K. Raghavan Pillai (1920–1987) was a writer and scholar of

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

, India.

Early life

He, a well known novelist, was born in November 1920 in Puliyur, near

Chengannur Chengannur () is a Municipalities of Kerala, municipalityhttps://lsgkerala.gov.in/system/files/2017-10/localbodies.pdf in the Alappuzha district of Kerala, India. It is located south east of the district headquarters in Alappuzha and about ...

Kottayam Kottayam () is a city in the Kottayam district of Kerala, India. It is the district headquarters of the district and is located about north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. As per the 2011 Indian census, Kottayam has a population of ...

district. His parents were N. Sankara and Lakshmy Pillai. After earning a master's degree in

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

, he obtained a PhD from London and worked there from 1948 to 1951 as research assistant. Upon returning to Kerala, Pillai worked as a lecturer in Sanskrit at

University College In a number of countries, a university college is a college institution that provides tertiary education but does not have full or independent university status. A university college is often part of a larger university. The precise usage varies f ...

Trivandrum Thiruvananthapuram ( ), also known as Trivandrum, is the capital city of the Indian state of Kerala. As of 2011, the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation had a population of 957,730 over an area of 214.86 sq. km, making it the largest and ...

between 1951 and 1955, and then as professor at the Academy of Asian Studies San Francisco from 1956 to 1958. From 1958 he was curator and head of the Manuscripts Library, Trivandrum, until 1966, when he became director of the Oriental Research Institute and Manuscripts Library there. He left that post in 1982. In 1955 Pillai visited China as a member of a delegation of educational experts, and he was a member of many academic bodies and committees. He died on 25 April 1987.Sahithyakara Directory; Kerala Sahithya Academy, Thrissur

Major works

*''Studies in the Vākyapadīya'' *''Ezhuhachan'' *''Malyalappiravi'' *''Ente London Jeevitham'' *''Krithi Oru krishibhoomi'' *''Sartrinte Asthithwa Darsanam'' *''Ardhathinte Athirthikal''

References

Malayali people Writers from Kottayam Malayalam-language writers 1987 deaths 1920 births 20th-century Indian novelists {{India-writer-stub