Nellikkal Muraleedharan

Nellickal Muraleedharan (1948–2010) was an Indian Malayalam-language poet and writer. He won the poetry category of the Kerala Sahitya Academi in 2004. He won the Edassery Memorial award in 1985. He also won the State Bank of Travancore Award, the Poonthanam award, and the K.C Chacko Award.

Personal life Muraleedharan was born in the village of Nellickal in Pathanamthitta district, Kerala State, on 2 December 1948. His official name was T.R. Muraleedharan Nair. He was the eldest son of T. Raghavan Pillai and P.P. Thankamma. He expressed his attachment to his parents in his poetry. In his childhood he played on the shores of the river Pamba, later writing many poems about it. He attended various schools in Pathanamthitta. He was married to Sukhada Devi K., who worked as a school principal. They had three daughters together.

Education and academic career He completed a Master of Arts in Malayalam at Mahatma Gandhi University and worked as a lecturer in various colleges from 1977. He took a PhD in 1991 and then became a research guide. He later joined Sree Sankaracharya Sanskrit University, Kalady, as a professor in Malayalam. He later became Head of the Department of Malayalam, continuing in that role until he retired on 30 April 2009.

Writing career Muraleedharan published his collection Viroopante Pattu in 1976. He began to receive notice in the world of Malayalam poetry in the 1980s. His poem 'Veedu' (house) received attention from other poets. He won his first 'Edassery Award' in 1985 for his collection, Purappad.