Satheesh Babu Payyannur
Native name
സതീഷ്ബാബു പയ്യന്നൂർ
BornSatheesh Babu
(1963-08-13)13 August 1963
Pathirippala, Palghat, Kerala, India
Died24 November 2022(2022-11-24) (aged 59)
Vanchiyoor, Trivandrum, Kerala, India
OccupationWriter, journalist, television filmmaker, bank employee
LanguageMalayalam
Alma materPayyanur College
Kanhangad Nehru College
GenreShort story, novel
Years active1979–2022
Notable worksPeramaram, Mannu, Vrishchikam Vannu Vilichu
Notable awardsKerala Sahitya Akademi Award
SpouseGirija (m. 1990⁠–2022)
Children1

Satheesh Babu Payyannur (13 August 1963 – 24 November 2022) was a Malayalam–language short story writer and novelist from Kerala, India. His works include the novels Mannu, Daivappura, Manja Sooryante Naalukal and Kudamanikal Kilungiya Raavil, and the short story collections Peramaram, Vrishchikam Vannu Vilichu and Mazhayilundaya Makal. His oeuvre consists of 12 novels and around 200 short stories.[1] The collection Peramaram won the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Story in 2012. He received the Karoor Award, Malayattoor Award, and Thoppil Ravi Award. He was also a media personality and has written, directed and produced television programmes, telefilms, and documentaries.

Early life and education

Satheesh Babu Payyannur was born on 13 August 1963, in Pathirippala, located in the Palghat district of Kerala.[1] His mother hailed from Pathirippala and his father from Payyannur, Kannur district, Kerala.[1] He attended Payyannur Government School, where he began writing stories and features, winning several prizes at school youth festivals.[1] He completed his pre-degree course (PDC) from Payyannur College and went on to earn a Bachelor of Commerce (BCom) degree from Kanhangad Nehru College.[1] During this time, he became known as a writer, publishing stories, poetry, and essays in various periodicals.[1] He also served as editor and publisher of Nehru College's campus newspaper, Campus Times, which was the first campus newspaper from any college in Calicut University.[2]

Career

After completing his education, Satheesh Babu Payyannur took up the role of editor at the Kasaragod-based weekly Ee Aazhcha.[3] However, renowned editor S. Jayachandran Nair advised him not to pursue a full-time career in journalism if he wished to become a writer. Following this advice, Payyannur left his job at Ee Aazhcha and joined the State Bank of Travancore (SBT) in 1985.[4] He worked at the Sreekandapuram and Thrikaripur branches of SBT before being transferred to the Trivandrum branch in 1991.[4] He relocated to Trivandrum with the goal of working as an assistant to writer-director Padmarajan, whom he had befriended during the filming of Innale.[5] However, Padmarajan had died around this time. Nonetheless, Payyannur continued to pursue his interest in cinema, writing the screenplay for the 1992 film Nakshthrakoodaram, which was directed by Padmarajan's assistant Joshy Mathew.[6] Additionally, Payyannur wrote the dialogues for the 1993 live-action animated film O' Faby.[4]

Since Payyannur could not find success in cinema, he transitioned to television where he found success as a director of telefilms, documentaries, and other programmes.[4] He travelled to foreign countries for the series Gulfilunarunnu Keralam (Kerala Waking Up in the Gulf), which was the first Malayalam telefilm to be set and filmed entirely in the Gulf countries.[7] Another notable series was European Sketchukal (European Sketches).[1] In 2001, Payyannur resigned from the State Bank of Travancore to become fully immersed in literary activities and visual media.[2] That same year, he established his own television production company, Panorama, which produced a variety of television programmes, such as Ponpulari on Surya TV.[3][8] Panorama also published a magazine named Kerala Panorama from Trivandrum and has a YouTube channel by the same name.[9][10]

During his tenure at the State Bank of Travancore, Payyannur was active in promoting literary events sponsored by the bank and in organising the annual SBT Literary Award.[11] Payyannur was a member of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi and the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy.[2] He also held the position of Member Secretary at Bharat Bhavan, a cultural exchange centre under the Kerala Cultural Affairs Department, for a period of five years.[12][13]

Death

Payyannur was found dead in his flat at Vanchiyoor near Trivandrum on 24 November 2022.[14][2] A case was registered for unnatural death, but it was later declared that he died from a heart attack.[15][16] His last rites were held at Paramekkavu Santhighat in Thrissur.[17][18] He was survived by his wife Girija, a retired school teacher, and his daughter Varsha, who lives in Pune.[14]

At the time of his death, Payyannur was working on an unfinished novel titled Sathram, which was based on the life of poet P. Kunhiraman Nair.[19] He was also in talks with publishers about releasing a complete collection of his short stories to coincide with his 60th birthday.[19] Additionally, he was planning a film adaptation of his short story "Lift", with actor Mammootty in the lead role.[19]

Literary career

Short stories

Satheesh Babu Payyannur "writes with compassion and force, his stories delving into the world of the most ordinary people to reveal extraordinary moments of human predicament. They are endowed with a gentle humaneness that probes the secret places of our humdrum existence in simple, direct words."

Malayalam writer Paul Zachariah about Satheesh Babu Payyannur.[20]

Payyannur began publishing his works in the late 1970s and early 1980s,[21] and his writing soon garnered the attention and admiration of readers through the publication of numerous stories in various periodicals.[22] In total, he published around 200 stories,[1] including "Daivam", "Peramaram", "Vrishchikam Vannu Vilichu", "Manalparappu", "Manassu", "Ilayamma", "Scene Over" and "Lift". His story "Daivam" won the Karoor Award, sponsored by Sahithya Pravarthaka Co-operative Society, in 1984. The story was based on Theyyam, a ritual art form practised in Northern Kerala.[23]

"Peramaram" ("The Guava Tree"), first published in the Mathrubhumi Illustrated Weekly in April 1989, tells the tale of Kunjuraman Nambiar, Meenakshi Amma, and their beloved guava tree, and the loneliness they face in their old age.[4] "Peramaram" was published as a book only in 2001, in the collection Vrishchikam Vannu Vilichu (Vrischikam Came Calling), which is a collection of 31 stories written between 1988 and 2001.[4] The story gained renewed interest in 2007 when V. K. Sreeraman wrote about it in his column Vazhvum Ninavum in Madhyamam Weekly.[4] The story was later included in the 2011 collection Peramaram, with an introduction by Sreeraman. The collection had 20 stories and received the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Story in 2012. The story "Peramaram" was also included in the 2018 collection Katha (Story).[4]

"Manassu" was published in Kalakaumudi in May 1990 and was inspired by an experience related to Payyannur by the poet Balachandran Chullikkad.[4] Likewise, the story "Vrishchikam Vannu Vilichu" was written in the same year and was based on Payyannur's own experiences during the Payyanur Subramanya temple festival, which takes place for fourteen days in the Malayalam month of Vrischikam.[4] The story "Manalparappu" (1990) is about the intercaste marriage of Alice and Narayanan, and Payyannur wrote it shortly after his own marriage.[4] A collection of his stories with rain as a common theme was published in the 1991 collection Mazhayilundaya Makal.[4] "Ilayamma," another one of his stories, was published in 1993 in Kalakaumudi.[4] Some of his later short stories are inspired by his experiences in cinema and visual media, such as "Scene Over", "Mazha Maranna Sumithra", "Thiruvananthapuram Cinema", "Thiranadakam" and "K. P. Mariamma".[4] The stories "Cinema", "Nightmare" and "Story Board" also talk about the changes in the visual media in recent years.[4]

Some of Payyannur's other short story collections include Khamaruneesayude Koottukari (Khamaruneesa's Friend), Newsreaderum Poochayum (The Newsreader and the Cat), Scene Over and Photo. Newsreaderum Poochayum is a collection of ten stories, including "Vayalattam", "Cinema", "Newsreaderum Poochayum", "Kudi Pallikoodam", "Lift" and "Fathima Suhra".[24] The collection Mazhayilundaya Makalum Mattu Mazhakathakalum was published posthumously in January 2023.[25] Some of his stories are translated into English and compiled in the title The Guava Tree.[20]

Novels

Payyannur wrote his early novels such as Daivappura, Manja Sooryante Naalukal, Mannu, and Vilapavrikshathile Kaattu during the second half of the 1980s while living in Kannur and Kasargod districts.[1] He was captivated by the ritualistic dance form of Kannur known as Theyyam, which formed the background for his 1984 novel Daivappura (Abode of God).[1] Manja Sooryante Naalukal (The Days of the Yellow Sun) narrated the story of the employees of an evening newspaper.[1] Mannu (Soil), set against the backdrop of the Kavumbai agitation of 1949, was written in 1985 when Payyannur worked at the Sreekandapuram branch of the State Bank of Travancore. Kavumbai was only a few kilometres away from Sreekandapuram and Payyannur initially intended to write a feature on the Kavumbai agitation but the story was so compelling that he finally decided to write a novel based on it.[4] The novel was serialised over a period of 35 weeks in the Sunday supplement of Deshabhimani in 1988 and published as a book the following year by Trivandrum-based Chintha Publications, with a preface by E. M. S. Namboodiripad.[4]

In the novel Vilapavrikshathile Kaattu, Payyannur discussed the lives of Christians who migrated from Travancore to the hills of northern Kerala.[4][26] His other novels include Ulkhananangal and Kudamanikal Kilungiya Raavil (On the Night When the Bells Tolled), with Ulkhananangal, written during the opening of vaults of the Padmanabhaswamy temple, based on the history of Payyannur and Payyannur Pattu.[4] The novels Oru Superhit Cinemayude Thirakkatha (The Script of a Superhit Film) and Kalikaal were inspired by Payyannur's experiences with visual media and cinema.[4]

Ekantha Rathrikal (Lonely Nights) is a collection of five short novels—Ekantha Rathrikal, Noolkkolangal, Olikkuvan Oridam (A Place to Hide), Nadakam (Drama) and Ninavil Anitha Vararund (Anitha Comes in the Dreams).[27] Moonnu Pranaya Novelettukal is a collection of three short romantic novels—Aval Neeraja (She, Neeraja), Ethetho Pulinangalil, and Sana, the latter based on a same-sex romantic relationship.[28]

The last published work during his lifetime was Kamal Haasan Abhinayikkathe Poya Oru Cinema (A Film in Which Kamal Haasan Did Not Act) which is a collection of ten novellas including Kamal Haasan Abhinayikkathe Poya Oru Cinema, Oru Asambandha Online Padam (A Ridiculous Online Movie), Sana, Ulahannanum Njanum (Ulahannan and Me), Idanazhiyude Ingeyattathu (On this End of the Corridor), Nadakam (Drama), Thaniye (Alone), Ethetho Pulinangalil and Mazhayude Neenda Viralukal (The Long Fingers of the Rain).[29] Chila Silkian Ninavukal (Some Silk Memories) is a collection of essays and memoirs including the memoirs about P. Kunhiraman Nair, Silk Smitha and Padmarajan.[30]

Awards

Bibliography

Year Title Publisher Notes Ref.
1985DaivappuraKottayam: CurrentNovel based on Theyyam
1987Kudamanikal Kilungiya RaavilKottayam: Vidyarthi MithramNovel[39]
1988Manja Sooryante NaalukalKottayam: DC BooksNovel
1988Hridaya DaivathamCalicut: PoornaCollection of three novelettes[40]
1988Oru Thoovalinte SparshamKottayam: N.B.S.Novel[41]
1989MannuTrivandum: ChinthaNovel based on Kavumbai agitation[42]
1991Mazhayilundaya MakalKollam: ImprintShort story collection[43]
1996Vilapavrikshathile KaattuKottayam: DC BooksNovel based on Christian immigration to Malabar[26]
2000Oru Superhit Cinemayude ThirakkathaKottayam: S.P.C.S.Novel[44]
2001Vrishchikam Vannu VilichuThrissur: CurrentShort story collection[45]
2005Scene OverTrivandrum: KalamCollection of 15 stories
2005Chila Silkian NinavukalAlleppey: Unma PublicationsEssays and memoirs[30]
2008Ekantha RathrikalCalicut: MathrubhumiCollection of novelettes[46]
2009Moonnamathe MuriCalicut: PoornaCollection of stories[47]
2011PeramaramCalicut: PoornaShort story collection[48]
2011KalikaalKannur: New BooksNovella[49]
2013UlkhananangalKottayam: DC BooksNovel[38]
2016Khamaruneesayude KoottukariKottayam: DC BooksShort story collection[50]
2017PhotoTrivandrum: KalamCollection of nine stories
2018KathaKottayam: S.P.C.S.Short story collection[51]
2018Moonnu Pranaya NovelettukalCalicut: OliveCollection of three novelettes[28]
2020Newsreaderum PoochayumKottayam: DC BooksShort story collection[24]
2021Ente GramakathakalCalicut: OliveShort story collection[52]
2022Kamal Haasan Abhinayikkathe Poya Oru CinemaTrivandum: ChinthaCollection of ten novelettes[29]
2023Mazhayilundaya Makalum Mattu MazhakathakalumThrissur: H&C BooksShort story collection[25]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 T. B. Lal (25 November 2022). "ഇനി ഓർമ, എഴുത്തിലെ തലപ്പൊക്കം!". Malayala Manorama (in Malayalam). Retrieved 18 January 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Sahitya Akademi-winning Malayalam writer Satheesh Babu Payyannur found dead at residence". The New Indian Express. 24 November 2022. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
  3. 1 2 "Writer Satheesh Babu Payyanur passes away". Malayala Manorama. 24 November 2022. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 Ravivarma Thampuran (31 July 2021). "നിലംപതിക്കാത്ത ഓർമകളുടെ പേരമരം". Malayala Manorama. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
  5. ↑ M. K. Suresh (25 November 2022). "പദ്മരാജന്റെ കൂടെനില്‍ക്കാനാഗ്രഹിച്ചു; പയ്യന്നൂരില്‍ നിന്നും തിരുവനന്തപുരത്തേക്ക് സതീഷ്ബാബു കൂടുമാറി". Mathrubhumi. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
  6. ↑ Joshy Mathew (25 November 2022). "'നക്ഷത്രക്കൂടാരം എന്റെയും സതീഷ് ബാബുവിന്റെയും ആദ്യസിനിമ'- സംവിധായകന്‍ ജോഷി മാത്യു". Mathrubhumi. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
  7. ↑ "സതീഷ് ബാബുവിന്റെ വേർപാടിൽ ശക്തി തിയറ്റേഴ്‌സ് അനുശോചിച്ചു". Deshabhimani (in Malayalam). 26 November 2022. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
  8. ↑ "Satheesh Babu Payyanur". Marunadan Malayali. 24 November 2022. Retrieved 19 January 2023 – via YouTube.
  9. ↑ "ഹരിതസിനിമയെപ്പറ്റി സതീഷ്ബാബു പയ്യന്നൂര്‍". Chandrasekharonline.in. 21 April 2017. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
  10. 1 2 Satheesh Babu Payyannur (25 May 2020). "മൂടിക്കെട്ടിയ ലോകവും മുഖമില്ലാത്ത മനുഷ്യരും". Jordays.in. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
  11. ↑ N. P. Hafiz Mohamad (25 November 2022). "'സതീഷ്ബാബുവിന്റെ കഥയിലെ ഒരു ട്വിസ്റ്റുപോലെ മരണം, ആരെയുമറിയിക്കാതെ കൊണ്ടുനടന്ന അന്ത്യം'". Mathrubhumi. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
  12. ↑ "Focus on culture". The Hindu. 29 June 2012. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
  13. ↑ "Writer Sathish Babu Payyannur found dead in flat". Kerala Kaumudi. 24 November 2022. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
  14. 1 2 "Writer Satheesh Babu Payyannur found dead at his house in Thiruvananthapuram". The Hindu. 24 November 2022. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
  15. ↑ "എഴുത്തുകാരൻ സതീഷ് ബാബു പയ്യന്നൂർ മരിച്ചത് ഹൃദയാഘാതം മൂലമെന്ന് പോസ്റ്റ് മോർട്ടം റിപ്പോർട്ട്; സംസ്കാരം നാളെ തൃശൂരിൽ". Roundstime.com. 25 November 2022. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
  16. ↑ "സതീഷ് ബാബു പയ്യന്നൂരിന് തലസ്ഥാനത്തിന്റെ യാത്രാമൊഴി". Deshabhimani (in Malayalam). 26 November 2022. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
  17. ↑ "Last rites of Satheesh Babu in Thrissur today". The Times of India. 26 November 2022. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
  18. ↑ "സതീഷ് ബാബു പയ്യന്നൂരിന്റെ സംസ്കാരം നാളെ തൃശൂരില്‍". Deshabhimani (in Malayalam). 25 November 2022. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
  19. 1 2 3 4 5 "മമ്മൂട്ടി നായകനായി 'ലിഫ്റ്റ്' ഒരുങ്ങുകയായിരുന്നു, ഒപ്പം എഴുതിതീരാത്ത 'സത്ര'വും". Vanitha. 25 November 2022. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
  20. 1 2 "The Guava Tree". Indulekha.com. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
  21. ↑ T. K. Sankaranarayanan (25 November 2022). "'നഷ്ടമായത് സമകാലികരില്‍ കുശുമ്പും കുന്നായ്മയുമില്ലാത്ത നല്ല സുഹൃത്തിനെ' - ടി.കെ ശങ്കരനാരായണന്‍". Mathrubhumi. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
  22. ↑ "Satheesh Babu Payyanur passes away". The Times of India. 25 November 2022. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
  23. 1 2 3 Munhinad Padmakumar, Satheesh Babu Payyannur (24 May 2018). Aksharam.com: Satheesh Babu Payyannur (Interview). Trivandrum: JaiHind TV – via YouTube.
  24. 1 2 "Newsreaderum Poochayum". Keralabookstore.com. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
  25. 1 2 "Mazhayilundaya Makalum Mattu Mazhakathakalum". H&C Books. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
  26. 1 2 Vilapavrikshathile Kaattu". Keralabookstore.com. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
  27. ↑ "Ekantha Rathrikal". Indulekha.com. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
  28. 1 2 "Moonnu Pranaya Novelettukal". Keralabookstore.com. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
  29. 1 2 "Kamal Hasan Abhinayikkathe Poya Oru Cinema". Chintha Publishers. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
  30. 1 2 "Chila Silkian Ninavukal". Indulekha.com. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
  31. ↑ "Santhosh Kumar, Joseph bag Akademi awards". The Hindu. 12 July 2013. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
  32. ↑ "Kerala Sahitya Academy Award for Sathish Babu Payyannur". Kerala Kaumudi. 11 July 2013. Archived from the original on 15 July 2013. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
  33. ↑ "Award winners". The Hindu. 30 June 2015. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
  34. ↑ "അബുദാബി ശക്തി അവാര്‍ഡുകള്‍ പ്രഖ്യാപിച്ചു". Deshabhimani. 30 June 2015. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
  35. ↑ "Satheesh Babu selected for Malayattoor award". The New Indian Express. 21 December 2017. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
  36. ↑ "പുരസ്‌കാരമെത്തുംമുമ്പേ പരലോകത്തെപ്പുല്‍കി;സതീഷ് ബാബുവിനെയുംകാത്ത് അങ്കണം ഷംസുദ്ദീന്‍സ്മൃതിപുരസ്‌കാരം". Mathrubhumi. 25 November 2022. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
  37. ↑ "അങ്കണം ഷംസുദ്ദീൻ സ്മൃതി പുരസ്കാരം യു.കെ. കുമാരന്". Madhyamam. 3 July 2022. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
  38. 1 2 "Ulkhananangal". Indulekha.com. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
  39. ↑ "Kudamanikal Kilungiya Raavil". MG University Library. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
  40. ↑ "Hridaya Daivatham". University of Calicut Library. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
  41. ↑ "Oru Thoovalinte Sparsham". Fr. Francis Sales Library. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
  42. ↑ "Mannu". Keralabookstore.com. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
  43. ↑ "Mazhayilundaya Makal". Kannur University Library. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
  44. ↑ "Oru Superhit Cinemayude Thirakkatha". MG University Library. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
  45. ↑ "Vrishchikam Vannu Vilichu". MG University Library. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
  46. ↑ "Ekantha Rathrikal". University of Calicut Library. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
  47. ↑ "Moonnamathe Muri". Pusthakakada.com. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
  48. ↑ "Peramaram". Keralabookstore.com. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
  49. ↑ "Kalikaal". Keralabookstore.com. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
  50. ↑ "Khamaruneesayude Koottukari". Kannur University Library. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
  51. ↑ "Katha". Indulekha.com. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
  52. ↑ "Ente Gramakathakal". Olive Publications. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
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