademi. The film's music was provided by Raveendran.

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