World Famous Personalities: Will Smith

Will Smith byname of Willard Christopher Smith, Jr.

Actor, musician. Born Willard Christopher Smith Jr., to mother Caroline, a school board employee, and father Willard C. Smith, the owner of a refrigeration company. His middle class upbringing saw him attend the strict—and Catholic—Overbrook High School, despite his family's observation of the Baptist faith.

His West Philadelphia neighborhood was a melting pot of cultures where Orthodox Jews co-existed with a large Muslim population. Smith was a good student whose charming personality and quick tongue were renowned for getting him out of trouble, a trait for which he soon gained the nickname "Prince.''
Smith began rapping at age 12, emulating heroes like Grandmaster Flash but tingeing his rhymes with a comedic element that would later become his trademark. At 16, Smith met a DJ at a party by the name of Jeff Townes. The pair became friends, and the duo DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince was born.
The pair began producing music, but steered clear of the Gangsta Rap sound that was emerging on the West Coast in groups like Public Enemy and NWA. The Fresh Prince rapped about teenage preoccupations in a clean, curse-free style that middle America found safe and entertaining. The pair's first single, "Girls Ain't Nothing But Trouble," was a hit in 1986. Their debut album Rock the House (1990) hit the Billboard Top 200, and made Smith a millionaire before the age of 18. His early success put any thoughts of attending college out of Smith's mind.
Early on it was reported that Smith had turned down a scholarship to Boston's elite Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), but Smith later dispelled the rumor when he told an interviewer: "My mother, who worked for the School Board of Philadelphia, had a friend who was the admissions officer at MIT. I had pretty high SAT scores and they needed black kids, so I probably could have gotten in. But I had no intention of going to college."
In 1988, DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince continued their success with the album He's The DJ, I'm The Rapper featuring the radio-friendly singles "Parents Just Don't Understand," "Brand New Funk," and "Nightmare on My Street." The album won the first ever Grammy Award for a Rap Performance. That album was followed by And In This Corner... which continued the pair's rise to stardom.
Two years later, Smith began his remarkable crossover into acting. Drawing on his experiences with fledgling stardom, NBC signed Smith to star in a sitcom about a street-smart kid from Philadelphia. On the show, the character is shipped off to California to live with wealthy relatives in Bel-Air, California. Playing on his rapper persona, and at times featuring his friend Towne, The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air was a huge success that ran for six seasons.
Meanwhile, Smith and Towne kept producing music. The 1991 album Homebase produced the hits "Summertime" and "Ring My Bell." Their final album together, 1993's Code Red, was notable for "Boom! Shake the Room."

While still making The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Smith began a second crossover into movies. Small roles in the drama Where The Day Takes You (1992) and the comedy Made In America (1993) were followed by a critically acclaimed lead in the drama Six Degrees of Separation (1993). Smith played a charming street-wise kid moving among the wealthy elite, who was also a psychologically complex gay hustler. The film enjoyed moderate success, but its title idea has become a household term for the closeness of human society.
Smith's first steps into super-stardom came with his next film, Bad Boys (1995). The high-budget cop movie saw him team up with comic Martin Lawrence, breaking away from the black-cop-white-cop formula that had been so successful for Beverly Hills Cop and the Lethal Weapon series. The two black leads proved an instant success and Smith—playing the smooth, serious, cop to Lawrence's clown—was established as leading man material.
The 1996, epic sci-fi disaster movie Independence Day was his next assignment. The role confirmed Smith as a major player in Hollywood and the go-to guy for summer blockbusters. Smith played an air force pilot leading the counter-attack against the invading alien forces, and his comedic talents effortlessly transformed into the pithy one-liners all action heroes need to be able to drop while dispatching their enemies.
Smith fought aliens again in his next blockbuster, the comic sci-fi action film, Men In Black (1997). Playing opposite Tommy Lee Jones, Smith chewed up the screen as the new recruit to Jones's old hand. Smith sang the theme song, and its inclusion on his solo album, Big Willie Style (1997) brought the multi-talented actor another success. Another Jerry Bruckheimer blockbuster followed with the slick conspiracy thriller Enemy of the State (1998), which earned Smith an NAACP Image Award nomination for Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture.
The string of hits came to an end in 1999 with Wild Wild West, a sci-fi cowboy Western co-starring Kevin Kline. Despite the film's lackluster box-office performance, the track Smith cut for the film became a hit on his album, Willennium (1999). The golf movie The Legend of Bagger Vance was his next big film, with Smith playing the caddie to Matt Damon's out-of-sorts swinger.
In 2001 the biopic Ali, based on boxing legend Muhammad Ali, saw Smith return to critical acclaim. His turn as the charismatic boxing great saw Smith put in the performance of his life, training and disciplining himself to extraordinary lengths to do justice to the athleticism, and ego, of the films main character. The film under-performed at the box-office despite a record-breaking opening day. Smith's performance, however, was good enough to be nominated for a Best Actor Oscar.
A number of sequels were next, with Smith reprising his roles in Men In Black and Bad Boys. Neither were flops, but they were both nowhere near as successful as their predecessors. Staying with the sci-fi action theme, Smith moved on to I, Robot in 2004. The Isaac Asimov adaptation saw Smith playing a cop in 2035 investigating a murder by a robot and then battling a robot insurgency. The film performed well, grossing more than $144 million in U.S. box offices.
Smith's smooth-talking charmer persona was put to use in the 2005 romantic comedy, Hitch. Smith played a ladies' man and dating consultant who helps luckless guys with their romantic moves. Smith penned the theme song, and included it on his album Lost and Found (2005). Hitch was a massive success, and was followed by another critical and financial hit, the 2006 rags-to-riches tale, The Pursuit of Happyness. Starring alongside his real-life son Jaden, Smith captivated audiences with the story of a single father who has to build a life from scratch. He received his second Academy Award nomination for Best Actor for his performance.
In 2007, Smith starred in I Am Legend, a remake of the Charlton Heston film Omega Man, where he battled blood-thirsty vampires. The film became a national and international hit.
The talented actor and musician has recently entered yet another arena, working as a film producer. Smith worked both sides of the camera for the film Hancock, in which he plays an alcoholic anti-superhero, and for Seven Pounds, about a man who sets out to change the lives of seven people. He also helped produce the 2008 films Lakeview Terrace and The Secret Life of Bees. His most recent project, The Mark, is slated for release in 2009.
Smith has been married twice. His first marriage in 1992 lasted only three years but produced a son, Willard Smith III, who is also known as Trey. He has been married to actress Jada Pinkett Smith since 1997. The couple has a son, Jaden, who was born in 1998 and a daughter, Willow, born in 2000.
The Smith family has homes in Florida, Sweden and Philadelphia. Like many in Hollywood, Smith is politically liberal and has made donations to the presidential campaign of Senator Barack Obama. He is a fan of chess and video games and is known to take his mother on vacation every year, usually to the Canyon Ranch spa in Tucson, Arizona.

World Famous Personalities: Sachin Tendulkar

Sachin Tendulkar popular name of Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar

(born April 24, 1973, Bombay [Mumbai], India) Indian professional cricket player, considered by many to be one of the greatest batsmen of all time. In 2005 he became the first cricketer to score 35 centuries (100 runs in a single innings) in Test (international) play.

Tendulkar was given his first bat when he was 11. As a 14-year-old, he used it to score 329 out of a world-record stand of 664 in a school match. A year later he scored a century on his first-class debut for Bombay (Mumbai), and at 16 years 205 days he became India's youngest Test cricketer, making his debut against Pakistan in Karachi in November 1989. When he was 18 he scored two centuries in Australia (148 in Sydney and 114 in Perth), and in 1994 he scored 179 against the West Indies. In August 1996, at age 23, Tendulkar was made captain of his country's team.

Although India was defeated in the semifinals of the 1996 World Cup, Tendulkar emerged as the tournament's top run scorer, with 523 runs. In 1997 he was chosen for the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award, the highest award given to an Indian athlete, for his outstanding performance in the 1997–98 season. India was defeated by Australia in the 1999 World Cup, failing to advance past the round of six, and was soundly defeated by both Australia and South Africa in series later that year. In the 2003 World Cup, however, Tendulkar helped his team advance as far as the finals. Though India was again defeated by Australia, Tendulkar, who averaged 60.2, was named the man of the tournament.

Tendulkar made history in December 2005 when he scored his record-breaking 35th century in Test play against Sri Lanka. The feat was accomplished in a total of 125 Tests and allowed Tendulkar to surpass the prolific Indian run scorer Sunil Gavaskar. In June 2007 Tendulkar reached another major milestone when he became the first player to record 15,000 runs in one-day international (ODI) play, and in January 2010 he became the first batsman to score 13,000 runs in Test play. One month later he scored a historic “double century” in a contest against South Africa, becoming the first man in history to record 200 runs in a single innings of ODI play. Throughout his long career Tendulkar was consistently ranked among the game's best batsmen. He was often likened to Australia's Don Bradman in his single-minded dedication to scoring runs and the certainty of his strokeplay off both front and back foot.

World Famous Personalities: Bill Gates

Bill Gates in full William Henry Gates III

Entrepreneur. Born William Henry Gates, III, on October 28, 1955, in Seattle, Washington. Gates began to show an interest in computer programming at the age of 13 at the Lakeside School. He pursued his passion through college. Striking out on his own with his friend and business partner Paul Allen, Gates found himself at the right place at the right time. Through technological innovation, keen business strategy, and aggressive competitive tactics he built the world's largest software business, Microsoft. In the process he became one of the richest men in the world.

Bill Gates grew up in an upper middle-class family with two sisters: Kristianne, who is older, and Libby, who is younger. Their father, William H. Gates, Sr., was a promising, if somewhat shy, law student when he met his future wife, Mary Maxwell. She was an athletic, outgoing student at the University of Washington, actively involved in student affairs and leadership. The Gates family atmosphere was warm and close, and all three children were encouraged to be competitive and strive for excellence. Bill showed early signs of competitiveness when he coordinated family athletic games at their summer house on Puget Sound. He also relished in playing board games (Risk was his favorite) and excelled in Monopoly.
Bill had a very close relationship with his mother, Mary, who after a brief career as a teacher devoted her time to helping raise the children and working on civic affairs and with charities. She also served on several corporate boards, among them First Interstate Bank in Seattle (founded by her grandfather), the United Way, and International Business Machines (IBM). She would often take Bill along on her volunteer work in schools and community organizations.
Bill was a voracious reader as a child, spending many hours pouring over reference books such as the encyclopedia. Around the age of 11 or 12, Bill's parents began to have concerns about his behavior. He was doing well in school, but he seemed bored and withdrawn at times. His parents worried he might become a loner. Though they were strong believers in public education, when Bill turned 13 they enrolled him in Seattle's Lakeside School, an exclusive preparatory school. He blossomed in nearly all his subjects, excelling in math and science, but also doing very well in drama and English.
While at Lakeside School, a Seattle computer company offered to provide computer time for the students. The Mother's Club used proceeds from the school's rummage sale to purchase a teletype terminal for students to use. Bill Gates became entranced with what a computer could do and spent much of his free time working on the terminal. He wrote a tic-tac-toe program in BASIC computer language that allowed users to play against the computer.
It was at Lakeside School where Bill met Paul Allen, who was two years his senior. The two became fast friends, bonding on their common enthusiasm over computers, even though they were very different. Allen was more reserved and shy. Bill was feisty and at times combative. They both spent much of their free time together working on programs. Occasionally, they disagreed and would clash over who was right or who should run the computer lab. On one occasion, their argument escalated to the point where Allen banned Gates from the computer lab. On another occasion, Gates and Allen had their school computer privileges revoked for taking advantage of software glitches to obtain free computer time from the company that provided the computers. After their probation, they were allowed back in the computer lab when they offered to debug the program. During this time, Gates developed a payroll program for the computer company the boys hacked into, and a scheduling program for the school.

In 1970, at the age of 15, Bill Gates went into business with his pal, Paul Allen. They developed "Traf-o-Data," a computer program that monitored traffic patterns in Seattle, and netted $20,000 for their efforts. Gates and Allen wanted to start their own company, but Gates' parents wanted him to finish school and go on to college where they hoped he would work to become a lawyer.

Bill Gates graduated from Lakeside in 1973. He scored 1590 out of 1600 on the college SAT test, a feat of intellectual achievement that for several years he boasted about when introducing himself to new people. He enrolled at Harvard University in the fall, originally thinking of a career in law. But his freshman year saw him spend more of his time in the computer lab than in class. Gates did not really have a study regimen. Instead, he could get by on a few hours of sleep, cram for a test, and pass with a reasonable grade.
Gates remained in contact with Paul Allen who, after attending Washington State University for two years, dropped out and moved to Boston, Massachusetts, to work for Honeywell. In the summer of 1974, Gates joined Allen at Honeywell. During this time, Allen showed Gates an edition of Popular Electronics magazine featuring an article on the Altair 8800 mini-computer kit. Both boys were fascinated with the possibilities this computer could make toward personal computing. The Altair was made by a small company in Albuquerque, New Mexico, called Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems (MITS). Gates and Allen contacted the company proclaiming they were working on a BASIC software program that would run the Altair computer. In reality, they didn't have an Altair to work with or the code to run it. But they wanted to know if MITS was interested in someone developing such software. MITS was, and its president Ed Roberts asked the boys for a demonstration. Gates and Allen scrambled, and spent the next two months writing the software at Harvard's computer lab. Allen traveled to Albuquerque for a test run at MITS, never having tried it out on an Altair computer. It worked perfectly. Allen was hired at MITS and Gates soon left Harvard to work with him, much to his parents' dismay. In 1975, Gates and Allen formed a partnership they called Micro-Soft, a blend of "micro-computer" and "software."
Microsoft (Gates and Allen dropped the hyphen in less than a year) started off on shaky footing. Though their BASIC software program for the Altair computer netted the company a fee and royalties, it wasn't meeting their overhead. Microsoft's BASIC software was popular with computer hobbyists who obtained pre-market copies and were reproducing and distributing them for free. According to Gates' later account, only about 10 percent of the people using BASIC in the Altair computer had actually paid for it. At this time, much of the personal computer enthusiasts were people not in it for the money. They felt the ease of reproduction and distribution allowed them to share software with friends and fellow computer enthusiasts. Bill Gates thought differently. He saw the free distribution of software as stealing, especially when it involved software that was created to be sold.

In February of 1976, Gates wrote an open letter to computer hobbyists saying that continued distribution and use of software without paying for it would "prevent good software from being written." In essence, pirating software would discourage developers from investing time and money into creating quality software. The letter was unpopular with computer enthusiasts, but Gates stuck to his beliefs and would use the threat of innovation as a defense when faced with charges of unfair business practices.
Gates had a more acrimonious relationship with MITS president Ed Roberts, often resulting in shouting matches. The combative Gates clashed with Roberts on software development and the direction of the business. Roberts considered Gates spoiled and obnoxious. In 1977, Roberts sold MITS to another computer company, and went back to Georgia to enter medical school and become a country doctor. Gates and Allen were on their own. The pair had to sue the new owner of MITS to retain the software rights they had developed for Altair.
Microsoft wrote software in different formats for other computer companies and, at the end of 1978, Gates moved the company's operations to Bellevue Washington, just east of Seattle. Bill Gates was glad to be home again in the Pacific Northwest, and threw himself into his work. All 25 employees of the young company had broad responsibilities for all aspects of the operation, product development, business development, and marketing. With his acumen for software development and a keen business sense, Gates placed himself as the head of Microsoft, which grossed $2.5 million in 1978. Gates was only 23.
His acumen for not only software development but also business operations put him in the position of leading the company and working as its spokesperson. He personally reviewed every line of code the company shipped, often rewriting code when he saw it necessary. As the computer industry began to grow with companies like Apple, Intel, and IBM developing hardware and components, Bill was continuously out on the road touting the merits of Microsoft software applications. He often took his mother with him. Mary was highly respected and well connected with her membership on several corporate boards including IBM. It was through Mary that Bill Gates met the CEO of IBM.
In November 1980, IBM was looking for software that would operate their upcoming personal computer (PC) and approached Microsoft. Legend has it that at the first meeting with Bill Gates someone at IBM mistook him for an office assistant and asked him to serve coffee. Gates did look very young, but he quickly impressed IBM, convincing them that he and his company could meet their needs. The only problem was that Microsoft had not developed the basic operating system that would run IBM's new computers. Not to be stopped, Gates bought an operating system that was developed to run on computers similar to IBM's PC. He made a deal with the software's developer, making Microsoft the exclusive licensing agent and later full owner of the software but not telling them of the IBM deal. The company later sued Microsoft and Gates for withholding important information. Microsoft settled out of court for an undisclosed amount, but neither Gates nor Microsoft admitted to any wrong doing.

Gates had to adapt the newly purchased software to work for the IBM PC. He delivered it for a $50,000 fee, the same price he had paid for the software in its original form. IBM wanted to buy the source code, which would have given them the information to the operating system. Gates refused, instead proposing that IBM pay a licensing fee for copies of the software sold with their computers. Doing this allowed Microsoft to license the software they called MS-DOS to any other PC manufacturer, should other computer companies clone the IBM PC, which they soon did. Microsoft also released software called Softcard, which allowed Microsoft BASIC to operate on Apple II machines.
Between 1978 and 1981, Microsoft's growth exploded, and staff increased from 25 to 128. Revenue also shot up from $4 million to $16 million. In mid-1981 Gates and Allen incorporated Microsoft, and Gates was appointed president and chairman of the board. Allen was named executive vice-president.
By 1983, Microsoft was going global with offices in Great Britain and Japan, and with 30 percent of the world's computers running on its software. But 1983 also brought news that rocked Microsoft to its very foundation. Paul Allen was diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease. Though his cancer went into remission a year later with intensive treatment, Allen resigned from company that same year. Rumors abound as to why Allen left Microsoft. Some say Bill Gates pushed him out, but many say it was a life-changing experience for Allen and he saw there were other opportunities that he could invest his time in.
In early 1984, a computer company called VisiCorp developed a mouse-driven computer system that used a graphic interface to display text and images on the screen. This differed greatly from the text and keyboard driven MS-DOS system where all text formatting showed on the screen as code and not what actually would be printed. Bill Gates quickly recognized the threat this kind of software might pose for MS-DOS and Microsoft overall. For the unsophisticated user—which was most of the buying public—the graphic imagery of the VisiCorp software would be so much easier to use. Gates announced in an advertising campaign that a new Microsoft operating system was about to be developed that would use a graphic interface. It was to be called "Windows," and would be compatible with all PC software products developed on the MS-DOS system. The announcement was a bluff, in that Microsoft had no such program under development. But as a marketing tactic it was sheer genius as nearly 30 percent of the computer market was using the MS-DOS system and would wait for Windows software rather than change to a new system. Without people willing to change formats, software developers were unwilling to write programs for the VisiCorp system and it lost momentum by early 1985.
In November 1985, Bill Gates and Microsoft launched Windows; nearly two years after his announcement. Visually the Windows system looked very similar to the Macintosh system Apple Computer Corporation had introduced nearly two years earlier. Apple had earlier given Microsoft full access to their technology while it was working on making Microsoft products compatible for Apple computers. Gates had advised Apple to license their software but they ignored the advice, being more interested in selling computers. Once again, Gates took full advantage of the situation and created a software format that was strikingly similar to the Macintosh. Apple threatened to sue and Microsoft retaliated, saying it would delay shipment of its Microsoft compatible software for Macintosh users. In the end, Microsoft prevailed in the courts because it could prove that while there were similarities in how the two software systems operated, each individual function was distinctly different.

In 1986, Bill Gates took Microsoft public with an initial public offering (IPO) of $21 per share. Gates held 45 percent of the company's 24.7 million shares and became an instant millionaire at age 31. Gates' stake at that time was $234 million of Microsoft's $520 million. Over time, the company's stock increased in value and split numerous times. In 1987, Bill Gates became a billionaire when the stock raised to $90.75 a share. Since then, Gates has been on the top or near the top of Forbes' 400 list of the world's wealthiest people. In 1999, with stock prices at an all time high and the stock splitting eight-fold since its IPO, Gates' wealth briefly topped $101 billion.

Yet, Bill Gates never felt totally secure about the status of his company. Always having to look over his shoulder to see where the competition was, he developed a white hot drive and competitive spirit. Gates expected everyone in the company to have the same drive and dedication. One story goes that one of Gates' assistants had come to work early to find someone sleeping under a desk. She considered calling security or the police when she discovered it was Gates.
Bill Gates' intelligence allowed him to be able to see all sides of the software industry—product development and corporate strategy. When analyzing any corporate move, he would develop a profile of all the possible cases and run through them, asking questions about anything that could possibly happen. His confrontational management style became legend as he would challenge employees and their ideas to keep the creative process going. An unprepared presenter would hear, "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard!" from Gates. But this was as much a test of the rigor of the employee as it was Gates' passion for his company. He was constantly testing the people around him to see if they were really convinced of their ideas.
Outside the company, Bill Gates was gaining a reputation as a ruthless competitor. Several tech companies led by IBM began to develop their own operating system called OS/2 to replace MS-DOS. Rather than give into the pressure, Gates pushed ahead with the Windows software, improving its operation and expanding its uses. In 1989, Microsoft introduced Microsoft Office which bundled office productivity applications such as Microsoft Word and Excel into one system that was compatible with all Microsoft products. The applications were not as easily compatible with OS/2. Microsoft's new version of Windows sold 100,000 copies in just two weeks and OS/2 soon faded away. This left Microsoft with a virtual monopoly on operating systems for PCs. Soon the Federal Trade Commission began to investigate Microsoft for unfair marketing practices.
Microsoft faced a string of Federal Trade Commission and Justice Department investigations throughout the 1990s. Some related allegations that Microsoft made unfair deals with computer manufactures who installed the Windows operating system on their computers. Other charges involved Microsoft forcing computer manufactures to sell Microsoft's Internet Explorer as a condition for selling the Windows operating system with their computers.

At one point, Microsoft faced a possible break up of its two divisions—operating systems and software development. Microsoft defended itself, harking back to Bill Gates' earlier battles with software piracy, and proclaiming that such restrictions were a threat to innovation. Eventually, Microsoft was able to find a settlement with the federal government to avoid a breakup. Through it all, Gates found some inventive ways to deflect the pressure with light-hearted commercials and public appearances at computer trade shows posing as Star Trek's Mr. Spock. Gates continued to run the company and weather the federal investigations through the 1990s.
In 1989, a 28-year-old Microsoft executive named Melinda French caught the eye of Bill Gates, then 37. The very bright and organized Melinda was a perfect match for Gates. In time, their relationship grew as they discovered an intimate and intellectual connection. On January 1, 1994, Melinda and Bill were married in Hawaii. But only a few months later heartbreak struck Bill Gates as his mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. She died in June 1994. Gates was devastated.
Bill and Melinda took some time off in 1995 to travel to several countries and get a new perspective on life and the world. In 1996, their first daughter, Jennifer, was born. A year later, Gates moved his family into a 55,000 sq ft. $54 million house on the shore of Lake Washington. Though the house serves as a business center, it is said to be a very cozy home for the couple and their three children.
With the influence of his wife Melinda, Gates took an interest in filling his mother's role as a civic leader. He began to realize that he had an obligation to give more of his wealth to charity. Being the consummate student he was, Gates studied the philanthropic work of Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller, titans of the American industrial revolution. In 1994, Gates and his wife established the William H. Gates Foundation which was dedicated to supporting education, world health, and investment in low-income communities. In 2000, the couple combined several family foundations to form the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. They started out by making a $28 billion contribution to set up the foundation.
Bill Gates stepped down from the day-to-day operations of Microsoft in 2000, turning over the job of CEO to college friend Steve Ballmer who had been with Microsoft since 1980. He positioned himself as chief software architect so he could concentrate on what was for him the more passionate side of the business. He still remains chairman of the board. Over the next few years, his involvement with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation occupied much of his time and even more of his interest. In 2006, Gates announced he was transitioning himself from full-time work at Microsoft, to devote more quality time to the Foundation. His last full day at Microsoft was June 27, 2008.
In addition to all the accolades of being one of the most successful and richest businessmen in the history of the world, Bill Gates has also received numerous awards for philanthropic work. Time magazine named Gates one of the most influential people of the 20th century. The magazine also named Gates, his wife Melinda, and rock band U2's lead singer Bono as the 2005 Persons of the Year.
Gates also holds several honorary doctorates from universities throughout the world and an honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II. In 2006, Gates and his wife were awarded the Order of the Aztec Eagle by the Mexican government for their philanthropic work throughout the world in the areas of health and education.

World Famous Personalities: Brad Pitt

Brad Pitt 

Born December 18, 1963, in Shawnee, Oklahoma. Pitt grew up in Springfield, Missouri, the eldest of three children in a devoutly Southern Baptist family. His father, Bill Pitt, owned a trucking company and his mother, Jane Pitt, was a family counselor. Pitt originally aspired to be an advertising art director, studying journalism at the University of Missouri. However, the young college student had other quiet aspirations, the product of a childhood love of movies, which finally seemed tangible his last semester at university when he realized, "I can leave." On a whim, Pitt dropped out of college, packed up his Datsun, and headed West to pursue an acting career in Los Angeles, just two credits shy of a college degree.
Pitt told his parents he intended to enroll in the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, but instead spent the next several months driving a limousine—chauffeuring strippers from one bachelor party to the next, delivering refrigerators, and trying to break into the L.A. acting scene. He joined an acting class and, shortly after, accompanied a classmate as her scene partner on an audition with an agent. In a twist of fate, the agent signed Pitt instead of his classmate. After weathering only seven months in Los Angeles, Pitt had secured an agent and regular acting work.

Pitt's first jobs came in television, appearing in episodes of Dallas, the daytime soap Another World, the sitcom Growing Pains, and in 1990's short-lived Fox Television series, Glory Days. In 1989, Pitt played Billy Canton, the drug-addicted pimp of a teenage runaway, played by Juliette Lewis, in the NBC made-for-television movie Too Young to Die. Pitt and Lewis (9 years his junior at age 16) started dating and eventually moved in together.
Pitt made his big screen debut in 1989's horror/slasher film Cutting Class with Donovan Leitch, and played a teen track star in Sandy Tung's Across the Tracks, but it was a well-timed bit part in a controversial Hollywood film that pushed him into the glare of instant stardom. Pitt's performance as a renegade, sugar-tongued hitchhiker who gets picked up by the two title characters in Ridley Scott's Thelma and Louise (1991) grabbed universal attention despite only a few minutes worth of screen time. Pitt's combination of charming bad boy charisma and sexual playfulness (particularly in a fiery love scene with Geena Davis) secured him as a genuine sex symbol (and wore out the rewind button on many a VCR).
Pitt's next few films failed to boost his acting credibility and establish him as more than just a pretty face in Hollywood. He appeared in The Favor (1992) with Elizabeth McGovern, Tom CiCillo's directorial debut, Johnny Suede (1992), and the unconvincing, half-animated Cool World (1992).

However, later that year, the Hollywood sunshine set the golden boy alight once more in Robert Redford's 1992 film based on Norman McLean's autobiography, A River Runs Through It. Pitt played the main character's charismatic gambling, fly-fishing brother (looking remarkably like the young Robert Redford). Redford later admitted that he did not choose Pitt on the strength of his audition, rather, because "[he] had an inner conflict that was very interesting to me." Pitt delivered a sparkling performance, skillfully depicting the character's dangerous footing between overwhelming charm and reckless self-destructiveness.

In 1993, Pitt re-teamed with three-year girlfriend Lewis in Dominic Sela's Kalifornia. Pitt played Early Grayce, a man who goes on a cross-country killing spree with his girlfriend. The film was deemed self-indulgently violent and nihilistic by many reviewers and did not do well in the box office. Pitt and Lewis broke up soon after filming, creating a publicity disaster.
Pitt proceeded to lighten his repertoire with a comedic performance as "Floyd," a burnt-out hippie in Tony Scott's True Romance, but his next major role came in the adaptation of Ann Rice's Interview with the Vampire, alongside Tom Cruise. Rice initially expressed outrage at the casting choices, finding the two boyish, all-American film stars too rough for the subtle, slightly homoerotic overtones of the tale. "It's like casting Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer," she reportedly complained. However, after seeing the final film, Rice retracted her initial statements and filmed a short spot for the video version, endorsing the film. Caryn James of The New York Times reported, "the power of the film depends on Mr. Pitt's rich and deeply affecting performance. Low-key and serene, he makes Louis convincing as a bereaved father, lover, even son."
Pitt's next few efforts secured his place as a Hollywood staple; still, many critics found his roles lacking in dimension. In 1994's Legends of the Fall, an epic family melodrama, Pitt played Tristan, a stereotypical romantic hero with long, golden locks and a penchant for alternately selfish and self-sacrificing gestures. However, Pitt abruptly took a gritty turn as a detective on the trail of a serial killer in David Fincher's disturbing and gory thriller, Seven. During filming, he met and began dating his then relatively unknown costar, Gwyneth Paltrow. Both claimed it was "love at first sight." The two stayed together for two and a half years and were one of Hollywood's most admired and celebrated couples. Then, in 1997, after a seven-month engagement, the couple split for unknown reasons.

In 1995, Pitt starred as a mental patient in Terry Gilliam's psychological thriller Twelve Monkeys and won a Golden Globe for best supporting actor. He followed with another dark thriller, Sleepers (1996), and Alan J. Pakula's Devil's Own with Harrison Ford, before heading to Argentina to film Seven Years in Tibet, an ambitious, seventy million dollar project, which met disappointingly mixed reviews. Unfortunately, his next film, the three-hour plus Meet Joe Black, co-starring Anthony Hopkins, in which he played a very comely version of Death, also inspired little praise.
In 1999, after a brief hiatus from the Hollywood hot list, Pitt re-teamed with Seven director, David Fincher, to make Fight Club. The apocalyptic film, also starring Edward Norton, presents an unglamorous Pitt in a disturbing role as leader and recruiter of Fight Club, a bloody diversion for young professional males. Next up for Pitt was the British crime-caper Snatch (2001), costarring Benicio Del Toro and directed by Guy Ritchie. That same year, Pitt starred with Julia Roberts in the romantic comedy The Mexican, teamed with Robert Redford in the thriller Spy Game, and joined an A-list ensemble cast including Roberts, George Clooney, and Matt Damon in Steven Soderbergh's remake of the Rat Pack heist caper Ocean's Eleven. In 2004, he starred as the Greek hero Achilles in Warner Bros.' blockbuster epic Troy.

In 2005, Pitt starred across from Angelina Jolie in the blockbuster film, Mr. And Mrs. Smith. The action flick, about a married couple who are both secretly working as spies, earned more than $100 million at the box office.
Pitt's next film, the critically acclaimed Babel (2006) earned the actor a Golden Globe nomination. The actor moved on to less serious fare in the reprisal of his role as Rusty Ryan in the Ocean's Eleven sequel, Ocean's Thirteen (2007). In 2008, Pitt teamed up with the Coen brothers to star in the FBI comedic thriller, Burn After Reading. The film earned two Golden Globe nominations, and grossed more than $60 million at the box office.
Pitt took on a more whimsical role for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, a film based on a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald. In this David Fincher-directed movie, Pitt plays Benjamin Button who is born as a 70-year-old man and ages in reverse. Button is currently nominated for 13 Academy Awards, including a Best Actor nod for Pitt.
In 2009, Pitt starred in Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds. He also has an upcoming project with Sean Penn in the film The Tree of Life.

A two-time winner of People magazine's "Sexiest Man Alive" title (1995 and 2000), Pitt began dating Jennifer Aniston, star of the TV sitcom Friends, in 1998. Pitt and Aniston were married July 29, 2000, in Malibu, California. The couple announced their separation in January 2005 and divorced in October of that year.
Soon after their separation, Brad Pitt began dating actress Angelina Jolie. In May 2006, the couple had a baby girl, Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt. They also have three adopted children (Maddox, Pax Thien, and Zahara). In July 2008 Brad Pitt and Angeline Jolie had twins, a boy, Knox Leon, and a girl, Vivienne Marcheline. The family currently splits their time between Los Angeles and New Orleans.

World Famous Personalities: George Clooney

George Clooney in full George Timothy Clooney

 

Actor, director, producer, writer. Born George Timothy Clooney on May 6, 1961, in Lexington, Kentucky. Clooney comes from a well-known family of media and entertainment personalities. His father, Nick, spent many years as a television personality and news anchor. His aunt, Rosemary Clooney, had a long career as a singer and actress.

Due to the nature of his father's work, George Clooney and his older sister Ada moved several times to various locations throughout Kentucky and Ohio with their parents. In 1974, they settled down for good in a rambling, old Victorian home in downtown Augusta, Kentucky, a small town on the Ohio River about an hour south of Cincinnati.
There, despite some name recognition, the Clooneys led a fairly modest life. They were a close-knit family, with Nick Clooney making sure to carve time out of his busy schedule in Cincinnati to be home in the evenings for dinner. At the Clooney supper table, the family often discussed current events. Nick, a true newsman, had grown up in awe of men like CBS news anchor Edward R. Murrow and, later, Walter Cronkite.

Exposed to the entertainment industry at a young age, Clooney made his first television appearance at five years old, playing sketch characters on the local talk shows his dad hosted. In middle school, however, Clooney struggled with his talent for expression when he developed Bell's palsy, which causes partial facial paralysis. He eventually recovered from the illness.
In school, Clooney was more focused on sports than books, but still managed to be a good student. "I pulled out my report cards...I had all A's and a B," the actor told Esquire magazine. A fairly good baseball player, he managed to land a tryout with the Cincinnati Reds at the age of 16. A baseball contract, however, never materialized.
Clooney eventually opted for college. Staying close to home, he attended Northern Kentucky University, where he studied broadcast journalism. But Clooney didn't last long at college. He didn't think he had what it took to become a good television journalist, and he hated the constant comparisons to his father. He dropped out of school in 1981, without a thought as to what he would do next.
Clooney stuck around the Cincinnati area for a while, finding work as a shoe salesman and later as a farmhand picking tobacco. He had been harvesting tobacco when he got a call from his his cousin, Miguel Ferrer, the son of Rosemary Clooney and Oscar winner Jose Ferrer. Miguel and his father were making a film in Kentucky about horse racing, and Ferrer offered Clooney a little acting work. Clooney hung around the set for a good three months, where he worked as an extra and even landed a few lines. To make extra money, he loaned his old Monte Carlo to his uncle and cousin for $50 a day. The movie never got released, but the experience gave Clooney the acting bug again.
Encouraged by his cousin Miguel, Clooney decided to move to Los Angeles to become an actor when the movie shoot was over. "I had just spent the summer cutting tobacco, which is a miserable job. So that's what made me move to Hollywood," Clooney later told Esquire. To make ends meet, he picked up whatever work he could find. He even ran errands for his aunt and chauffeured her around town.

Slowly parts came, even if they weren't the kind of roles he dreamed about. He landed a recurring role on the popular teen comedy The Facts of Life, from 1985 to 1987. From 1988 to 1991, Clooney also made guest appearances on the dysfunctional family sitcom Roseanne. In 1992, he starred in the short-lived series Bodies of Evidence, playing a detective. On the drama Sisters, he played another detective and the love interest for Sela Ward's character. There were small movie roles, too, including the part of a lip-synching transvestite in a 1993 thriller called The Harvest.

Clooney worked steadily in Hollywood, but he had yet to land a significant career breakthrough. Feeling that he was always on the cusp of something bigger, something greater, Clooney found his situation difficult. "I had a work ethic," he told The New Yorker in 2007. "I was making a couple of hundred grand a year, which is beating all the odds, so you don't really think things are going terribly. You actually feel like you're succeeding. [But] I wished I was doing better projects, and I didn't think I was going to get that chance."

All that changed in 1994, when Clooney was cast in a new NBC medical drama called ER. Clooney played Dr. Doug Ross, a caring pediatrician and a notorious ladies man, in the ensemble drama, which also featured Anthony Edwards, Julianna Margulies, and Sherry Stringfield. Soon after its September 1994 debut, Clooney was on his way to becoming one of the show's breakout stars, attracting the attention of film industry movers and shakers. His classic good looks and easygoing charm made him a natural for the big screen.
Clooney worked at a hectic pace, managing to appear in several films during his time on ER. He battled evil vampires with Quentin Tarantino in Robert Rodriguez's From Dusk to Dawn(1996). In the romantic comedyOne Fine Day(1996), Clooney played a divorced father who falls for a single mother (Michelle Pfeiffer). Assuming the role of the caped crusader, Clooney starred as Batman in the summer blockbuster Batman & Robin(1997), which eventually netted more than $107 million. The following year, Clooney starred opposite Jennifer Lopez in Steven Soderbergh's Out of Sight(1998). He also had a role in Terrence Malick's war drama The Thin Red Line.
In 1999, Clooney turned in his ER scrubs to pursue his film career full time. He starred in the Persian Gulf War tale Three Kings with Mark Wahlberg and Ice Cube that same year. Working with the Coen brothers, Clooney starred as a charming conman in O Brother, Where Are Thou? (2000), an imaginative retelling of the epic poem The Odyssey. He won a Golden Globe Award for his work on the film. Clooney also reteamed with Wahlberg for the popular disaster-at-sea film The Perfect Storm, based on Sebastian Junger's bestselling novel. The actor, who for so long had wondered if he'd truly make it big, was now Hollywood royalty.

In 2001, Clooney starred in the remake of Ocean's Eleven directed by Steven Soderbergh. He played Danny Ocean, a role originated by famed crooner Frank Sinatra. The comedic heist film featured an all-star cast, which included Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, Bernie Mac, and Matt Damon. It proved to be such a successful venture on- and off-screen that it spawned two sequels, Ocean's Twelve and Ocean's Thirteen.

The following year, Clooney made his directorial debut with Confessions of a Dangerous Mind(2002). The biopic focused on the life of Chuck Barris, host of The Gong Show and reportedly a CIA agent. Despite the film's poor box office performance and weak reviews, Clooney continued to work behind the scenes, serving as a producer on the 2004 political drama Syriana.
The usually fit Clooney gained roughly 30 pounds to play a government agent in the film, which explored political intrigue and corruption in the Middle East. Badly hurt during the filming of a scene, he damaged the membrane around his spine. The injury caused spinal fluid to leak from his nose and left him with terrible back pain. After completing the film, Clooney underwent two surgeries to fix the problem.
All of his hard work on Syriana did not go unnoticed. In 2005, Clooney won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in the film. He was also nominated for another important project, Good Night, and Good Luck, that same year. The film examines the clash between distinguished news anchor Edward R. Murrow and Senator Joseph McCarthy. Clooney directed the film and co-wrote the screenplay, which served partly as a tribute to his newsman father. Widely praised, the black-and-white drama helped Clooney earn his first nominations for Best Director and Writing (Original Screenplay).
An outspoken liberal, Clooney has been a frequent target of right-wing politicos and personalities, including FOX News's Bill O'Reilly. Beyond his disappointment with the election of George W. Bush as President in 2000, the actor was also an early opponent of the Iraq War, and later called the president "dim" in a 2003 interview. "America's policies frustrate me," Clooney told a German television program. "I think a war against Iraq is as unavoidable as it is senseless. I think it's coming. But I also think the real danger is going to be what happens after it."
Following the September 11th attacks, Clooney organized a fundraiser that featured dozens of Hollywood stars and assembled more than $129 million for the United Way. Four years later, he donated $1 million to the United Way Hurricane Katrina Response Fund.
In 2006, Clooney stepped up his involvement in political and social causes. He teamed up with his father and a few others to travel around the western region of Sudan, known as Darfur. Armed with a few small video cameras, Clooney and his father set out report on how the area had been ravaged by war and how the international community was struggling to set up refugee camps to help those in need. By leveraging Clooney's Hollywood status, they believed they could bring greater attention to the Darfur crisis and could help fuel global interest in helping the region. Their edited footage was broadcast on such programs as Oprah.

Upon his return to the United States, Clooney brought his celebrity clout to Washington, D.C., where he spoke at a rally against the genocide in Darfur. Later he spoke to a special meeting of the U.N. Security Council. With other celebrities, including Brad Pitt, Don Cheadle, and Matt Damon, he formed a non-profit organization called Not On Our Watch to help the people in Darfur. In 2007, he and Cheadle were recognized for their work for Darfur. The pair shared a Peace Summit Award at the 8th Annual World Summit of Nobel Peace Prize Laureates in Rome. The following year, with his parents standing at his side, Clooney was officially appointed as a U.N. peace envoy.
Often the target of paparazzi, both in the United States and at his vacation home in Italy, Clooney's career has been a balancing act between maintaining his privacy and his Hollywood status. Much of these lessons were gleaned from advice given by his aunt Rosemary, who experienced an astounding level of fame early in her career only to fall prey to addictions and depression later in life.
"She wouldn't tell you, 'Don't do it,'" Clooney said, "but you could see it, you could read it on her body. You know? Don't smoke three packs a day. Do a little exercising along the way. And don't believe everybody when they tell you how great you are when you're 21. And don't believe everybody when they tell you how lousy you are when you're 27."
Still, the world never seems to tire of Clooney news, particularly when it comes to his romantic life. Clooney has been married once to the actress Talia Balsam. That union was short lived, and Clooney has vowed he will never marry again nor have children. The pledge managed to catch the attention of actresses Nicole Kidman and Michelle Pfeiffer, both of whom said he would be a father before he turned 40. Both lost their bets, and both sent Clooney checks to pay up. The actor, who's twice been named People magazine's Sexiest Man Alive, returned the money to his friends.

These days, Clooney is once again in the spotlight for his tremendous talent. His performance in the dramatic comedy, Up in the Air, has been earning raves. In the film, he plays Ryan Bingham, a consultant who specializes in firing employees. His character lives a rather nomadic existence, traveling around the country. Next up for the film star is The Men Who Stare at Goats, an independent comedy with Ewan McGregor, Jeff Bridges, and Kevin Spacey. He is also working on Fantastic Mr. Fox, in which Clooney voices the title character in the big screen adaptation of the Roald Dahl book. He is also at work on an untitled film directed by Anton Corbijn. 

ONV Kurupp - The Legendry Poet Of Malayalam

ONV Kurup


A poet, who, with more than his imaginative skills, created poetic expressions that often dealt with the very land he belonged to, events, people and situations he experienced. Prof. O. N. V. Kurup was born on May 27, 1931 at Chavara, in Kollam District, where he also spent his school days. Mr. Kurup did his college education at the S. N. College, Kollam and University College, Thiruvananthapuram for his graduation in Economics and masters programme in Malayalam respectively. Even though Mr. Kurup lost his father at the age of eight, he was fortunate to learn the basics of Malayalam and Sanskrit from him.

His first major effort in poetry began during his school days, which also saw his first published poem Munnottu (Forward) in 1946, penned in the backdrop of his patriotic feelings. As a child, Mr. Kurup used to read the epic Adhyatma Ramayanam, every evening, during the month of Karkkitakam. The poetic aspects of the epic, its style and presentation further strengthened Mr. Kurup?s ability to express and experiment with his chosen subjects, later in his career as a poet.

Reckoned as one of the best in the poetic world inside and outside Kerala, Mr. Kurup in his professional stint as a teacher, started off with the Maharaja?s College in Kochi, as lecturer in 1957. Later this poet genius, as a teacher, inspired the campuses of University College, Thiruvananthapuram; Arts and Science College, Kozhikode and Government Brennun College, Thalasseri. Mr. Kurup also served as the Head of the Department at the Government Women's College in Thiruvananthapuram. Before his retirement from teaching service in 1986, he was visiting Professor of Calicut University for one year.

Prof. O. N. V. Kurup and his perception of poetry as an art and an expression with a purpose, invariably dealt with the actions, thought process, drawbacks, limits, state of affairs and all that could be experienced through the five senses and Mother Earth. To Mr. Kurup, a poem ultimately becomes a passionate wish for a common cause, or a means to unite hearts with showers of love and compassion. Still, on a different plane, according to Mr. Kurup, poems can be an outpour of feelings, weighed down by loss, despair and helplessness. All these, are common phenomenon, which plays its part in the drama that unfolds as life, everywhere.

Romanticism and poetry share a bond that is as old as poetry and poets. And for Mr. Kurup, the inclination to nurture and maintain romantic elements in many of his poems seems to be like his second nature. His first poetry collection was Porutunna Soundaryam in 1949. Mr. Kurup has also come up with a book titled - Dahikunna Panapatram (The Thirsty Chalice), featuring a collection of his poems from 1946 to 1956. Some of his poetic works in Malayalam that have touched the heart and soul of thousands and became subjects of veritable entertainment and source of inspiration include, Marubhumi, Nilakkannukal, Mayilppili, Oru Tulli Velicham, Agni Salabhangal, Aksharam, Karutta pakshiyude pattu, Uppu, Bhumikku Oru Charamagitam, Sarngakappakshikal, Mrgaya, Tonniaksharangal, Aparahnam and Ujjayini. He has also written a collection of poems for children, called Valapottukal.

Mr. Kurup?s contribution in the literary domain of Kerala is widely appreciated for his excellence in poetry. But to his credit, he has a handful of works in prose. And this includes titles like Kavitayile Samantara Rekhakal, Kavitayile Pratisandhikal, Ezhuthachan - Oru Padanam, Patheyam, Kalpanikam, Pushkin - Swatantrya Bodhatinte Durantagatha.

Making a difference to traditional pursuits of a poet, Mr. O. N. V. Kurup and his lyrical wonders soon began casting a strong impression in the Malayalam films and dramas. He is a music enthusiast, and this personal trait too worked towards the successful creation of a string of memorable Malayalam film songs, most of them, melodies with a distinctive touch of Mr. Kurup. He still relishes writing evergreen lyrics for film songs.

As a poet, who has made a mark of his own in the literary world of Kerala as well as outside Kerala, Mr. Kurup?s stature as a poet of eminence and also as an accomplished academician, made him associate with many national and international programmes. Some of these were his visit to USSR as member of an Indian Writers Delegation to participate in the 150th birth anniversary of Tolstoy, Represented India in the Struga Poetry Festival, Yugoslavia (1987), Presented poems on Beethoven and Mozart in the Department of German, Bonn University, Indian delegate to the CISAC World Conference held in Berlin (1998) and Fellow of the Kerala Sahitya Academy in 1999. Among the responsibilities that came his way so far, he was member of the Executive Board of the Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi from 1982 to 1986, and currently serves as the Chairman of Kerala Kalamandalam.

Accolades and recognitions has been part of his life ever since Mr. Kurup struck an everlasting chord of love with poetry. Agni Salabhangal the poetic work by Mr. Kurup was awarded the Kerala Sahitya Academy Award in 1971. He was also awarded with the Kendra Sahitya Academy Award in 1975 for his poem Aksharam. A noted poetic work of Mr. Kurup titled Uppu won the Soviet Land Nehru Award in 1981 and also the Vayalar Rama Varma Award in 1982.

He has also won the Kerala State film awards twelve times, for the best lyricist. But the pinnacle of recognitions bestowed on Mr. Kurup till date, remains the coveted national award Padmashri, which he received in1998.

The septuagenarian poet is without doubt the few among his contemporaries, who continues his poetic pursuits with an undying fervor. And in the process, Mr. O. N. V. Kurup remains as one of the highly respected and accomplished poets of modern Kerala.

ഒ എന്‍ വി ജ്ഞാനപീഠമേറുമ്പോള്‍

വൈലോപ്പിള്ളിക്ക് ലഭിക്കേണ്ട ജ്ഞാനപീഠ പുരസ്‌കാരം തല്‍സ്ഥാനത്തുനിന്ന് ഒ എന്‍ വി കുറുപ്പ് സ്വീകരിക്കുന്നു. എന്നാല്‍ ചങ്ങമ്പുഴയ്ക്കു ലഭിക്കേണ്ട പുരസ്‌കാരം തല്‍സ്ഥാനത്തുനിന്ന് ഒ എന്‍ വിക്ക് സ്വീകരിക്കാനാവില്ല. കാരണം വൈലോപ്പിള്ളിക്കവിതയോടാണ് ഒ എന്‍ വി കവിതയ്ക്കു ഇഴയടുപ്പം. കാവ്യശൈലിയിലെ ചില ബാഹ്യസാദൃശ്യങ്ങള്‍ കണ്ടിട്ടാണ് പ്രഫ. എം കൃഷ്ണന്‍ നായര്‍ ഒ എന്‍ വി, വയലാര്‍, പി ഭാസ്‌കരന്‍ എന്നിവരെ ചങ്ങമ്പുഴയുടെ മാറ്റൊലി കവികള്‍ എന്ന് വിമര്‍ശിച്ചത്. (ആധുനിക മലയാള കവിത എന്ന കൃതിയില്‍). പ്രഫ. എം കൃഷ്ണന്‍ നായരുടെ വിമര്‍ശനത്തിന് പ്രഫ. മുണ്ടശ്ശേരി മറുപടി നല്‍കിയിട്ടുണ്ട്. ''സുപ്രശസ്ത കവികളിലൊരാളായ ഒ എന്‍ വിയെ ഇടപ്പള്ളിപ്പാരമ്പര്യത്തില്‍ നിന്ന് കൊളുത്തിയ ഒരു പന്തം മാത്രമായി കണക്കാക്കാമോ? കണക്കാക്കുന്നവരുണ്ടെങ്കില്‍ അവര്‍ ശബ്ദകോശത്തിന്റെ കൊട്ടത്താപ്പിന്മേല്‍ കവിതയെ അളന്നുമുറിക്കുന്നവരാണ്.'' (ആമുഖം - ദാഹിക്കുന്ന പാനപാത്രം). പ്രഫ. എം കൃഷ്ണന്‍ നായരുടെ നിരീക്ഷണം ഇപ്പോഴും ചിലര്‍ ഏറ്റുപിടിച്ചുകൊണ്ട് നടക്കുന്നത് രസകരമായിരിക്കുന്നു. എന്നാല്‍ ചങ്ങമ്പുഴയില്‍ നിന്നുള്ള ഒ എന്‍ വി കവിതയുടെ മാറ്റം 1955 ല്‍ തന്നെ മുണ്ടശ്ശേരി ചൂണ്ടിക്കാണിച്ചിരുന്നു, ആഭിജാത്യത്തിന്റെ പിടിയില്‍നിന്നും മലയാളകവിത പിടിവിട്ടും ജീനകീയ കവിതയുടെ രൂപഭാവങ്ങള്‍ തികച്ചും കൈവരിച്ചത് ചങ്ങമ്പുഴയിലല്ല ഒ എന്‍ വി പ്രതിനിധാനം  ചെയ്യുന്ന പുരോഗമന കവിതയിലൂടെയാണ്. ''ശീലിലെന്നല്ല ശൈലിയിലും കവി ജീവിതത്തിന്റെ ആ പ്രാകൃത നിലവാരത്തിലേയ്ക്കിറങ്ങുകയോ? ഒ എന്‍ വിയുടെ നേര്‍ക്കൊരു ചോദ്യമാണ്-ചങ്ങമ്പുഴ പോലും ചോദിച്ചേക്കാവുന്ന ഒരു ചോദ്യം. ആ ചോദ്യം ചോദിക്കേണ്ടിവരുന്നിടത്തു വെച്ചാണ് ഒ എന്‍ വി ചങ്ങമ്പുഴയെക്കാളും യാഥാര്‍ഥ്യവാദിയായിരിക്കുന്നു എന്ന് ഞാന്‍ പറയുക.'' (മുണ്ടശ്ശേരി) 24-ാമത്തെ വയസില്‍ ഒരു പുരുഷായുസുകൊണ്ടു എഴുതാവുന്ന കവിതകള്‍ എഴുതിക്കഴിഞ്ഞ ഒ എന്‍ വിയെകുറിച്ചാണ് മുണ്ടശ്ശേരി എഴുതുന്നത്. ചങ്ങമ്പുഴയുടെ അദൈ്വതമായ ഭാവസ്പന്ദിതവിദ്യുന്മേഖലയായ കാല്പനികതയല്ല ഒ എന്‍ വിയുടെ കാവ്യലോകമെന്നും അത് ദൈനംദിന ജീവിതാവിഷ്‌കാരം കൊണ്ടു റിയലിസ്റ്റിക് സ്വഭാവമാര്‍ന്നതാണെന്നും മുണ്ടശ്ശേരി പറയുമ്പോള്‍ അതിനെ ഒ എന്‍ വിയുടെ ആദ്യകാല കവിതകള്‍ നൂറു ശതമാനവും സാധൂകരിക്കുന്നുണ്ട്. അതുകൊണ്ടാണ് ചങ്ങമ്പുഴ പുരസ്‌കാരം തന്റെ കാവ്യജീവിതത്തിലെ ആദ്യ പുരസ്‌കാരമായി ഏറ്റുവാങ്ങിയ ഒ എന്‍ വി ചങ്ങമ്പുഴയ്ക്കു ലഭിക്കേണ്ടിയിരുന്ന ജ്ഞാപീഠം (അന്ന് ജ്ഞാനപീഠ പുരസ്‌കാരം ഇല്ലാതിരുന്നെങ്കിലും) ഒ എന്‍ വിക്ക് വാങ്ങാന്‍ കഴിയുമായിരുന്നില്ല എന്ന് പറഞ്ഞത്. എന്നാല്‍ വൈലോപ്പിള്ളിക്കു ലഭിക്കാതെപോയ ജ്ഞാനപീഠ പുരസ്‌കാരം ഒ എന്‍ വിക്കു ലഭിക്കുമ്പോള്‍ വൈലോപ്പിള്ളിയെ നാം ഓര്‍മിച്ചുപോകുന്നു. ഒ എന്‍ വിയെ ആരും വൈലോപ്പിള്ളിയുടെ അനുകര്‍ത്താവെന്നോ മാറ്റൊലി കവിതയെന്നോ വിമര്‍ശിച്ചിട്ടില്ല. എന്നാല്‍ ഇവരുടെയും കാവ്യലോകങ്ങള്‍ പങ്കുവെയ്ക്കുന്ന സാംസ്‌കാരികതലങ്ങള്‍ പരസ്പരപൂരകമാണ്. കാര്‍ഷിക ഗ്രാമത്തില്‍നിന്ന്  ഇരുവരുടെയും തുടക്കം ഗ്രാമത്തില്‍ നിന്നാണ്. ''ഞാന്‍ കേരളത്തിലൊരു നാട്ടിന്‍പുറത്തു ജനിച്ചുവളര്‍ന്നതാണ് എന്റെ കവിതകളുടെ ഏറ്റവും വലിയ ഭാഗ്യം എന്നു തോന്നുന്നു-അന്ന് ഇളംപ്രായത്തില്‍ ഞാന്‍ കണ്ട നാട്ടിന്‍പുറം നാള്‍തോറും നിറങ്ങളുടെയും നാദങ്ങളുടെയും ഗന്ധങ്ങളുടെയും നവംനവങ്ങളായ അത്ഭുതങ്ങള്‍ ഉദ്ഘാടനം ചെയ്യുന്ന, അമ്മയെപ്പോലെ സ്‌നേഹം നിറഞ്ഞ, ഒരു കൊച്ചു ലോകമായിരുന്നു. ഇന്നും അതിന്റെ മധുരസ്മരണകളാണ് എന്റെ കവിതയുടെ ഏറ്റവും ഈടുള്ള കൈമുതല്‍''. (വൈലോപ്പിള്ളി - എന്റെ കവിത - വിത്തും കൈക്കോട്ടും) ഈ വരികള്‍ ഒ എന്‍ വിയുടെ വകയായി എഴുതിയാലും അക്ഷരംപ്രതി ശരിയാകും. അതുകൊണ്ടാണ് തന്നെ കവിയാക്കിയ ഗ്രാമത്തിന് തനിച്ച് ലഭിച്ച ജ്ഞാനപീഠ പുരസ്‌കാരം ഒ എന്‍ വി സമര്‍പ്പിക്കുന്നത്. ഗ്രാമത്തെ മാത്രമല്ല, ഭൂമിയെയും പ്രകൃതിയെയും അമ്മയായി പാടിപ്പുകഴ്ത്തുകയാണ് ഒ എന്‍ വിയും ചെയ്യുന്നത്. തന്റെ കവിതയുടെ ജീവശക്തം നാട്ടിന്‍പുറത്തെ വായ്ത്താരികളും ഈണങ്ങളുമാണെന്ന് ഒ എന്‍ വി പറയുന്നു. ''കരളില്‍ നൃത്തം ചെയ്‌വൂ പൂക്കളുമീണങ്ങളും''. (പൂക്കളും ഈണങ്ങളും എന്ന കവിത) കവിതയില്‍ തന്നെ മുലപ്പാലൂട്ടിയത് വടക്കന്‍പാട്ടുകളാണെന്ന് വൈലോപ്പിള്ളി പറയുന്നു : ''കവിതയില്‍ എന്നെ മുലപ്പാലൂട്ടിയത് വടക്കന്‍പാട്ടാണ്. അന്നെനിക്ക് നാലഞ്ചു വയസുകാണും. നിശബ്ദയാമത്തില്‍ ഒരമ്മൂമ്മയുടെ മധുരകണ്ഠത്തില്‍ നിന്നും വാര്‍ന്നുവീഴുന്ന ആ പാട്ടുകളുടെ ചന്തവും ചുണയുമുള്ള ഈണത്തില്‍ അലിഞ്ഞു, പരമാനന്ദമനുഭവിച്ച് പാതിരാവരെ ഞാന്‍ ഉറങ്ങാതെ കിടക്കാറുണ്ട്. ഇന്നും പുതുമഴക്കാലത്ത് പാടത്തുനിന്ന് അതേ പാട്ടുകള്‍ പാടികേള്‍ക്കുമ്പോള്‍ ഞാന്‍ വീരാഹ്ലാദഭരിതനായി വഴിയരികില്‍ നിന്നു പോകാറുണ്ട്.'' (വൈലോപ്പിള്ളി എന്റെ കവിത). ഒ എന്‍ വിയുടെ കാവ്യസംസ്‌കാരവും നാടന്‍പാട്ടുകളും സംഗീതവുമായിരുന്നു. ഒ എന്‍ വിക്കും പ്രിയപ്പെട്ടതാണ് മുത്തശ്ശി പാടികേള്‍പ്പിച്ച നാടന്‍പാട്ടുകളും നാടോടിക്കഥകളും. 'മുത്തശ്ശി പാടിപഠിപ്പിച്ച പാട്ടുകള്‍ കൊച്ചുകഥകള്‍, പ്പൂച്ചൊല്ലുകളൊക്കെയും തന്റെ കുഞ്ഞുങ്ങള്‍ നുകരാത്ത ദുഗ്ദ്ധമായ് നിന്നുവറ്റുമ്പോഴാനെങ്ങു വിങ്ങുന്നുവോ'' (മുക്കുറ്റികള്‍; വെറുതെ) ഇരുവരുടെയും ജീവിതവീക്ഷണത്തെ ആഴത്തില്‍ സ്വാധീനിച്ചിരിക്കുന്നത് പ്രകൃതിയാണ്. പക്ഷേ ജീ ശങ്കരക്കുറുപ്പിനെപ്പോലെ പ്രകൃതിയില്‍ പരമാത്മചൈതന്യം ദര്‍ശിക്കാന്‍ വൈലോപ്പിള്ളിക്കോ ഒ എന്‍ വിക്കോ കഴിയുന്നില്ല. ഇരുവര്‍ക്കും വസ്തുനിഷ്ഠ യാഥാര്‍ഥ്യമാണ് പ്രകൃതി.'' പ്രകൃതിയില്‍ വിശ്വഹൃദയത്തിന്റെ മിടിപ്പും പരമാത്മാവിന്റെ മുഖവും കാണുന്ന പ്രകൃത്യുപാസകരായ കവികളുണ്ട്. എനിക്ക് ആ ദര്‍ശനം നഷ്ടപ്പെട്ടിരിക്കുന്നു. ആ ഹൃദയത്തിലും മുഖത്തും അതിരറ്റ വാത്സല്യവും അന്ധമായ ക്രൂരതയും ഞാന്‍ കാണുന്നു''. (വൈലോപ്പിള്ളി-എന്റെ കവിത). വൈലോപ്പിള്ളിയെപ്പോലെ ഒ എന്‍ വിയും പ്രകൃതിയില്‍ അതിഭൗതികമായ ശക്തിവിശേഷം കാണുന്നില്ല. എന്നാല്‍ അവര്‍ തമ്മില്‍ ഒരു ഭേദമുണ്ട്. ഒ എന്‍ വി പ്രകൃതിയില്‍ അതിരറ്റ വാത്സല്യം അമ്മയുടെ വാത്സല്യം മാത്രമേ കാണുന്നുള്ളൂ. ക്രൂരത കാണുന്നില്ല. ഒ എന്‍ വിക്ക് പ്രകൃതി ഒരു കറുത്ത മാതാവല്ല. എന്നാല്‍ 'കണ്ണീര്‍പ്പാടം' എന്ന കവിതയില്‍ വൈലോപ്പിള്ളി ഗ്രാമദേവതയുടെ ദൗദ്രഭാവത്തെ ആവിഷ്‌കരിക്കുന്നുണ്ട്. പ്രകൃതിയോടുള്ള മതനിരപേക്ഷവും ഭൗതികവാദപരമായ സമീപനം വൈലോപ്പിള്ളിയിലും ഒ എന്‍ വിയിലും അമ്മ ദൈവാരാധനയുടെ സ്വാധീനത്തെ പ്രതിരോധിക്കുന്നു. തന്റെ കവിതകളിലൂടനീളം മാതൃബിംബങ്ങള്‍ വാരിവിതറുന്ന ഒ എന്‍ വിയില്‍ ദേവീ സങ്കല്‍പമോ ഭഗവതി സങ്കല്പമോ കാണുന്നില്ല; അതുപോലെ വൈലോപ്പിള്ളിയിലും. കൊയ്ത്തുപാടത്തുനിന്ന്  'കന്നിക്കൊയ്ത്തു' പാടത്ത് നിന്നാണ് വൈലോപ്പിള്ളിയുടെ തുടക്കം. മരണം ജീവിതമാകുന്ന നെല്‍ക്കറ്റകള്‍ കൊയ്‌തെടുത്താലും അതിന്റെ ചുവട്ടില്‍ വീണ്ടും പുതുജീവിതങ്ങളുടെ ഞാറുകള്‍ മുളച്ചു പൊന്തുന്നു എന്ന കാഴ്ചപ്പാടില്‍ നിന്നാണ് ജീവിതത്തിന്റെ അനുസ്യുതിയെക്കുറിച്ച് വൈലോപ്പിള്ളി പാടുന്നത്. കര്‍ഷകത്തൊഴിലാളികളാണ് പാരിന്റെ പാദം-അടിത്തറ-പണിയുന്നത് എന്ന് 'പടയാളികള്‍' എന്ന കവിതയില്‍ പറയുന്നു. അവരാണ് യാഥാര്‍ഥ സാഹിത്യകാരന്മാരും സാഹിത്യവിഷയമായ ജീവിതവും നാടന്‍ ഈണങ്ങളും സംസ്‌കാരവും നിര്‍മിക്കുന്നവര്‍. (പോകപോകടോനീ) കവിയല്ല പ്രാകൃതനാണ് സാഹിത്യകാരന്‍. (കുടിയൊഴിക്കല്‍) എന്ന് തന്‍ പോരിമകാണിക്കുന്ന കവിയെ വൈലോപ്പിള്ളി ഭര്‍സിക്കുന്നു. ഒ എന്‍ വിയും കാവ്യജീവിതം ആരംഭിക്കുന്നത് വയലേലകളില്‍ നിന്നാണ്, കൊ യ്ത്തുകാരില്‍ നിന്നാണ്. 'പണിചെയ്യും ജനതതിതന്‍ പൊതുമുതലാണക്കാണും പവിഴക്കനിക്കുലകള്‍ നെല്‍കതിരുകള്‍! പശിതീര്‍ക്കാന്‍ നാടിന്റെ പശിതീര്‍ക്കാനങ്ങനെ പണി ചെയ്തു വിള കൊയ്തു പ്രാകൃതന്മാര്‍! (അരിവാളും രാക്കുയിലും) കര്‍ഷകത്തൊഴിലാളികളെ പാടിപ്പുകഴ്ത്തിക്കൊണ്ടാണ് രണ്ടു പേരും കാവ്യജീവിതം ആരംഭിക്കുന്നത്. വൈലോപ്പിള്ളിയുടെ കണിക്കൊയ്ത്തിലെ കൊയ്ത്തുകാര്‍ വര്‍ഗബോധമുള്ളവരല്ല, എന്നാല്‍ ഒ എന്‍ വിയുടെ കൊയ്ത്തുകാര്‍ വര്‍ഗബോധമുള്ളവരും പൊരുതുന്ന സൗന്ദര്യങ്ങളുമാണ്. ഇരുവരും കൊയ്ത്തുകാരുടെ ദൈന്യജീവിതത്തോട് കാരുണ്യമുള്ളവരാണ്. 'നമ്മള്‍ കൊയ്യും വയലെല്ലാം നമ്മുടേതാകും' എന്ന് ഒ എന്‍ വി പറയുമ്പോള്‍ വയലും കര്‍ഷകത്തൊഴിലാളികളും ഭാവികാലത്തിലും മാറ്റമില്ലാതെ തുടരും എന്ന പരിവര്‍ത്തനരഹിത മനോഭാവമാണ് വൈലോപ്പിള്ളി ആവിഷ്‌കരിക്കുന്നത്. കരിവള്ളൂരിലും കയ്യൂരിലും നടന്ന കര്‍ഷകസമരങ്ങള്‍ ഒ എന്‍ വിയില്‍ വിപ്ലവബോധം തീഷ്ണമാക്കുമ്പോള്‍ വൈലോപ്പിള്ളിയില്‍ ധര്‍മസങ്കടമുണര്‍ത്തുന്നു. കന്നിക്കൊയ്ത്തിലെ വയല്‍ വരമ്പില്‍ കര്‍ഷകത്തൊഴിലാളികളുടെ ഗായകനായി, ബന്ധുവായി വൈലോപ്പിള്ളി നില്ക്കുന്നു. കുടിയൊഴിയ്ക്കലിലും അവരോട് ആര്‍ദ്രതയുള്ളവനാണ.് എന്നാല്‍ ഒ എന്‍ വിയാകട്ടെ അവരുടെ നാവും വീര്യവുമായി പാട്ടില്‍ പന്തം കൊളുത്തി നില്‍ക്കുകയാണ്. വൈലോപ്പിള്ളിയും ഒ എന്‍ വിയും കര്‍ഷകത്തൊഴിലാളികളെയാണ് വിപ്ലവശക്തികളായി കാണുന്നത്. 'കന്നിപ്പാടത്തും' വയലേലകളിലും അവര്‍ തേടുന്ന ഉടമാവകാശമാണ് അവര്‍ക്ക് വിപ്ലവം. ഒ എന്‍ വി തച്ചുടച്ചു ചിലതുടച്ചു വാര്‍ത്തും സ്ഥിതിസമത്വം വരാന്‍ ആഗ്രഹിക്കുമ്പോള്‍ വൈലോപ്പിള്ളി സ്‌നേഹസുന്ദരപാതയിലൂടെ ലോകസാമൂഹിക ദുര്‍നിയമങ്ങള്‍ ഇല്ലായ്മ ചെയ്യാന്‍ വിശ്വസംസ്‌കാര പാലകരോട് അപേക്ഷിക്കുന്നു. ഒ എന്‍ വിയില്‍ സോഷ്യലിസ്റ്റ് കവിതയും കവികളും സ്വാധീനം ചെലുത്തുമ്പോള്‍ (നെരുദ, മയ്‌ക്കോവ്‌സ്‌കി തുടങ്ങിയവര്‍) വൈലോള്ളിയില്‍ റഷ്യയിലെ മഹാപ്രതിഭകള്‍ മാര്‍ഗദര്‍ശികളായിത്തീരുന്നു. ടര്‍ജനീവ്, ടോള്‍സ്റ്റോയി, മയക്കോവ്‌സ്‌കി എന്നിവരുടെ കൃതികള്‍ അനവധി ജന്മങ്ങള്‍ ജീവിക്കുന്നതുപോലെയുള്ള വായനാനുഭവം നല്‍കി എന്ന് വൈലോപ്പിള്ളി പറയുന്നു. (എന്റെ കവിത) ഗോര്‍ക്കി, ഷോളക്കോവ്, വയ്‌ക്കോവ്‌സ്‌ക്കി എന്നിവരുടെ രചനകളിലൂടെ) മുഷ്ടിചുരുട്ടി ഉയിര്‍ത്തെഴുന്നേല്‍ക്കുന്ന മനുഷ്യരെ കണ്ടു. റഷ്യ, ചൈന, കൊറിയ തുടങ്ങിയ സോഷ്യലിസ്റ്റ് നാടുകള്‍ ഒ എന്‍ വിക്കു കാവ്യപ്രചോദനം നല്‍കുമ്പോള്‍ സോഷ്യലിസത്തിന് വേണ്ടിയുള്ള പോരാട്ടങ്ങള്‍ വൈലോപ്പിള്ളിയെയും ആകര്‍ഷിക്കുന്നു. 1940 കളിലെ കമ്മ്യൂണിസത്തിന്റെ അതിപ്രസരം നിറഞ്ഞ അന്തരീക്ഷം തന്റെ കവിതകളിലും പുരോഗമനത്തിന്റെ അരുണിമ അണിയിച്ചതായി വൈലോപ്പിള്ളി എഴുതുന്നു (മകരക്കൊയ്ത്തിന്റെ ആമുഖത്തില്‍). സൗന്ദര്യബോധം  പുരോഗമന കവികള്‍ യാഥാര്‍സ്ഥിതികരായ പണ്ഡിതന്മാരില്‍ നിന്നും ഏറ്റുപിടിച്ച വിമര്‍ശനം അവരുടെ കവിതകളില്‍ സൗന്ദര്യമില്ല എന്നതാണ്. എന്നാല്‍ അതിന് മറുപടി നല്‍കിയത് വൈലോപ്പിള്ളിയാണ്. 'മര്‍ത്ത്യസൗന്ദര്യബോധങ്ങള്‍ പെറ്റ മക്കളല്ലീ പുരോഗമനങ്ങള്‍? എന്ന് അദ്ദേഹം അവരുടെ മുഖത്ത് നോക്കി ചോദിച്ചു. അതിന് അദ്ദേഹം വിശദീകരണവും നല്‍കി. ''സൗന്ദര്യബോധമാണ് പുരോഗതിക്ക്-കുതി നല്‍കുന്നത്. സമുദായത്തിലും എവിടെയും അസുന്ദരമായതിനെ കണ്ടറിഞ്ഞ് അതിനെ നീക്കി സുന്ദരമായതിനെ നിര്‍മിക്കാനോ പ്രതിഷ്ഠിക്കാനോ ആണ് പുരോഗാമി ഉത്സാഹിക്കുന്നത്.'' (കുടിയൊഴിപ്പിക്കലിന് നല്‍കുന്ന അടിക്കുറിപ്പ്). അതുകൊണ്ടു സോഷ്യലിസ്റ്റ് വ്യവസ്ഥ സൗന്ദര്യം വിളയുന്ന ഒരു സൗന്ദര്യ വ്യവസ്ഥയായി കുടിയൊഴിക്കലില്‍ വിഭാവന ചെയ്യുന്നു. ആ വ്യവസ്ഥയ്ക്കു വേണ്ടി പോരാടുകയും പാടുകയും ചെയ്യുന്ന പുരോഗമന കവികളെ അദ്ദേഹം വാത്സ്യല്യപൂര്‍വം'പട്ടിണിപ്പാട്ടുകാര്‍' എന്ന് വിളിക്കുന്നു. (വിത്തും കൈക്കോട്ടും എന്ന കവിതാസമാഹാരത്തില്‍). 'മാനവ പ്രശ്‌നങ്ങള്‍ തന്‍ മര്‍മ്മ കോവിതന്‍മാരെ, ഞാനൊരുവെറും സൗന്ദര്യാത്മക കവി മാത്രം' (കവിയും സൗന്ദര്യ ബോധവും) എന്ന് വൈലോപ്പിള്ളി പറഞ്ഞപ്പോള്‍ അദ്ദേഹം പുരോഗമന വിരുദ്ധനായി എന്ന് ചില വിമര്‍ശകര്‍ ആഹ്ലാദിക്കുകയുണ്ടായി. പക്ഷേ, തന്റെ സൗന്ദര്യബോധം കൂരിരുള്‍ ദഹിപ്പിക്കുന്ന ദീപനാളത്തിന്റെ ശോണസുന്ദര മുഖമാണെന്നും തന്റെ സൗന്ദര്യാത്മക കവിതകള്‍ പാടി നൂറ്റാണ്ടുകളായി അജ്ഞതയിലും ദാരിദ്ര്യത്തിലും ആഴ്ന്നു കിടക്കുന്ന ദാസന്മാര്‍ ഒരു വിപ്ലവത്തിലൂടെ 'ശ്രമികോത്തമ ലോകം- തൊഴിലാളി വര്‍ഗ ലോകം നിര്‍മിക്കുമെന്നും ആ കവിതയില്‍ എഴുതിവെച്ചത് വ്യാഖ്യാനിക്കാതെ പോയി.' ഒ എന്‍ വിക്കും സൗന്ദര്യമെന്നത് 'പൊരുതുന്ന സൗന്ദര്യമാണ്. താന്‍ നിസ്വവര്‍ഗ്ഗത്തിന്റെ പട്ടിണിപ്പാട്ടുകാരനാണെന്ന് ഉച്ചൈസ്തരം വിളിച്ചു പറഞ്ഞുകൊണ്ട് കൃഷി ഭൂമി കൃഷി ചെയ്യുന്നവന് സ്വന്തമാകുന്ന ഒരു സുന്ദര വ്യവസ്ഥയെക്കുറിച്ച് പാടി. കവിതയെ ഭൂമിയുടെ ലാവണ്യസാരമായി കാണുന്ന കവിക്ക് സൗന്ദര്യബോധമെന്നത് പാട്ടില്‍ കത്തിനില്‍ക്കുന്ന തീനാളമാണ്. അഭൗമമായ സൗന്ദര്യ ബോധമാണ് വിപ്ലവം. അത് കുരിരുളിനെ ദഹിപ്പിച്ചുകൊണ്ട് അദ്ദേഹത്തിന്റെ വാക്കില്‍ തീയായി നിന്ന് എരിയുന്നു; മറ്റുള്ളവര്‍ക്കായി സ്വയം കത്തിയെരിയുന്നു.' 'ഞാനൊരു സൗന്ദര്യാത്മക കവി മാത്രം' എന്ന് പറയുന്നതിന് പകരം 'ഞാനഗ്നി'യാണെന്ന് പറയുകയാണ് ഒ എന്‍ വി ചെയ്യുന്നത്. പൂക്കളുടെ കാമുകന്‍  പൂക്കളെ എത്ര സ്‌നേഹിച്ചാലും മതിവരാത്തവരാണ് വൈലോപ്പിള്ളിയും ഒ എന്‍ വിയും. ഭാവി തലമുറയാകുന്ന കായ്കനികളെ പ്രസവിക്കുന്ന മാതാക്കളാണ് പൂക്കള്‍. അതുകൊണ്ട് ഇരുവരും പൂക്കളെ മാതൃബിംബങ്ങളായി കാണുന്നു. വൈലോപ്പിള്ളിയെക്കാള്‍ ഒരു തരം ആസക്തി തന്നെ പൂക്കളോട് ഒ എന്‍ വിക്കുണ്ട്. വൈലോപ്പിള്ളി പൂക്കളെക്കുറിച്ച് മാത്രം പാടുന്ന കവി എന്ന വിമര്‍ശനവും അദ്ദേഹം ഏറ്റുപിടിച്ചിട്ടുണ്ട്. പൂക്കളില്‍ മാതൃത്വത്തിന്റെയും സ്ത്രീത്വത്തിന്റെയും സമസ്ത ഭാവങ്ങളും ദര്‍ശിക്കുന്നു. വൈലോപ്പിള്ളി പൂവിനെ കവികളുടെ കൊടിയടയാളമായി കാണുന്നു. ''ഒരുപൂവ്! സാഹിത്യകാരന്മാര്‍ക്ക് ഒരു ചേരിയുണ്ടെങ്കില്‍ പൂവായിരിക്കും അവരുടെ കൊടി. പ്രകൃതിയുടെ പുളകം; പുരാതനമെങ്കിലും എന്നും പുതുമയുള്ളത്, സത്യസൗന്ദര്യങ്ങള്‍ ഒത്തിണങ്ങിയത്; സൗമ്യമെങ്കിലും അനന്തമായ ഫലപരമ്പരയുടെ ശക്തിയുള്ളത്; മറ്റു കൊടികളില്ലാതാകുമ്പോഴും ഇത് നിലനില്‍ക്കും''. ('ഞങ്ങളുടെ കൊടി' എന്ന കവിതയുടെ അടിക്കുറിപ്പ്) ഒ എന്‍ വിക്ക് പൂക്കളോടുള്ള ബന്ധം ഭൂ പുത്രന്‍ എന്ന നിലയിലുള്ള ആങ്ങള്‍ - പെങ്ങള്‍ ബന്ധമാണ്. 'ഭൂമിപെറ്റ പൂങ്കിടാങ്ങള്‍ ഞാ- നെത്രമേല്‍ സ്‌നേഹിച്ചിട്ടും സ്‌നേഹിച്ചു തീരാത്തവര്‍.' മരുമക്കത്തായത്തറവാട്ടില്‍ വംശം നിലനിര്‍ത്തുന്നത് പെങ്ങമാരായതുകൊണ്ട് ആങ്ങളയായ ഒ എന്‍ വി തന്റെ കാവ്യ കുടുംബത്തിലുടനീളം പൂക്കളെ മഹാമാതൃബിംബമായി കൊണ്ടാടുന്നു. ഒ എന്‍ വിക്കും ജീവിതത്തുടര്‍ച്ചയാണ് പൂക്കള്‍. കേരള പ്രകൃതിയിലെ ഓണപ്പൂക്കളും കൊന്നപ്പൂക്കളും ഇരുവര്‍ക്കും ഏറെ പ്രിയമാണ്. ഓണം പ്രാചീനസ്ഥിതി സമത്വ സ്മൃതിയായതിനാല്‍ അത്തരമൊരു ചരിത്രാവസ്ഥയിലേക്ക് സൗന്ദര്യാത്മകമായി പുരോഗമിക്കുന്ന തൊഴിലാളി വര്‍ഗത്തിന്റെ പാഥേയമാണ് തന്റെ കവിതകള്‍ എന്ന് വൈലോപ്പിള്ളി പറയുന്നു. (ഓണപ്പാട്ടുകളെന്‍ പാട്ടുകള്‍) പുരുഷായുസിന്നപ്പുറം ആളിയ ഓണത്തിന്റെ മങ്ങിയൊതുങ്ങിയ ഓര്‍മകള്‍ മനസില്‍ സൂക്ഷിക്കുന്നത് അരവയര്‍ പട്ടിണിപെട്ട പാവപ്പെട്ടവരാണ്. (വൈലോപ്പിള്ളി-ഓണപ്പാട്ടുകള്‍). ഒ എന്‍ വിയും അവരില്‍ ചരിത്ര സ്മൃതിയുടെ ദീപ്തികാണുന്നു. 'ഒരുകാലം മലയാളത്തറവാട്ടില്‍ മാലോക- രൊരുപോലെ, യൊരുമയില്‍ വാണിരുന്നു'. 'ഉണരുമ്പോളാഗാനം, തെളിയുമാ ദീപ്തിയി- ലുണരുന്ന ചിത്രങ്ങള്‍ കാണ്മുഞങ്ങള്‍'. (അരിവാളും രാക്കുയിലും) കേരളത്തിലെ കാര്‍ഷികോത്സവങ്ങളായിരുന്ന തിരുവാതിര, വിഷു, ഓണം എന്നിവയുടെ ഭൂപ്രകൃതിയെയും സംസ്‌കാരത്തെയും കാവ്യബിംബങ്ങളായി സ്വരചനകളില്‍ ഇരുവരും വാരിനിറയ്ക്കുന്നു. ഭൗതിക ദര്‍ശനം  ഭാരതീയ കവികളെ വ്യാമോഹിപ്പിക്കുന്നതാണ് സവര്‍ണ വര്‍ഗനിര്‍മിതികളെന്ന് കൂടി വിശേഷിപ്പിക്കപ്പെട്ടിട്ടുള്ള വേദോപനിഷദ് ദര്‍ശനങ്ങള്‍. മലയാള കവിതയില്‍ അതിന്റെ സ്വാധീനവലയത്തില്‍പ്പെട്ടവര്‍ വളരെച്ചുരുക്കമാണ്. അവരില്‍ പ്രമുഖരാണ് വൈലോപ്പിള്ളിയും ഒ എന്‍ വിയും. എന്നെങ്കിലുമൊരിക്കല്‍ ഭൂമിയില്‍ അന്യന്റെ മൊഴി സംഗീതംപോലെ ആസ്വദിക്കപ്പെടുന്ന 'ഓണവ്യവസ്ഥ' സാക്ഷാത്ക്കരിക്കപ്പെടുമെന്നും മനുഷ്യവര്‍ഗത്തിന്റെ മഹാ പ്രയാണം-സൗന്ദര്യാത്മക പുരോയാനം- അങ്ങോട്ടാണെന്നും നമ്മുടെ ഈ ഓണക്കവികള്‍ വിശ്വസിക്കുന്നു. ഈശ്വരനെ ആരാധിച്ച് ഇഹലോകവാസം വെടിഞ്ഞ് പരമാത്മാവില്‍ ലയിക്കുന്ന മനുഷ്യനില്‍ ഇരുകവികളും വിശ്വസിക്കുന്നില്ല. വൈലോപ്പിള്ളി എഴുതുന്നു. ''അധമവികാരങ്ങളെ സംസ്‌കരിച്ചെടുത്ത് ഇച്ഛാനുരൂപമായ പരിണാമത്തിലൂടെ ഉത്തമ മനുഷ്യത്വത്തിലേക്ക്, അതായത് ദേവത്വത്തിലേക്ക്, യുഗയുഗാന്തരത്തിലെങ്കിലും ഉയരുവാന്‍ സാധാരണ മനുഷ്യനു സാധിക്കുമെന്നാണ് എന്റെ വിശ്വാസം. ഞാന്‍ അടക്കമുള്ള സാധാരണക്കാരനില്‍ അഥവാ 'പച്ച മനുഷ്യനി'ല്‍ ഉത്തമ പ്രവണതകളോടൊപ്പം അന്തര്‍ലീനമായിക്കിടക്കുന്ന പൈശാചികവാസനകളെ മനസിലാക്കാനും ഒരുപക്ഷേ, പൊറുക്കാനും സാധിക്കുമെന്നല്ലാതെ, ഇന്ന് അത്രയധികം വിലപ്പോകുന്ന 'മനുഷ്യത്വം' എന്നൊരദ്ഭുത പദത്തിന്റെ പേരില്‍ ആ അധമവാസനകളെ, നീതീകരിക്കുവാന്‍ എനിക്ക് സാധിക്കുകയില്ല. മനുഷ്യത്വം എന്നതിന് ഞാന്‍ കൊടുക്കുന്ന അര്‍ത്ഥം പൂര്‍ണതയിലേയ്ക്കു വളരാന്‍ വെമ്പുന്ന ദേവത്വം എന്നാണ്. (എന്റെ കവിത-വിത്തും കൈക്കോട്ടും) മനുഷ്യനെ കവിതയുടെ കേന്ദ്രമാക്കി ഉച്ചത്തില്‍ പാടുമ്പോഴും ഒ എന്‍ വിയും മനുഷ്യന്റെ അധമവാസനകളെത്തന്നെയാണ് വിമര്‍ശിക്കുന്നത്. ഭൂമിയുടെ മുലപ്പാലുണ്ടു വളര്‍ന്ന ഭൂമി പുത്രന്‍ തന്നെ മാതൃഹത്യ നടത്തുന്നു. 'പുതിയ കഥയെഴുതുന്നു വസുധയുടെ മക്കളിവര്‍ വസുധയുടെ വസ്ത്രമുരിയുന്നൂ! വിപണികളിലവ വിറ്റു മോന്തുന്നൂ, വിടനഖര- മഴുമുനകള്‍ കേളിതുടരുന്നു'. (ഭൂമിയ്‌ക്കൊരു ചരമഗീതം) മനുഷ്യന്‍ ദേവത്വത്തിലെത്തിയാലും ഓണവ്യവസ്ഥ സാക്ഷാല്‍ക്കരിച്ചാലും അവന്റെ ക്രൂരതയുടെ നഖമുനകള്‍ പിന്നെയും വളര്‍ന്നുകൊണ്ടിരിക്കുന്നു എന്ന ചിന്ത ഇരുകവികളെയും വിഷാദിപ്പിക്കുന്നു. ''ഇനി അതിവിദൂരഭാവിയില്‍ മനുഷ്യന്‍ ദേവനും ജീവിതം തന്നെ സുന്ദര കലയുമായി പരിണമിച്ചാലും ഞാനിപ്പോള്‍ ഇവിടെയിരുന്നുകാണുന്നതുപോലെ, കാക്ക ഓന്തിന്‍ കുഞ്ഞിനെ പിടിച്ചു വൃക്ഷക്കൊമ്പില്‍ തല്ലിത്തുലച്ചുമിഴുങ്ങുന്നതും, ആ വൃക്ഷക്കൊമ്പില്‍ ദംഷ്ട്രകളിറക്കി ഇത്തിള്‍ക്കണ്ണി അതിന്റെ ജീവരസം വലിച്ചുകുടിക്കുന്നതും കണ്ട് അവന്‍, എന്നേക്കാള്‍ എത്രയോ അധികം തീവ്രമായി, ദുഃഖിക്കേണ്ടിവരും. (അത്ര മഹത്തായ സ്‌നേഹവും സഹാനുഭൂതിയുമാണല്ലോ അവന്റെ ദേവത്വത്തിന്റെ രക്തമാംസങ്ങള്‍!) പക്ഷേ, ആ ദുഃഖം അവനു മികച്ച ഒരാഭരണമായിരിക്കും.'' (വൈലോപ്പിള്ളി-എന്റെ കവിതഃ. മാനവികതയുടെ ആ ദുഃഖം തലയില്‍ ചൂടിനിന്നുകൊണ്ടാണ്, വൈലോപ്പിള്ളി തന്റെ കവിതയുടെ മഹാഭാഗ്യമെന്ന് വിശേഷിപ്പിച്ച ഗ്രാമപ്രകൃതിയും ജീവജാലങ്ങളും ഭൂമിയും ചൂഷകരായ ഇത്തിള്‍ക്കണ്ണികള്‍ നശിപ്പിക്കുന്നതു കണ്ട് ഒ എന്‍ വിയും വേദനിക്കുന്നത്. ഭൂമിയ്‌ക്കൊരു ചരമഗീതത്തിന് ശേഷമുള്ള അദ്ദേഹത്തിന്റെ രചനകളിലൊക്കെ സാംസ്‌കാരിക (cultural pessimism) വിഷാദമായും (ecco pessimism) പാരിസ്ഥിതികവിഷാദമായും 'ആ ആഭരണം' കിടന്ന് തിളങ്ങുന്നുണ്ട്. രണ്ടുകൃഷിക്കാരുടെ കൂട്ടായ്മ  ഇത്രമേല്‍ പരസ്പര പൂരകത്വം എങ്ങനെ വന്നു? ഒ എന്‍ വി വൈലോപ്പിള്ളിയെ അനുകരിക്കുന്നതായി അദ്ദേഹത്തിന്റെ എതിര്‍വിമര്‍ശകര്‍ പോലും ആരോപണം ഉന്നയിച്ചിട്ടില്ല. കാര്‍ഷികവൃത്തിയെയും പഞ്ചഭൂതാത്മകമായ പ്രകൃതിയെയും ഭൗതികവാദപരമായി എഴുത്തിന്റെ ഈടുവെയ്പായി സ്വീകരിച്ചിട്ടുള്ള എഴുത്തുകാരിലെല്ലാം ഈയൊരു ഇഴയടുപ്പം കാണാം. കാരണം കൃഷി ഒരു ലോകഭാഷയാണ്. അതിനെ സംബന്ധിച്ച സാംസ്‌കാരിക ചിഹ്നങ്ങളും അതുപോലെതന്നെ. കാവ്യവൃത്തിയും കാര്‍ഷിക വൃത്തിയും സമാനമാണെന്ന രൂപകല്‍പന വൈലോപ്പിള്ളിയിലും ഒ എന്‍ വിയിലും കാണുന്നു. മണ്ണിലെ എഴുത്താണ് കൃഷി. 'മൂരിയെപ്പൂട്ടി, കൊഴുത്തലയാലെഴുതുന്നൂ പാരിലെ സമൃദ്ധിതന്‍ പൊതുഭാഷയിമണ്ണില്‍' (വൈലോപ്പിള്ളി-കയ്പപല്ലരി) ഉര്‍വിയെ പുഷ്പിക്കുന്ന നിര്‍വൃതികരമായ സര്‍ഗവ്യാപാരമാണ്, കലയാണ് കൃഷി. ''പരിഷ്‌കാരത്തിന്റെ എന്തൊക്കെ മേലടുക്കുകള്‍ നമ്മെ പൊതിഞ്ഞാലും കൃഷി നമ്മുടെയെല്ലാം രക്തത്തിലുണ്ട്'' (കയ്പവല്ലരി). അതുകൊണ്ട് കൊഴുമുനകൊണ്ടു നിലമാകുന്ന കടലാസില്‍ കൃഷിഗീത എഴുതുന്ന കൃഷിക്കാരനും തൂലികകൊണ്ടു കടലാസില്‍ കവിത കുറിക്കുന്ന കവിയും സമാനരാണ്. 'കവിയും കര്‍ഷകനുമുഷിയുമൊരാളില്‍ താന്‍ കതിര്‍ച്ചൂടുമാക്കാഴ്ച കണ്ടുഞാനാമോദിക്കേ' (കയ്പവല്ലരി) ഇതില്‍ ആര്‍ക്കാണ് മഹത്വം? വൈലോപ്പിള്ളിക്ക് ഒരു സംശയവുമില്ല. പാരിന്റെ പാദം (Base) പണിയുന്ന കര്‍ഷകത്തൊഴിലാളിയാണ് യഥാര്‍ഥ മഹാകവി. 'പോകപോകെടോ നീ കവിയല്ല- പ്രാകൃതനാണ് സാഹിത്യകാരന്‍.' (കുടിയൊഴിക്കല്‍) കാവ്യലോകം ഒരു കൂട്ടുകൃഷിക്കളമാണ്. ഓരോ കവിയും അവിടെ കൃഷിപ്പണി ചെയ്യുന്നു. ''കര്‍ക്കിടകത്തിന്‍ കണ്ണീര്‍ തേവിയീ ഞാനും മറ്റുള്ള കവികളും കാവ്യപ്പാടത്തു കൃഷിചെയ്‌കെ-ഉളവായിടും ധാന്യവിളവാകവേ, ധാരാമിളനാഭോഗം മഹാനദിയായ് പ്രവഹിക്കെ'' (ലെനിന്‍ എന്ന കവിത) കാര്‍ഷിക സംസ്‌കാരമുള്ള കവികളൊക്കെ ഒരേ ജനുസുകളായി നിലനില്‍ക്കുന്നു. ഒ എന്‍ വിക്കും കാവ്യവൃത്തി കാര്‍ഷിക വൃത്തിയാണ്. സംസ്‌കാരവും ചരിത്രവുമാണ് കവിതയുടെ മണ്ണ്. ''സ്വന്തം നാടിന്റെ ചരിത്രം, സാംസ്‌കാരിക പൈതൃകം തുടങ്ങിയുള്ള നിരവധി ഘടകങ്ങള്‍ ചേര്‍ന്നതാണ് കവിതയുടെ മണ്ണ്. ജീവിതത്തോട് എന്റെ പൂര്‍വികര്‍ എങ്ങനെ പ്രതികരിച്ചു എന്നതിനെപ്പറ്റിയുള്ള അവബോധം എന്റെ കവിതയുടെ വേരോടുന്ന മണ്ണാണ്-ഈ മണ്ണില്‍ ഉറച്ചുനിന്ന് പ്രവര്‍ത്തിക്കുമ്പോഴുണ്ടാകുന്ന അനുഭവങ്ങള്‍ ഉള്ളില്‍ക്കിടന്നു നീറുമ്പോള്‍ ഒരു ചെറിയ ചെടി അതിന്റെ പ്രതികരണം ഉയര്‍ത്തിപ്പിടിക്കുന്നതുപോലെ ഒരു പൂവുവരും. (കവിതയും വിപ്ലവകവിതയും). കവിതയില്‍ ഭാവങ്ങള്‍ നിറയുന്നത് പച്ചനെല്ലിന്‍ തയ്യില്‍ പാല്‍ക്കതിര്‍ പൊന്തുന്നതുപോലെയാണെന്ന് ഒ എന്‍ വി പറയുന്നു. 'പച്ചനെല്ലിന്‍ തയ്യില്‍ നിന്നുപാല്‍ക്കതിര്‍പോലെ, കവി ചിത്തത്തില്‍ നിന്നവ്യക്ത മധുരമൊരാശയം കതിര്‍നൂലുകള്‍ നൂത്തു നില്‍ക്കവേ-' (കവിതയും സംഗീതവും) മലയാള കവിതയുടെ ഈരടി സമ്പ്രദായത്തെയും നെണ്മണി വിത്തുമുളപ്പൊട്ടുന്നതിനോടാണ് സാദൃശ്യപ്പെടുത്തുന്നത്. 'മണ്ണില്‍ വീണു കുരുത്ത നെന്മണി വിത്തുമുളപൊട്ടി മിന്നുമീരില വീണിടും പേലെത്രയീരടികള്‍ മണ്ണില്‍ വേര്‍പ്പു വിതച്ചവര്‍ തന്നീണമായ് വന്നൂ അന്ന് പാടിയ പാട്ടിലൂഞ്ഞാലാടി മലയാളം' (മലയാളം) കവിതയെ മാത്രമല്ല അക്ഷരങ്ങളെത്തന്നെ പ്രകൃതിയില്‍ ദര്‍ശിക്കുന്നു 'അക്ഷര'മെന്ന കവിതയില്‍. കവിതയെന്ന കാര്‍ഷിക കൂട്ടായ്മ വൈലോപ്പിള്ളിയെയും ഒ എന്‍ വിയെയും പരസ്പരം ഇഴച്ചേര്‍ക്കുന്ന സാംസ്‌കാരിക തന്തുക്കളാകുന്നു. അതുകൊണ്ടാണ് വൈലോപ്പിള്ളിക്ക് ലഭിക്കേണ്ട ജ്ഞാനപീഠ പുരസ്‌കാരം തല്‍സ്ഥാനത്ത് നിന്ന് ഒ എന്‍ വി സ്വീകരിക്കുന്നു എന്ന് നിരീക്ഷിച്ചത്.

The Heartland Rocker, Aging Brashly

At Radio City Music Hall on Friday night John Mellencamp joshed about what it would be like to meet his younger self: a brash kid who’d condescendingly say, “Hey, Classic Hits, what’s happening?” He went on proudly to assert his age, 59, as a lead-in to what he announced as a “song for my generation.” It was “Don’t Need This Body,” a blunt, death-haunted stomp that began, “This getting older, it ain’t for cowards.”

It was one linchpin of a concert that seesawed between facing mortality — full of songs about death — and a stubborn determination to live fully. Performing for more than two hours Mr. Mellencamp was as feisty about a bold middle age, in “The Real Life,” as he once was about wanting to “hold on to 16 as long as you can” in his biggest hit, “Jack & Diane,” from 1982. He doesn’t care about the past, he insisted, but wisely he hasn’t discarded it either.

Mr. Mellencamp’s “classic hits” made him a multimillion-selling rocker in the 1980s. He built the persona of a populist bad boy: a small-town guy bucking authority and speaking up for also-rans. But Mr. Mellencamp wouldn’t act like a bad boy forever. He grew up fast.

By the late 1980s he was singing, in his gutsy, earnest rasp, about adult disillusionment and economic woes, particularly for family farmers. He would go on to write about politics, racism, hard luck, faith and dying. Mr. Mellencamp also rusticated and backdated his music, adding folky instruments to his band and modeling his newer songs on Woody Guthrie, Johnny Cash and the blues.

He made his 2010 album, “No Better Than This” (Rounder), in mono, using a tape recorder and one vintage microphone, in places including the San Antonio hotel room where Robert Johnson recorded and Sun Studios in Memphis. (“It’s About You,” a documentary shown to Radio City’s early arrivals, was a grainy hagiography filmed on Mr. Mellencamp’s tour and at recording sessions, using another vintage technology: Super 8.)

At Radio City Mr. Mellencamp changed his backup from song to song, juggling small groups and the full band. Sometimes he was alone with an acoustic guitar, strumming through “Small Town” with the audience shouting along, or he was joined by Miriam Sturm on violin and Troye Kinnett on accordion. Mike Wanchic, Mr. Mellencamp’s rhythm guitarist for 35 years, doubled on mandolin.

Certain older songs were recast as rockabilly, with a swing beat from Dane Clark on a stand-up drum kit, John Gunnell slapping a bass, and twangy lead guitar from Andrew York. “Jack & Diane” got a countrified beat, and Mr. Mellencamp sang “Cherry Bomb” a cappella. Meanwhile some of the bare-bones songs from “No Better Than This” got fleshed out, like “The West End,” a chronicle of urban decay that became a dark drone, and “No One Cares About Me,” a litany of bitter isolation and stubborn optimism that took on a jaunty bounce.

As the concert ended, Mr. Mellencamp stopped jovially dodging his past. His band’s Hoosier power chords were back for “Pink Houses” and “R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A.,” played in their old hit style. Still a populist, Mr. Mellencamp gave people what they wanted once he had his say.