Kakkanadan (George Varghese Kakkanadan)

George Varghese Kakkanadan (Malayalam: ജോര്‍ജ്ജ് വര്‍ഗ്ഗീസ് കാക്കനാടന്‍; 23 April 1935 – 19 October 2011), commonly known as Kakkanadan, was a Malayalam language short story writer and novelist from Kerala state, South India. He is often credited with laying the foundation of modernism in Malayalam literature. He is a recipient of Kendra Sahithya Academy Award.

Professional career

Born in Thiruvalla to evangelist George Kakkanadan and Rosamma, George Varghese Kakkanadan spent most of his childhood at Kollam and Kottarakkara. After completing BSc chemistry from SN College, Kollam, Kakkanadan started his career as a school teacher in Kerala. He quit the job to join Southern Railway in Tamil Nadu as an officer and later shifted to Ministry of Indian Railways in New Delhi in late 1950s. In early 1960s, he shot into prominence as one of the most promising writers in Malayalam and was among the pioneers of the modernist trend in Malayalam literature. He went to Germany in 1967 on a scholarship to pursue research in literature but abandoned it midway and returned to Kerala to become a full-time writer. He won the Kerala Sahithya Akademi Award for his shortstory collection "Aswathamavinte Chiri" in 1980 and for his novel "Orotha" in 1984. In 2005 he won the Kendra Sahithya Akademi Award for "Jappana Pukayila" and in 2008 he was bestowed with the Kerala Sahithya Akademi Fellowship. Kakkanadan was a craze among the younger generation of Kerala during the 1960s and 1970s.

Major works
Ushnamekhala
Vasoori
Japana Pukayila
Kakkanadante Priyakathakal
Saakshi
Orotha
Kambolam
Parangimala

Awards and honors

Kakkanadan received a Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award (2002) for lifetime achievement in Malayalam literature.
Kendra Sahithya Academy Award (2005)
Balamaniamma Award (2008)
Padma Prabha Award (2002)
Muttathu Varkey Award
Bahrain Keraleeya Samajam "Sahithya Award" (2009)