2023-11-18 22:37:35
Neelapadmanabhan, who walks like a solitary pilgrim in the evenings on the busy streets of Thiruvananthapuram, visiting important temples including Pazhavangadi Ganapati Temple and telling jokes to his friends, is not seen like that anymore. ‘I have difficulty walking. And the onset of parkinsonism. I don’t go out like that except for essential things. Eighty-five years old…? ‘ says Neela Padmanabhan.
The recent deluge-like rains in the capital had also created difficulties for him. Newspapers published a picture of Neela Padmanabhan climbing the stairs to the upper floor when the ground floor of the house was flooded. The city of Thiruvananthapuram is an important character in his famous novel ‘Pallikondapuram’. He says that Thiruvananthapuram is not old Thiruvananthapuram anymore. Even when it was a city, the purity and cleanliness of the village was there before. Today the city is full of hustle and bustle. Perhaps Pallikondapuram is the work that comes to Thiruvananthapuram more than CV Ramanpilla’s writings. The town where Sripadmanabhan worshiped. The novel depicts the culture of the city at that time, the feudal system and the bureaucracy.
I don’t know how today’s generation understands Neelapadmanabhan. Generations can be said to be Neelapadmanabhan’s master piece. He was born in Iraniyal, Kanyakumari. He settled in Thiruvananthapuram in 1971. Fifty years have passed since he arrived here. Generations is a work in which the culture and landscape of his village come into play. It has been translated into many languages within and outside the country! With a movie called Makarchi. When asked whether the protagonist Thiraviya, Thiraviya, does not have the shade of Neela Padmanabhan, he gave a laughing reply that anyone can feel that way when expressing honest experiences.
Neela Padmanabhan studied at Government College of Engineering, Thiruvananthapuram (CET 1963 batch) and retired from service as Deputy Chief Engineer in Electricity Board.
He enriched the language in various fields like novel, story, poetry and criticism. The novel shines more in the field of literature. Another novel of his, Therodom Veethi, presents the problems of existence faced by the writer. The original of the novel is always in Tamil. Never trying to capture or achieve anything, this most prominent writer in Tamil literature.
Eminent poet and music critic P. Ravikumar says regarding Neelapadmanabhan’s poetry: ‘ Neelapadmanabhan’s poetic language is not a conventional one. Neelapadmanabhan’s poetic language is quite original. It is meditative and sonorous. The spiritual waves of Kural and Haiku rise from it. The poet consciously or unconsciously drains the foot fever from his poetry. Those poems do not contain sweet and funny vocabulary. No extraneous decorations. Ancient words of Malayalam and Tamil come in all the poems and take us by the hand to nostalgia. Neelapadmanabhan’s poetry is rooted in the age-old soil. Its branches spread to new skies and distant stars.’
Actor Kamal Haasan has made a documentary regarding Neelapadmanabhan. For that, when Kamal came to Nilapadmanabhan’s house, even the neighbors realized the greatness of the person living with him. He has instituted an award for emerging writers in Tamil language called Neelapadam through Tamil Sangh. Many of those who won the award went on to become great writers.
He lives in Thiruvananthapuram with his wife Krishnamma and son Navneet. She has daughters Dr. Janaki, Uma and Kavita.
The separation of many old friends makes Neelapadmanabhan sad at the end of his life. NV, Dr. K. M. George, S. Gupthannair and Ayyappa Panikkar were close friends. Neelapadmanabhan’s reply to the question whether Malayalam was properly accepted was as follows: ‘Malaysians generally say that I am a Tamil writer. I even studied in Thiruvananthapuram. The people of Tamil Nadu also say that they are Malayali because they live here. When I look at it like that, I am in trishangu heaven.’ Neela Padmanabhan laughs.
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