The Palakkad District Public Library here on Saturday witnessed a rare exhibition of 100-odd books translated from Malayalam into Hindi, Sanskrit and English by polyglot Sudhanshu Chaturvedi.
It was a celebration of a writer from Uttar Pradesh who contributed immensely to the Malayalam language. The exhibition was titled The Confluence, shedding light on the literary contributions of the Sahitya Akademi Award winning Hindi professor who worked in Kerala for 43 years.
Prof. Chaturvedi studied Malayalam as a challenge to Nehru who had rejected his request to make Hindi the national language in 1962. With master’s degrees in Sanskrit and Hindi, he joined Sri Kerala Varma College, Thrissur, as a Hindi lecturer and retired from there as the Principal. He has doctorates in Hindi and Malayalam and is the first D.Lit graduate from the University of Kerala.
Book released
The Confluence book fest marked the release of a book on Prof. Chaturvedi titled Apoorva Malayali. The book written by E. Jayachandran introduces Prof. Chaturvedi to children.
The exhibition had the Hindi translations of some Malayalam classics by Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai, Vaikom Mohammed Basheer, Kesavadev, Uroob, Karoor, Lalithambika Antharjanam, M.T. Vasudevan Nair, and M. Mukundan. The works of Malayalam poets such as G. Sankara Kurup, Vennikulam Gopala Kurup, P. Kunhiraman Nair, Edassery Govindan Nair, Akkitham Achuthan Namboothiri, N.V. Krishna Warrier, and K. Satchidanandan also found their Hindi translations through Prof. Chaturvedi.
Former bureaucrat V.P. Joy inaugurated the exhibition. He released Apoorva Malayali.
