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Dr Chelnat Achyutha Menon

Language researcher, literary critic, satirist, writer, novelist, historian and academician, Dr Chelanat Achyutha Menon was the first person to get a PhD for the Malayalam language.

Born in Chelanat House in Vellinezhi (April 30, 1894), a beautiful village in Palakkad district, widely regarded as the home of Kathakali, the classical dance form of Kerala, he studied in the local school and completed his SSLC in 1913. He did his Intermediate at Zamorin’s College, Kozhikode before graduating from the Maharaja’s College, Tiruvananthapuram in 1917.

In 1917, he came to Madras (now Chennai) and joined the Postal Audit department as a clerk. After just one year there, he moved into the state education directorate. From 1922 to 1929 he worked as a lecturer in Malayalam at the Queen Mary’s College. In 1929, he joined the University of Madras as lecturer in Malayalam.

It was while he was at the Madras University that he commenced his Doctoral research work on “Thunchath Ezhuthachan and his Age”. In 1936 he left for England to finalise his thesis at the Department of Oriental Languages, University of Cambridge. In 1938 he received his PhD from there, before returning to India. On his return, he took over as Professor and Head of Department of Malayalam in the University of Madras. He held this position for 14 years till his death in 1952. During this period, he was also on the Board of Examinations and Text Book Committee of Both Madras University and Travancore University.

During an illustrious literary career he has penned several plays, satires, short stories, mythologies, novels, essays and poems. But to this day, he is remembered more for his works of Literary History and his research works.

If Malayalam cinema has seen several classics like Thacholi Odheyanan, Aromal Unni and Oru Vadakkan Veeragaatha, substantial credit should go to Dr Chelanat for compiling the oral tradition of Vadakkanpattugal as two volumes of “Ballads of North Malabar”. He is said to have spent months in the fields of North Malabar listening to the songs of valour being sung by the peasants during sowing and harvesting and compiling this oral tradition into the written format.

Other research works include “Kali Worship in Kerala” and “Maavaratham Paattu”. These were all published by the University of Madras.

His satires and plays include “Kinchisesham”, “Yogam”, “Punjiri”, “Annum Innum”, “Veeranganam”, “Meghanathan” and “Thacholi Chandu”, most of which were published by the Mangalodayam Press.

His Novel was titled “Devidasan”. His stories include “Koman Nair" and “Veera Vilasam”.

His compilation of mythological stories are “Purana Manjari” and “Purana Ratnangal”, while his poetry compilation was “Minnal Oli”. His essays include “Pratakshinam”, “Poongaavu”, “Smaranaanjali” and “Vichaara VeechiLinuspk (talk) 06:50, 17 July 2021 (UTC)</ref>”.

During his lifetime, Dr Chelanat’s residence at Veerasamy Pillai Street in Egmore was a virtual sathram for Malayalees from Malabar coming to the great city of Madras in search of a livelihood. It was also a place where lovers of art and culture could find a home away from home. P Leela, the well known singer, who was no relative, stayed for years at Dr Chelanat’s residence while on the look-out for a career as a play-back singer. Kathakali artistes from Kerala used to stay for months while performing at the Malayalee Club and Kerala Samajam in Madras. Dr Louise Lightfoot, the famous Australian dancer and researcher, who has done much for the integration of Western and Indian classical dance, spent several months in the Veerasamy Pillai Street residence of Dr Chelanat, where he lived with his wife Narayanikutty Amma, their 9 children and a number of sundry relatives, who were studying or working in Madras.

In the 1940s, Dr Chelanat had served as General Secretary and President of Malayalee Club for several years. He was also an Honorary Presidency Magistrate of Madras.

His contribution to Malayalam language was immense. His contribution to the Malayalee diaspora in Madras was also immense. But like many great persons of his time, he is almost unknown to today’s generation.