Jump to ratings and reviews
Rate this book

Sanjayan Sampoorna Kruthikal | സഞ്ജയന്‍ സമ്പൂര്‍ണ്ണ കൃതികള്‍

Rate this book
Complete works of Sanjayan (M R Nair), in a 2 Volume hardbound edition. This title showcases all the stories, essays, poems and other works written by Sanjayan and is accompanied by Illustrations by cartoonist Gopikrishnan, and Sanjayan's cartoonist M Bhaskaran.

1725 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 2011

9 people are currently reading
299 people want to read

About the author

Sanjayan

9 books10 followers
Sanjayan, the penname of Professor Mannikoth Ramunni Nair or M.R. Nair (1903 – 1944), was a Malayalam satirist famous for his humorous anecdotes.
Sanjayan was born in Thalassery, a town in Kannur District of Kerala.[1]
Sanjayan's contribution to the Malayalam literature were mainly satirical essays criticizing the contemporary social state. He was closely related with a journal called "Kerala Patrika".

സഞ്ജയന്‍ എന്ന തൂലികാനാമത്തില്‍ പ്രസിദ്ധനായിത്തീര്‍ന്ന മാണി
ക്കോത്ത് രാമുണ്ണിനായര്‍ എന്ന എം. ആര്‍. നായര്‍ 1903 ജൂണ്‍ 13-ആം
തീയതി തലശ്ശേരിയിലെ 'ഓതയോത്ത് ' തറവാട്ടില്‍ ജനിച്ചു. 1927-ല്‍ ലിറ്റ
റേച്ചര്‍ ഓണേഴ്സ് പരീക്ഷയില്‍ പ്രശസ്തവിജയം നേടി. ആ വര്‍ഷംതന്നെ
അമ്മാവന്റെ മകള്‍ കാര്‍ത്ത്യായനിയമ്മയുമായുള്ള വിവാഹം നടന്നു. രണ്ട്
വര്‍ഷത്തിനുള്ളില്‍ അവര്‍ക്ക് ഒരു പുത്രന്‍ ജനിച്ചു. പക്ഷേ, വിധി അദ്ദേഹ
ത്തിനെതിരായിരുന്നു. മകന് ഒരു വയസ്സായപ്പോള്‍ ഭാര്യയും പത്താം വയ
സ്സില്‍ മകനും ഈ ലോകത്തോട് വിടപറഞ്ഞു.
ഏതാനും മാസം കോഴിക്കോട്ടെ ഹജൂരാപ്പീസില്‍ ഗുമസ്തനായും
പിന്നീട് കുറച്ചുകാലം മലബാര്‍ ക്രിസ്ത്യന്‍ കോളേജില്‍ അദ്ധ്യാപകനായും
ജോലിനോക്കി. ഇടയ്ക്ക് തിരുവനന്തപുരത്ത് നിയമം പഠിക്കാന്‍ പോയെ
ങ്കിലും ക്ഷയരോഗം പിടിപെട്ടതുമൂലം പൂര്‍ത്തിയാക്കാന്‍ കഴിഞ്ഞില്ല.
1935-ല്‍ കോഴിക്കോട്ട് താമസമാക്കി 'കേരളപത്രിക'യുടെ ആധിപത്യം
ഏറ്റെടുത്തു. 1936-ല്‍ സ്വന്തം ഉത്തരവാദിത്വത്തില്‍ 'സഞ്ജയന്‍' എന്ന ഹാസ
സാഹിത്യമാസിക ആരംഭിച്ചു. കുറച്ചുകാലമേ നടന്നുള്ളുവെങ്കിലും അത് മല
ബാറിലെ പൊതുജീവിതത്തില്‍ ഒരു കോളിളക്കം സൃഷ്ടിച്ചു. 1938-ല്‍ വീണ്ടും
മലബാര്‍ ക്രിസ്ത്യന്‍ കോളേജില്‍ അദ്ധ്യാപകനായി. 1942 വരെ ആ
സ്ഥാനത്ത് തുടര്‍ന്നു. അക്കാലത്താണ് 'വിശ്വരൂപം' എന്ന ഹാസസാഹിത്യ
മാസിക ആരംഭിച്ചത്.
വളരെ ചുരുങ്ങിയ കാലഠകൊണ്ട് കേരളീയരെ മുഴുവന്‍ ചിരിപ്പിക്കുകയും
കുഞ്ചന്‍നമ്പ്യാര്‍ക്കുശേഷം സമുദായ പരിഷ്കരണത്തിനുവേണ്ടി ഏറ്റവുമ
ധികം തൂലിക ചലിപ്പിച്ച ആള്‍ എന്ന ഖ്യാതി നേടുകയും ചെയ്ത സഞ്ജ
യന്‍ തന്റെ നാല്പതാമത്തെ വയസ്സില്‍ 1943 സെപ്തംബര്‍ 13-ാം തീയതി
രാവിലെ നമ്മെ വിട്ടുപോയി.

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
19 (41%)
4 stars
16 (34%)
3 stars
6 (13%)
2 stars
1 (2%)
1 star
4 (8%)
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
Profile Image for Nandakishore Mridula.
1,332 reviews2,663 followers
May 12, 2016
Manikkoth Ramunni (M.R.) Nair, who wrote under the pen name of "Sanjayan", would be unknown to most of the Malayalis of the current generation, I'm sure - which is sad, considering the fact that he was arguably the most funny satirist who ever wrote in Malayalam.

Sanjayan was born in 1903 in Calicut District, which was under Malabar state in that era: the state of Kerala was still 53 years in the future. He passed away in 1943 due to tuberculosis (untreatable in those days) after a tragic life, in the course of which he saw his wife die a lingering death due to the same disease which ultimately claimed him; he also had to watch helplessly as his son wasted away due to a disease of the bone marrow. But in the course of his short existence on the temporal plane, Sanjayan fought back against destiny which had dealt him a raw hand of cards with one of the strongest weapons known to man: laughter.

And a sizable chunk of the Malayalam reading public laughed with him.

-------------------------

Sanjayan's manifesto on life can be gleaned from the poem, Aniyarayil ("In the greenroom") about a reluctant Vidushaka (jester).

The jester is telling the stage manager:

"Please allow me to remove my costume. The time for stage entry has lapsed, my heart is weak and my feet wobble. I have no time to complete my facepaint. I cannot even smile once: how can I make the audience laugh? Please let me remove my costume!"

The jester here is Sanjayan: the stage manager is God, who replies with a smile:

"Even if your heart bleeds and your head bursts, you must laugh - that is the duty of the jester. In your heart of hearts, you know that both laughter and tears are both illusions. Therefore, embrace laughter, which is equivalent to nectar on earth. Melancholy is poison for the soul: laughter is the balm of ultimate bliss."

Well, the Jester took it to heart, and laughed till he could laugh no more.

-------------------------

Sanjayan was an extreme conservative. A staunch follower of Gandhi, he hated communism like the plague (he openly calls it by that name). He is anti-feminist, constantly making fun of the nascent women's lib movements of his day. In literature, he is a staunch classicist, and does not miss a chance to poke fun at modern poets.

By all means, I should hate him, as he stands diagonally opposite to me in political views. But I don't! I love his writings. Why?

Again, I will quote a poem by the writer, about his views on satire:

"For the rose-bush of satire,
The laughter is the flower, the criticism the thorn.
Always remember: the plant is loved for its flowers;
And not the thorns."

This is the reason why you will laugh with Sanjayan even when the object of ridicule is yourself - because it is laughter, pure laughter, which dominates. The first laugh of the jester is always at himself, for his foolishness. It is from this trough of self-deprecation that he asks you to descend to his level, and look at the absurd drama that we call human life. He understands Aristotle's dictum only too well: by going beyond emotions, he can laugh at everything - and he gets you to laugh as well. The pure laughter of absolute bliss which cleanses.

-------------------------

I do not think Sanjayan has been translated. I request my friends from Kerala at least to give him a try. His complete works are now available in two volumes, from Mathrubhumi press. It will definitely be worth your while.
4 reviews1 follower
February 7, 2020
One of the most profound and ever relevant articles I have read. Sanjayan is a person I admire and his writings were so clear and to the point and his satire is so to the point. A book alas not available easily anymore, I would love people to read them more.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews

Can't find what you're looking for?

Get help and learn more about the design.