Shakespeare's Sister

  Vallathol Narayana Menon, who was born on the 6th of October 1878 in  Chenara, near Tirur, in Malappuram District of Kerala,   was a Malayali poet, translator, Indian independence activist and social reformer. He was an active participant in the nationalist movement. Before he turned to patriotic verses, he translated Sanskrit works and wrote several poems on Sanskrit models. His first major literary venture was the rendition of  Valmiki 's  Ramayana  into Malayalam, the work of which started in 1905 and took two years to complete. Vallathol remained a great admirer of  Mahatma Gandhi  and wrote the poem "Ente Gurunathan" ("My Great Teacher") in his praise. He also wrote against caste restriction, tyrannies and orthodoxies. He founded the  Kerala Kalamandalam Cheruthuruthy, near the banks of Bharathapuzha River  and is credited with revitalising the traditional Keralite dance form known as  Kathakali . He was awarded the Pa...