Ulloor S Parameswara Iyer

Poet

Ulloor S. Parameswara Iyer (1877-1949) also known as Ulloor , was a famous Malayalam poet and a noted historian. Ulloor was one of the famous triumvirate poets of Kerala in the first half of the 20th century.

He was a poet who attempted to revive the classical heritage of Malayalam poetry.He was born at the Thamarassery Illam at Perunna, Changanassery. Romanticism flourished with the appearance of the great trio Kumaran Asan, Ulloor and Vallathol Narayana Menon.He started his work as a government servant who finally became the Chief Secretary to the Travancore Government.

Works

His early works show the influence of Sanskrit words and usages. In Premasangeetham the poet glorifies the concept of love. One of his masterpieces Premasangeetham (literally 'song of love') is a poem by Ulloor which compiled the history of Malayalam literature for the first time.He says that love is the only religion in the world, and describes the rhythmic harmony between man and nature. The poem concludes in a highly philosophical note - ' You, me and the Paramathma (the Almighty) are one and the same '. Ulloor published Umakeralam , a Mahakavyam in 1914. His best works include Pingala , Karnabhooshanam , Bhakthideepika and Chithrassala . His long poem-mahaakaavya-named Umaakeralam (1914) has as its theme, a particular phase in Kerala's history. The poem deals with the politics related to the monarchical power of Travancore in the 17th century. Ulloor was also an erudite scholar and a historian which can be seen from very famous work Kerala Saahitya Charitham (History of the Literature of Kerala), which consists of five volumes . Among his shorter narrative poems, Pingala and Karnabhooshanam are important. He contributed much to the Malayalam language as well as to the Malayalam literature both in prose and poetry.