PALAKKAD(KERALA): Noted translator K G Raghavan Nair, who will turn 100 on November 22,2011, is in the right spirit to celebrate his birthday. Even at this age, his quest for knowledge and indomitable urge to be active on the literary circuit seem to be insatiable. Despite having age-related ailments, Raghavan Nair will climb the stairs to the first floor of the house to get his books. “Till an year ago, I used to write. But, now it seems difficult,” says Raghavan Nair. Raghavan Nair’s Malayalam translation of ‘Thirukural’ had even impressed former President A P J Abdul Kalam and once the later visited the Palakkad Government Victoria College, he honoured the former with a ‘ponnada’. Raghava Nair has also translated ‘Chraistava Darshanam, the Arabian Nights, the ‘Kathasarith Sagaram’ and the Holy Quran into Malayalam. Of this, Kathasarithsagaram was translated from Sanskrit to Hindi and then to Malayalam. “I was born in Tiruvalla in Pathnamthitta district on November 22,1911. I was in the Defence Department and worked as Chief Accounts Officer in New Delhi, Pune, Ooty and Mumbai. I retired from Kannur in 1969.” he said. The house in Ottappalam in which Raghavan Nair is living now was his friend M C Menon’s earlier. “Once, I happened to stay in this house. As I felt attached I purchased the house and the seven acres of land around it later. And the serene ambience in the house has helped my writings,” said Raghavan Nair. After settled in Ottappalam, he used to visit the library at Chunangad regularly. “It is from there I had chosen the books, including the Holy Quran, for translation,” he added. Before writing about any subject, he would do an in-depth study about the subject. “Noted writer Vaikkom Mohammed Basheer had written a note of appreciation in his inimitable style after reading my Quran translation,“ he says. The wife of K G Raghavan Nair had died 25 years ago. His three children Madhu, Biju and Usha, along with other family members, are planning to celebrate the 100th birthday of the writer in a grand style, inviting many people, including A P J Abdul Kalam.
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