Omchery

N. Narayan Pillai is a Malayalam poet and playwright born in 1924; Omchery was his pen name. He was best known for one-act drama. He studied in Kerala, and later in the USA. Omchery was a professor of communication. He serves as principal of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan`s College of Communication and Management, Delhi. His over eighty one-act plays proved very successful in Malayalam theatre with their pithy dialogue, sharp wit, and frequent irony. As sarcastic commentary on snobbery and city life his comedies are popular, suggestive, and hard-hitting. In Daivam vintum tettiddharikkunnu or `God Gets It Wrong Again` in 1961, Omchery satirizes the social desire for male children. Omchery makes his farcical scenes and practical jokes contemporary, and experiments boldly with form and technique. In Tevanite ana or Temple Elephant in 1978, the diseased and neglected central creature symbolizes helpless modern man.