| Vengayil Kunhiraman Nayanar | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1861 Malabar |
| Died | 14 November 1914 (aged 53) Malabar |
| Occupation | Barrister, Writer, Landlord |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Genres | Short Story, Essay, Criticism |
| Notable work(s) | Vasanavikriti |
Vengayil Kunhiraman Nayanar (1861 - 14 November 1914) was a Malayali barrister, landlord, journalist, essay writer, critic and short story writer. He was one of the pioneers in these fields in Kerala.
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Nayanar was born in an aristocratic Nair family known as "Vengayil" in Chirackal Thaluk, North Malabar. He was born to Chavanapuzha Mundot Puliyapadamb Haridasan Somayaji, Namboodiri of Perinchelloor Grama (Taliparamb), and Kunjakkam Amma of Vengayil. Nayanar was educated in Calicut and Saidampetta Agricultural College.
In 1907 he became member of Malabar District Board. In 1912 he was elected to Madras Assembly. As a barrister, in 1913 he also moved a resolution at the Madras Governor's Council to have the Kasaragod taluk merge with the Malabar District. This was withdrawn, however, due to strong opposition from Karnataka. On 1 November 1956, Kasaragod finally became part of Kerala.
Nayanar came to the literary world through Kerala Pathrika. He wrote the first Malayalam short story, Vasanavikriti. Under the pen names "Kesari", "Vajrasoochi","Vajrabahu", Vengayil Kunhiraman Nayanar's works obtained wide appreciation from all over South India. Kesari was a sharp critic of social reality, criticising social inequalities. He was also a close friend of Dr. Hermann Gundert and William Logan who did a lot of research on the history, language, culture of Kerala.
Kunhiraman Nayanar belonged to the "Vengayil Nayanar" clan, which were one of the most aristocratic landlord families in Malabar at the time, and owned more than 200,000 acres (810 km2) including vast forest lands, more than the Chirakkal Raja who only owned approximately 30,000 acres (120 km2).[1]
Vengayil Nayanar's grandson was K. P. Candeth, an alumnus of Military Academy, Sandhurst,UK commanded Operation Vijay to liberate Goa from the Portuguese occupation and served briefly as the Lieutenant Governor of the state. He was also the GOCinC West in the Indian Army, during the 1971 war for liberation of Bangladesh.
