Vyloppilli Sreedhara Menon Biography | Poet

Vyloppilli Sreedhara Menon is an Indian poet and was born on May 11, 1911 in Kaloor and died on December 22, 1985. When he died, his body was cremated on the riverbanks of the Bharathappuzha River, which was one of his final requests.

Vyloppilli began his writing career under the pan name Sree. Under that pen name, his first collection of poems was published in 1947. Of his many works, critics believe that Kudiyozhikkal is his most influential work. Vyloppilli is considered one of the greatest contributors to Malayalam literature.

The Educational Background of Vyloppilli Sreedhara Menon

There is not a lot of information on the early educational background of Vyloppilli. However, we do know that once he finished his early education, he went on to study at Maharajas College. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in science with a major in zoology and then later became a schoolteacher in 1931 with the Kerala Government Service.

It was during his college career when Vyloppilli began getting recognized for his talents. Once of his teachers, who was also a poet, noticed Vyloppilli’s talents and passion towards writing and encouraged him to continue in the career. He also began getting praise from his friends and colleagues all the way until he began his writing career. Then he began getting worldwide praise.

A Look Into the Life and Family of Vyloppilli

There is a lot of unknown when it comes to the life and family of Vyloppilli. There is not a lot of information about them, so it’s possible that he had a normal family life for his region with not a lot of drama. However, since he had such a great mind and had so many talents, his family likely influenced some of his works.

Many of his works have to do with stories of families, like his poem Mambazham. This is a story of a mother and her son who previously died. The story is of a little boy who always tries to knock down mangos from a mango tree. The woman does not like this because it reminds her of her late son that always liked to go pick up the mangos when they fell from the tree. It’s unlikely that this story is a direct relation to Vyloppilli’s family life, but he likely had similar feelings within his family situation.

Best Poems and Achievements by Vyloppilli

Vyloppilli has written many poems, but Kudiyozhikkal is by far the most influential. The poem is about a middle class landowner who despises his poor tenant. The landowner begins to realize that the future doesn’t belong to him, but instead, it belongs to the tenant. It is a truly inspirational self-examination of events that happened during his time.

It was his writing style that had critics impressed with his works. He wrote during the Romantic era, but his writing style was so innovative that it almost didn’t even seem Romantic. Perhaps that is why he is seen as one of the major influencers of the transition from Romanticism to the modern era.

Vyloppilli received several honors and awards during his career. Some of the notable awards include the Kerala Sahithya Academy Award, the Vayalar Award, the Odakkuzhal Award and the Sovietland Nehru Award, among others.

Why is Vyloppilli Influential?

Aside from his individual works, Vyloppilli is an influential figure in India for other reasons. He was associated with one of the biggest forums for Malayalam writers, the Samastha Kerala Sahithya Parishath. He also was the biggest representative of Kerala in several national poets’ meetings. One of his biggest accomplishments was being named as the President of the Purogamana Kala Sahitya Sangham, which is a forum of progressive writers comprised of leftist intellectuals and artists.

Many historians see Vyloppilli as one of the influential factors that created the transition from the Romantic to the modern era of poetry. Many of his poems dig into social evolution so that he could create a deeper understanding of the psychology of the human mind. His impressive narrative style of writing helped bring these issues to life in each of his works. He brought such a different style of writing to the table in each of his pieces that his works became widely known very quickly throughout India and the literary world.