Prof. Kadammanitta Vasudevan Pillai, is a Padayani exponent from

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 India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. He is the former Vice Chairman of the Kerala Folklore Academy, a professor in mathematics, a writer and public speaker.

Early and professional life

Vasudevan Pillai was born to M. R. Ramakrishna Pillai (late) and Parukutty Amma (late), at a small village called Kadammanitta in

Pathanamthitta district Pathanamthitta District (), is one of the List of districts of Kerala, 14 districts in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kerala. The district headquarters is in the town of Pathanamthitta. There are four municipalitie ...

on 24 May 1947. His only sister is Omana Kumariamma. From childhood itself, he was interested in Padayani and

Kerala folklore Kerala ( , ) is a 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 regions of Cochin, Malabar, South Can ...

. He completed his pre-school and graduated from Catholicate College in

Pathanamthitta Pathanamthitta (), is a municipality, city in southern Kerala, India, spread over an area of . It is the administrative capital of Pathanamthitta district. The town has a population of 37,538 (as of 2011 census). The Hindu pilgrim centre Sab ...

. He did his MSc in

Mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...

from Ravi Shankar University in Raipur state of

Chhattisgarh Chhattisgarh (; ) is a landlocked States and union territories of India, state in Central India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, ninth largest state by area, and with a population of roughly 30 million, the List ...

(then

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (; ; ) is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and the largest city is Indore, Indore. Other major cities includes Gwalior, Jabalpur, and Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, Sagar. Madhya Pradesh is the List of states and union te ...

) and was the first rank holder. He completed his Post Graduation with Gold medal. He later came back to

and joined as lecturer in Mathematics in various colleges of NSS Management in

. He worked in NSS College,

Pandalam Pandalam is a municipality in Pathanamthitta district Kerala, India. Pandalam is known for its connection with Ayyappan and Sabarimala. It recognised ''as the cultural capital of Travancore'', Pandalam hosts educational institutions rang ...

for most of the time, till his retirement as Head of Department in 2002. He has served as the vice chairman of The Kerala Folklore Academy from 1997 to 2001.

As Padayani exponent and writer

Vasudevan Pillai has contributed greatly to the field of Kerala folklore. He has written books on Padayani and other traditional art forms. * Padayaniyile pala kolangal * Padayani * Padayaniyude jeevathalam * Padayani : Janakeya anushtaana nadakam ( Mahatma Gandhi University textbook) * Padayani : Oru ithihasa nadakam * Padayani : The traditional epi theater (English, but not a translation) * Vamsheeya sangeetha shastram * Ethino musicology (English, but not a translation) * Apasaraka bimbangalude aasura gethiroopangal (study on Kadammanitta poetry) * Kadinjoo pottan (drama based on Kadammanitta poetry)

Awards

He is the recipient of State Awards for his literary and cultural contributions. * Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award (1995) *

Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Scholarly Literature The Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Scholarly Literature is an award given every year by the Kerala Sahitya Akademi (Kerala Literary Academy) to Malayalam writers for writing scholarly literature (science literature) of literary merit. It is one ...

(1996)

His Guru

The guru to Kadammanitta Vasudevan Pillai is Kadammanitta Raman Nair, the father of famous poet Kadammanitta Ramakrishnan.

Other contributions

His bond with villages can be seen clearly in his works. His association with the great poet of

Kadammanitta Ramakrishnan led to many valuable literary contributions. The youth of Kadammanitta, under the leadership of Vasudevan Pillai, had formed ''Kadammanitta Gothra Kala Kalari'' through which this art form has been taught to many and is being passed over to generations.

Personal life

He currently lives in Kadammanitta. He is married to D. Omana Kumari and is father of three - Kadammanitta Manu (Mrudangam Artist), Kadammanitta Anu (Singer) and Lakshmi (Violin Artist). His company with Kadammanitta Ramakrishnan had led to the rise of many literary contributions.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pillai, Kadammanitta Writers from Kerala People from Pandalam Living people Scientists from Kerala 20th-century Indian mathematicians Malayalam-language writers Year of birth missing (living people) Recipients of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award Recipients of the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award