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A Malayalam poet of renown with two Kerala Sahithya Akademi awards along with other prestigious recognitions, and well known in Malayalam literature for his poetic grandeur, insightful critical acumen and masterly command over language, K.V. Ramakrishnan was born in Kadampuzha, in 1935, as the son of M. Raghava Warrier and K.V. Parvathy Warassyar. Had his primary level classes in the village schools at Melmuri and Marakkara and did his High School education in Raja’s High School, Kottakkal.
Started writing poems during school days and the first poem was published in the School magazine in 1949. Passed SSLC in 1951 and after getting PSC selection, left for Madras to join the Office of the Dy. Inspector General of Police, Railways and CID, Madras, as a clerk and continued there for three years. During these days he wrote poems regularly in “Jayakeralam”, a renowned periodical published from Madras. After formation of the state of Kerala in 1956 he was transferred to Kerala in 1957. While in Madras, he was actively connected with the activities of the Kerala Samajam (Triplicane Unit
Worked in the District Police Office, Palakkad for one and half years during which period he was actively engaged in the activities of the North Kerala NGOs’ Association, which later turned to be the Kerala NGO Union. The only one drama to his credit, “Varshikkatha Meghangal” was written in 1957, to be staged on the occasion of the annual day celebrations of the Union. This drama was later published by the Current Books, Thrissur. He was transferred to Ernakulam in 1957 acquaintance with the renowned poet, Mahakavi G Sankara Kurup, gave him the “kavisiksha” needed for a young poet. Early in 1960, he was transferred to the newly formed Office of the Dy. Inspector-General of Police, Northern Range, Kozhikode.
The first poem which offered him his slot among Malayalam poets, was published in the Mathrubhumi Weekly in 1960. Thereafter he used to contribute poems, book reviews and literary articles to this periodical, which, in those days, used to carry the hallmark of achievements in Malayalam literary field. In Kozhikode, he could get himself acquainted with the great luminaries in the horizon of Malayalam literature, like NV Krishna Warrior, SK Pottekkat, MT Vasudevan Nair and others. It was during these days that MT Vasudevan Nair, who was in the Mathrubhumi weekly then, asked him to translate the great horror classic “Dracula” for being serialized in the weekly in 1961 He took his Pre-University Examination as a private student from the Madhya Pradesh University, and got himself admitted to the second year of the three year degree course, in the Maharaja’s College, Ernakulam, in 1962. He then took his BA (Malayalam) in 1964 and MA (English Language and Literature) in 1966. The Mathrubhumi weekly, by serializing the novel and also by publishing his poems and book reviews regularly, and also his publisher, the Current Books, Thrissur by publishing the novel translation and also some other books, offered him the financial support needed during these years, which he supplemented by translating some novels for another publisher, the CICC Books, in Ernakulam. |
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He worked as the Secretary of the Kerala Sahithya Samithy, a literary organization, formed under the leadership of NV Krishna Warrior and SK Pottekkatt, in 1962 and in 1973-74, while Mahakavi Edasseri was the President of the Samithy, he was the General Secretary of it.
On taking his MA, he worked in the Mar Athanasius College of Arts, Kothamangalam during the academic year 1966-1967, and in the next academic year he worked for about one and a half months in the Sree Sankara College, Kalady, leaving it to join the Sree Krishna College, guruvayur, where he continued till he left it on voluntary retirement in the middle of August 1988, to join the Mathrubhumi weekly as its Asst. Editor. While in Guruvayoor he got aquainted with the well-known poet Mahakavi Edasseri. He left the Mathrubhumi in 1966, to join the Arya Vaidya Sala, Kottakkal as their Publication Manager. He continued in the Arya Vaidya Sala till 2002 and left the institution to join the Farook Arts and Science College, Kottakkal as Professor and Head of the Department of English. He left Kottakkal in 2013, and settled down in Thrissur.
After the demise of NV Krishna Warrior in 1989, Ramakrishnan organized the “NV Krishna Warrior Smaraka Trust” in 1992 to keep the memory of the great literary luminary alive and also aiming at taking forward the attempts of NV in literary and cultural areas. The Trust organizes regularly, Seminars on various relevant topics, memorial lectures, and workshops for young poets. The Trust is publishing a literary quarterly (“Kavanakauamudi”), which has registered its own name in the academic, literary circles of Kerala. In 1967, Ramakrishnan married P Santha, the cousin sister of the wife of NV Krishna Warrior, and the couple has two daughters. The elder, Uma, (Senior Auditor, AG’s Office, Bangalore), married to KR Ramakrishnan (Chief Manager, Union Bank Of India, Bangalore), is settled in Bangalore. They have two daughters, Gayathri (student, US) and Parvathy (student, Bangalore). Ramakrishnan’s second daughter, Dr. Veda Warrier, Psychiatrist working in the States, married to Sethunath Warrier (Vice Prsident, JP Morgan Chase, Columbus, Ohio, US). They have a son by name Deepak Warrier, and a daughter Divya Warrier.
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Kerala Sahitya
Akademi Award for Poetry
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