Narayana Purushothama Mallaya

{{Infobox person

| name = Narayana Purushothama Mallaya

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| birth_date = 7 May 1929

| birth_place = Mattancherry, Kochi, Kerala, India

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| occupation = Writer, literary activist

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| parents = N. M. Saraswathi Bhai

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| awards = Padma Shri
Sahitya Academy Award
Konkani Pitamaha

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Narayana Purushothama Mallaya is an Indian author, known for his activism for Konkani language and literature.{{cite web | url=http://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/kochi/article1509806.ece | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150224220204/http://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/kochi/article1509806.ece | url-status=dead | archive-date=24 February 2015 | title=The Indian Express| date=21 March 2013 | access-date=24 February 2015}}{{cite web | url=http://gsbkonkani.blogspot.ae/2005/06/konkanis-tireless-crusader.html | title=GSB Konkani | publisher=GSB Konkani | date=7 June 2005 | access-date=24 February 2015}} A recipient of Sahitya Academy Award,{{cite web | url=http://www.daijiworld.com/news/news_disp.asp?n_id=167966 | title=Daiji World | publisher=Daiji World | date=21 March 2013 | access-date=24 February 2015}} he was honoured by the Government of India in 2015 with Padma Shri, the fourth highest Indian civilian award.{{cite web |url=http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=114952 |title=Padma Awards |publisher=Padma Awards |date=2015 |access-date=16 February 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150128022143/http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=114952 |archive-date=28 January 2015}}{{cite web | url=http://www.timescontent.com/syndication-photos/reprint/news/421279/narayana-purushothama-mallaya-padma.html | title=Times Content | publisher=Times Group | date=27 January 2015 | access-date=24 February 2015}}

Biography

Narayana Purushothama Mallaya was born on 7 May 1929 in Mattancherry, a coastal town in Kochi, in the South Indian state of Kerala to N. M. Saraswathi Bhai, reportedly the first woman teacher in the state.{{cite web | url=http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-metroplus/when-kerosene-lamps-were-street-lights/article636307.ece | title=The Hindu | website=The Hindu | date=13 August 2009 | access-date=24 February 2015}} He did his early education at T. D. School, Mattancherry and the Government Commercial Institute, Ernakulam. He started his career as a teacher by founding Ramakrishna Technical Institute in 1958, a commerce institute recognized by the state government.

Mallaya is reported to have initiated the movement against the 1951 census report classifying Konkani as a dialect of Marathi and was successful in getting a language status for Konkani by the time the next census report was published in 1961. In 1966, he initiated a movement for getting national language status for Konkani by appealing to Indira Gandhi, then Prime Minister of India and the efforts were successful in 1992 when the language was included in the 8th Schedule. His contributions are also reported in the establishment of Konkani Prachar Sabha and a chair for Konkani language studies at Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam.

Mallaya has authored 21 books including Vedanta Bhushan Guruji Pandit Narayana Anantha Sarma Sastri Satakam,{{cite book | url=http://www.pricedekho.com/books/vedanta-bhushan-guruji-pandit-narayana-anantha-sarma-sastri-satakam-n-purushot-price-p6ysmd.html | title=Vedanta Bhushan Guruji Pandit Narayana Anantha Sarma Sastri Satakam | publisher=Price Dekho | author=Narayana Purushothama Mallaya | year=2011}} a Konkani poem of 100 verses with English translation{{cite web | url=http://m.ebay.in/itmdescription?itemId=141464602722 | title=E Bay | publisher=E Bay | date=2015 | access-date=24 February 2015}} and a translation of Tamil epic, the Tirukkural, composed of 1330 couplets in 133 chapters, into Konkani language.{{cite web | url=http://www.thehindu.com/lf/2002/06/24/stories/2002062402810200.htm | archive-url=https://archive.today/20150224163720/http://www.thehindu.com/lf/2002/06/24/stories/2002062402810200.htm | url-status=dead | archive-date=24 February 2015 | title=Tirukkural | date=24 June 2002 | work=The Hindu | access-date=24 February 2015}}{{cite web | url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/Thirukkural-translated-into-Konkani/articleshow/13002899.cms | title=The Times of India| website=The Times of India| date=15 June 2002 | access-date=24 February 2015}} He has translated Jnanappana and several other notable works of Vallathol and Rabindra Nath Tagore besides authoring biographies of N. M. Saraswati Bhai, Suniti Kumar Chatterji and Dr. T. M. A. Pai in verses. Govinda Pai Satakam{{cite book | url=A History of Konkani Literature: From 1500 to 1992 | title=A History of Konkani Literature: From 1500 to 1992 | publisher=Sahitya Akademi | author=Manohararāya Saradesāya | year=2000 | pages=307 of 317 pages | isbn=9788172016647}} and Calcutta Nagari Varnana{{cite web | url=http://www.docstoc.com/docs/126312373/CustomReport---Konkani-Language-and-Cultural-Foundationxls | title=Calcutta Nagari Varnana | publisher=DocStoc | date=2015 | access-date=24 February 2015}} are two of his other notable works.

Mallaya has received the Sahitya Academy Award for Konkani literature and is a recipient of the title, Konkani Pitamaha from the Konkani Bhasha Prachar Sabha in 2005, The Government of India included him in the Republic Day honours list, in 2015, for the civilian award of Padma Shri.

References

External links

{{cite web | url=http://www.timescontent.com/syndication-photos/reprint/news/421279/narayana-purushothama-mallaya-padma.html | title=Times Content Image Gallery| publisher=Times Group | date=27 January 2015 | access-date=24 February 2015}}

Category:1929 births

Category:Living people

Category:Indian male poets

Category:Writers from Kochi

Category:Konkani-language poets

Category:Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Award in Konkani

Category:20th-century Indian poets

Category:Poets from Kerala

Category:Tamil–Konkani translators

Category:Translators of the Tirukkural into Konkani

Category:20th-century Indian male writers

Category:People from Mattancherry