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NalapatNarayanaMenon(1887Oct7th1954October30th)
wasaSocialReformer,Philosopher/poetofKeralawhohadamultifacetedpersonalityandprofound
knowledgeofVeda,Upanishads,Jyothisha,ManthrasasthraandThanthrasasthraofIndiaandhad
indepthknowledgeofTheosophyandspiritualisttraditionsofancientIndians.Bold,truthful,honest,and
havingasenseofhumourunsurpassed,averygoodconversationistwhoattractedintellectuals,poets
andphilosophersandstudentstohim,hestoodfortotalnonviolence.WhenKeralaorganizedtheFirst
CommunityDinnerin1914,underSwamiNirmalananda,acloseassociateofSwamiVivekananda,
Nalapatwasoneofthefirsttoorganizeacommunitydinnerinhisownorthodoxancestralhomeleading
thewayforthesocialchange.

HisinfluenceonV.T.Bhattathirippad,renownedsocialreformerofKerala,ispraisedintheBiographyof
VThimself.HewastheonewhourgedVTtobringaboutsocialreformsintheNampoothiricommunity
ofKerala.

BooksofNalapatNarayanaMenon:
Arshajnanam:HisknowledgeinIndiansciencesisepitomizedinhismasterworkArshajnanam,
thefirstofitskindinKeralaandprobablythelast.AccordingtoGSankarakurup,the
Jnanapeetamwinner,ifNalapathadwrittenArshajnanaminEnglish,everyoneinIndiaand
abroadwouldhavewonderedathisvastanddeepknowledge.Arshajnanamrevealsa
scholarlysoulwhichhasplungeddeepintotheoceanofIndianphilosophyandgatheredthe
mostpreciouspearlsfromit.
PourasthyaDeepam(SirEdwinArnoldsLightofAsiaequivalenttoVedicGranthasaccordingto
SwamiVivekananda)wastranslatedintobeautifulpoetrybyNalapat.
Paavangal,LesMiserablesofVictorHugowastranslated,whichinfluencedallthewriters
andsocialreformersofKeralaofthatperiod.Firstpublishedin1925,itisstillhavingahigh
demandamongthepublicofKeralaandamongIntellectuals.Theprosestyleheusedinit
becamethemodelonwhichmanyayoungwriterbuilduphis/herstyleofMalayalamwriting.
Kannuneerthulli(Teardrops)aneligie,writtenonthedemiseofhiswifeisconsideredastheTaj
MahalinMalayalampoetry.ThiswasthefirstMalayalampoemtranslatedintoEnglishand
publishedatLondon.OnlyafterpublicationofKannuneerthulliin1925,Malayalamliterature
becameawareofstyleofeligieandmanymorecameinitsfashion.Yet,Kannuneerthulli,still
remainsthebesteligieinMalayalam.
Chakravaalam(Horizon).HisphilosophicalmindisrevealedinhispoetryChakravaalam
(Horizon).ItisnotVersifiedPhilosophy,butPhilosophicalpoetrycomparabletothatofW.B
Yeats.Nalapatwasnotverykeenongettingpowerorpositionsandwasnotgreedyofmoney
either.HeremainedtheNishkamakarmayogiofGitathroughouthislifeandMahakavi
AkkithamcalledhimRishikavi.
Philosopher/writerSriJosephMundasseri,erstwhileEducationMinisterofKerala,once
remarkedthatifthepoemInnatheAmma(Todaysmother)istaughtinschools,nochildwill
evergoastray.ThatshowstheinfluenceNalapatcouldmakeonhisreaders.
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Rathisamrajyamisthefirstscientificandlogicalstudy,inMalayalamlanguageandliterature
,ofbiologicalgenderdifferentiationanditspsychologicalandfunctionalsignificance.Itwas
writtenatatimewhenscientificwritingwasnotavailableinregionallanguagesofIndia,
thoughitaboundedinSanskrit.NalapatssynthesisandintegrationofEasternandwestern
scientificconceptsisevidentinthatscholarlywork.
Gurusannidhi.BiographyofSwamiVivekananda,DayanandaSaraswathy(Founderof
Aryasamaj)andMahakaviVallatholNarayanaMenon.
Daivagathi,asatiricalpoemcriticizingtheOfficersofDevaswamtakingbribes.
Pukayilamahatmyam,AnotherSatiricalpoetryonthemisuseofNicotine
Sulochana,AkhandakavyawhichtellsthestoryofSulochana,wifeofIndrajithanddaughterof
Anantha(Lakshmana)performingSathiafterthedemiseofIndrajith,andLakshmanagettinghis
Poorvajanmasmrithi.
Pulakamkuram.AcollectionofPoems
Lokam,AnyapadesakavithainSanskritstyleandMeter.
VesuAmmayudeVisari.Drama.TranslationofLadyWintermeyersfan
Sapathnyam.Drama

BooksonNalapatNarayanaMenon
NalapatBooks,formedunderthesocietysauspices,andmanagedbyAsokanNalapat,haspublished
twobooksonNalapatNarayanaMenonandhisworks

1.OruKaalaghattathinteOrmakk(InmemoryofanEra)DrSuvarnaNalapat,hisdisciplein
philosophy.

2.Nalapatintechakravalachemburuli(Horizon,ThebronzevesselofNalapat)DrSuvarna
Nalapat

RelatedLinkstoNalapatNarayanaMenon.
1. NalapatNotebookhttp://www.scribd.com/doc/98177963/NalapatNotebookComparison
withSrinivasaRamanujamsNotebook
2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqy42Hn0eBA&list=PL6eRaANxyeNJcTb0dEpp4T
OHlSBDwrxgVideo.LecturecomparingSrinivasaRamanujamsmagicsquaresandNalapat
NarayanaMenonsNotebook.
3. SaagaOfNalapathttp://www.scribd.com/doc/99466828/TheSaagaofNalapatHistory.

NalapatanMemorialCulturalsocietyfunctioningfrom1981wasformedunder
theguidanceofSriK.G.KarunakaraMenon,atPunnayurkulam,NalapatNarayanaMenonsbirthplace..
EveryyearOctober7thiscelebratedastheGurusJanmadinaandaprestigiousawardisbeinggivento
deservingcandidatesatagrandfunctionorganizedbythesociety.
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Thepreviousyearsawardsweregivento:

1. SriMullanezhiNeelakandan(Poetry)
2. SriPuzhankaraBalanarayanan(Novel)
3. Sri.N.Mohanan(Shortstories)
4. Sri.O.N.V.Kurup(Poetry)
5. Prof.M.Leelavathy(LiteraryCriticism)
6. Sri.E.Harikumar(Novel)
7. Sri.VayalaVasudevanPilla
8. SmtK.B.Sreedevi(Novel)
9. Sri.Anand(Novel)
10. Sri.M.P.Veerendrakumar(Literature)
11. SriYousafAliKecheri(Poetry)
12. Sri.N.K.Deam(Poetry)
13. SriAkkithamAchuthanNambuthiri(ForoverallcontributionstoLiterature)
14. Sri.M.T.VasudevanNair(OverallcontributiontoLiterature)

NalapatanMemorialCulturalSocietyiscreatingaDocumentaryonLifeandWorkofSriNalapat,titled
RISHIKAVIdirectedbySarithaAsokanNalapat.