k santhoshkumar
Meet M.K Harikumar, M K, as he is known, the man who carved his own niche in Malayalam literature as the critic of the decade with his very study of the classic:"Khasakinte Ithihaasam" by O.V. Vijayan.
While at college, M.K Harikumar spent some time pouring over the famous novel "Khasakinte Ithihasam". Drawn by its fresh outlook on life, made it his mission to rip the novel apart and dive deeper into the classic to study its metaphysical and aesthetic attributes as an impartial literary student ardenty learning about life from the pages of a literary cult figure. Result came in the form of a small but powerful literary critical study: "Athmayaanangalude Khasak", a comprehensive literary criticism of a single classic novel of the period ever happened in Malayalam Literature.
Thus M K set a trend in the Malayalam literary world which no one dared to follow even today. He became the first ever to do so in the field of literature. And his book, "Athmayaanagalude Khasak" (1984) became the first ever book on literary criticism in Malayalam to concentrate on a single work of an iconic author. The rest of M K's literary outputs is history.
Last week, M K has given "Athmayaanangalude Khasak Awards ''for the 15 year consecutively to the modern talents in Malayalam literature, at Kochi. Instituted in 1995, the Award has been given to 40 literary figures within a span of 15 years.
M K decided then to institute a literary award in the name of his own masterpiece, which no one has dared to do during his lifetime. He along with his few
friends instituted this award with the name of his iconic work "Athmayaanagalude Khasak Award" about 15 years back in Koothattukulam, where M K grew up. The award was presented to the trend-setters in Malayalam literature, and the awardees were selected based on their genuine, and innovative creative outputs. M K claims this is the first of its kind in the country to be awarded to any genuine literary figures unlike the traditional awards. Mind you, no author has ever done this kind of contribution to the literary world in India, leave alone Kerala. Again, M K has been the first to do so.M K has done what he is used to do always: doing something for the first time differently and create history. He has uploaded the complete online text version of his work:"Athmayanagalude Khasak" now. This, also, is a feat no one else in the malayalam literature has tried himself in India before. One can read the whole work online and enjoy the worth of M K as an unquestioned critic of our times. How the innovative man works and leaves his footprints in Malayalam literature in his own ways.
Right now M K is contributing regularly to his columns in many Malayalam publications, along with blogging on the nets. M K has around six blogs today all contributive to malayalam literature.
He set an unprecedented trend in blogging too that created a history of its sort in the international Malayalm blogging world.
In the international literary field, M K is known as a poet, critic and blogger of excellence. He has earned some well known literary figures from US, Germany and other places as his friends too.
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M K Harikumar
About Harikumar
Athmayaanangalude Khasak Award
k santhoshkumar is the editor of kochi metro times
