Kumaran Asan

In 1922, the Madras university awarded him the prefix "Mahakavi" which means "great poet".

• Honorific Prefix — Mahakavi • Name — Kumaran Asan • Born — 12 April 1871 • Birthplace — Kaayikkara Kadakkavoor, Chirayinkeezhu, Thiruvananthapuram, Travancore • Died — 16 January 1924 • Place of death — Alappuzha, Travancore, Kerala, British Raj • Occupation — Poet and writer • Notable Works — * Veena Poovu • Duravastha • Chinthavishtayaaya Seetha • Nalini • Leela • Chandala Bhikshuki • Prarodanam • Pushpavadi • Spouse — Bhanumathiamma • Children — Prabhakaran and Sudhakaran • Relatives — * Narayanan Perungudi (father) • Kochupennu (mother)

• Illustration — Kumaran Asan (standing right) with Narayana Guru (seated middle). Asan was born on 12 April 1873, in a merchant family belonging to Ezhava community in Kayikkara village, Chirayinkeezhu taluk, Anchuthengu Grama Panchaayath in Travancore to Narayanan Perungudi, a polyglot well versed in Malayalam and Tamil languages, and Kochupennu as the second of their nine children. His early schooling was at a local school by a teacher by name, Udayankuzhi Kochuraman Vaidyar, who taught him elementary Sanskrit after which he continued his studies at the government school in Kayikkara until he was thirteen. Subsequently, he joined the school as a teacher in 1889 but had to quit as he was not old enough to hold a government job. It was during this time, he studied the verses and plays of Sanskrit literature. Later, he started working as an accountant at a local wholesale grocer in 1890, the same year he met Shree Narayana Guru and became the spiritual leader's disciple. Narayana Guru's influence led Asan to spiritual pursuits and he spent some time at a local temple, in prayers and teaching Sanskrit. Soon, he joined Guru at his Aruvippuram hermitage where he was known as Chinnaswami ("young ascetic"). In 1895, he moved to Bangalore and studied for law, staying with Padmanabhan Palpu. He stayed there only until 1898 as Palpu went to England and a plague epidemic spread over Bangalore and Asan spent the next few months in Madras before proceeding to Calcutta to continue his Sanskrit studies. At Calcutta, he studied at Tarka sastra at the Central Hindu College, studying English simultaneously and also got involved with the Indian Renaissance, but his stay was again cut short due to plague epidemic. He returned to Aruvippuram in 1900. Asan was also involved with the activities of the Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam (SNDP) and became its secretary in 1904. The same year, he founded Vivekodayam, a literary journal in Malayalam, and assumed its editorship. Under his leadership, the magazine became a monthly from a bi-monthly. In 1913, he was elected to the Sree Moolam Popular Assembly (Sri Moolam Praja Sabha), the first popularly elected legislature in the history of India. He relinquished the position at SNDP in 1919 and a year later, took over the editorship of Pratibha, another literary magazine In 1921, he started a clay tile factory, Union Tile Works, in Aluva but when it was found that the factory was polluting the nearby palace pond, he shifted the project to a site near Aluva river and handed over the land to SNDP for building an Advaitashramam. Later, he moved to Thonnakkal, a village in the periphery of Thiruvananthapuram, where he settled with his wife. In 1923, he contested in assembly election from Quilon constituency but lost to Sankara Menon. Asan married Bhanumathiamma, the daughter of Thachakudy Kumaran Writer in 1917.

Asan died on 16 January 1924, after a boat named Redeemer carrying him capsized in the Pallana river in Alappuzha. His body was recovered after two days and the place where his mortal remains were cremated is known as Kumarakodi.

• Illustration — Kumaran Asan - Chandalabhikshuki - a mural at Thonnakkal Asan Smarakam

• Year — Work — Remarks • 1907 — Veena Poovu (The Fallen Flower) — Asan scripted this epoch-making poem in 1907 during his sojourn in Jain Medu, Palakkad. A highly philosophical poem, 'Veena Poovu' is an allegory of the transience of the mortal world, which is depicted through the description of the varied stages in the life of a flower. Asan describes in such detail about its probable past and the position it held. It is an intense sarcasm on people on high powers/positions finally losing all those. The first word Ha, and the last word Kashtam of the entire poem is often considered as a symbolism of him calling the world outside Ha! kashtam (How pitiful). • 1911 — Nalini — It is a love poem, which details the love between Nalini and Diwakharan. • 1914 — Leela — A deep love story in which Leela leaves Madanan, her lover and returns to find him in forest in a pathetic condition. She thus realises the fundamental fact Mamsanibhadamalla ragam (true love is not carnal) • 1919 — Prarodanam (Lamentation) — An elegy on the death of A. R. Rajaraja Varma, a poet, critic and scholar; similar to Percy Bysshe Shelley's Adonaïs, with a distinctly Indian philosophical attitude. • 1919 — Chinthavishtayaaya Sita (Reflective Sita) — An exploration of womanhood and sorrow, based on the plight of Sita of Ramayana. • 1922 — Duravastha (The Tragic Plight) — A love story depicting the relationship between Savithri, a Namboothiri heiress and Chathan, a youth from a lower caste. A political commentary on 19th and early 20th century Kerala. • 1922 — Chandaalabhikshuki — This poem, divided into four parts and consisting of couplets, describes an untouchable beggar-woman" (also the name of the poem) who approaches Lord Ananda near Sravasti. • 1923 — Karuna (compassion) — The story of Vasavadatta, a devadasi, and Upagupta, a Buddhist monk. Tells the story of sensory attraction and its aftermath.

• Illustration — A statue of Kumaran Asan in front of the University of Kerala located in Thiruvananthapuram. • Year — Work — Remarks • 1901 — Sthothrakrithikal — Poetry anthology • 1901 — Saundaryalahari — Poetry anthology • 1915–29 — Sree Budhacharitham — This is an epic poem comprising 5 volumes (perhaps Kumaran Asan's longest work), written in couplets • 1917–21 — Baalaraamaayanam — This is a shorter epic poem consisting of 267 verses in three volumes. Most of these verses are couplets, with the exception of the last three quatrains viz. Balakandam (1917), Ayodhyakandam (1920) and Ayodhyakandam (1921). There are, therefore, 540 lines in all • 1918 — Graamavrikshattile Kuyil • 1922 — Pushpavaadi • 1924 — Manimaala — Poetry anthology • 1925 — Vanamaala — Poetry anthology Kumaran Asan also wrote many other poems. Some of these poems are listed in the book Asante Padyakrthikal under the name "Mattu Krthikal" (Other Works): • Sadaachaarasathakam • Sariyaaya Parishkaranam • Bhaashaaposhinisabhayodu • Saamaanyadharmangal • Subrahmanyapanchakam • Mrthyanjayam • Pravaasakaalaththu Naattile Ormakal • This is another collection of poems that come from various letters Kumaran Asan wrote over the course of several years. None of the poems were longer than thirty-two lines. • Koottu Kavitha The other poems are lesser known. Only a few of them have names: • Kavikalkkupadesam • Mangalam • Oru Kathth • This is another one of Asan's letter-poems. • Randu Aasamsaapadyangal poems or stories which are written by kritikal 1. Leela 2. veenpuv 3. nlene 4. kruna 4. parodnam

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