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Cannankara Velayudhan Raman Pillai (19 May 1858 – 21 March 1922), also known as C. V., was one of the major Indian novelists and playwrights and a pioneering playwright and novelist of Malayalam literature. He was known for his historical novels such as Marthandavarma, Dharmaraja and Ramaraja Bahadur; the last mentioned considered by many as one of the greatest novels written in Malayalam.

Kerala Scott C. V. Raman Pillai
Born	Cannankara Velayudhan Raman Pillai (1858-05-19)19 May 1858 Arayoor, Travancore
Died	21 March 1922(1922-03-21) (aged 63) Trivandrum, Travancore
Occupation	Novelist, playwright, journalist, social activist, sheristadar
Nationality	Indian
Alma mater	His Highness Maharaja's College, Travancore University of Madras
Period	1880s −1920s
Genre	Fiction, theatre
Subject	Literary, socio-cultural
Notable works	Marthandavarma Dharmaraja Ramarajabahadur Premamrit ham
Spouse	Bhageerathi Amma ​ ​ (m. 1887; died 1904)​ Janaki Amma ​ (m. 1905⁠–⁠1922)​
Parents	Panavilakath Neelakanta Pillai (father) Parvathy Pillai (mother)
Relatives	E. V. Krishna Pillai (son-in-law) Adoor Bhasi (grandson)

Biography

Born in Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum), capital city of the erstwhile native State of Travancore, on 19 May 1858 to Panavilakath Neelakanta Pillai, a Sanskrit scholar and Parvathy Pillai, a scion of an ancient matrilineal family; both his parents were from middle-class families and employees at the Palace of the Maharaja of Travancore.[1] Pillai got his family name, Cannankara, through matrilineal succession. Fondly called Ramu, he had a traditional Sanskritized education, early in life, under his father's tutelage which included lessons in Ayurveda and even magic and Tantra. He continued education at the first English school in Thiruvananthapuram. Subsequently, he graduated from His Highness Maharaja's College (the present-day University College Thiruvananthapuram), the first-ever College in Travancore,[2] where he reportedly had a brilliant academic career under John Ross, the principal of the institution and Robert Harvey. and obtained his BA degree from the Madras University in 1881, securing the 7th rank in the Madras Presidency. It was during this period, he started his first periodical named The Kerala Patriot.[3]

After graduation, Pillai studied law but dropped out and went to Madras to study for the government pleader examination which was also abandoned in due course.[1] Later, he joined the High Court as a clerk and where he rose to the position of a shirasthadar. Later, joined the Government Press and held the position of a superintendent when he retired from service.[1] In between, he founded three publications, Malayali in 1886, Vanchiraj in 1901 and Mitabhashi in 1920.[3]

Pillai's first marriage did not last long. He married again in 1887 at the age of 30, and his wife, Bhageerathi Amma, was only 16 at the time of the wedding. The marriage lasted till his wife's untimely death in 1904 and his third marriage was to Janaki Amma, the elder sister of Bhageerathi Amma and the widow of C. Raja Raja Varma, the younger brother of Raja Ravi Varma. He died on 21 March 1922, at the age of 63, survived by Janaki Amma.[1]

Writing career

Raman Pillai is compared by many with Bankim Chandra Chatterjee in Bengali and Hari Narayan Apte in Marathi, two other greats of India literature.[3] His first published book was Chandramukhivilasam, a satire.[3] He wrote his first novel, Marthandavarma, in 1885 but it was published in 1891.[4] This followed sch historical novels as Dharmaraja and Ramarajabahadur, the social novel, Premamritam[5] as well as several farces. Modern Malayalam drama traces its origins to his works. He is credited with the first original play in Malayalam, Chandramukheevilasam, written in 1884 and was staged for four days successively in 1887 at His Highness Maharaja's College, Trivandrum.[1]

Exegetic dictionary

C. V. Vyaakhyaana Kosham[6] is a 400-plus page lexicographic work in four volumes, based on Pillai's books. The work includes the explanations, elucidations and interpretations of over 700,000 Malayalam, Sanskrit, Tamil, Hindustani and English words used by him in his writings.[7][8]

Works

Honours

The India Post issued a commemorative postage stamp on Pillai on 19 May 2010.[15][16] A road in Vazhuthacaud, Thiruvananthapuram has been neamed after him as C. V. Raman Pillai Road.[17] Chenkal, a panchayat in Thiruvananthapuram which includes his native village of Arayoor, was renamed as C.V.R. Puram in 1970.[18][19]

Writings on Raman Pillai

• S. Guptan Nair (1992). C.V. Raman Pillai. Sahitya Akademi. ISBN 978-81-7201-273-1.
• P.K. Parameswaran Nair, C. S. Venkiteswaran (2004). "C. V. Raman Pillai". Indian Literature. 48 (1): 125–136. JSTOR 23341432.
• Meena T. Pillai (July 2012). "Modernity and the Fetishizing of Female Chastity: C.V. Raman Pillai and the Anxieties of the Early Malayalam Novel". South Asian Review. 33: 53–75. doi:10.1080/02759527.2012.11932863. S2CID 191905321.
• Kurup, C. Sreekanta (July 2003). Ākhyānasankētaṅṅaḷ: Si.Vi.yuṭe Caritranōvalukaḷil ആഖ്യാനസങ്കേതങ്ങൾ: സി.വി.യുടെ ചരിത്രനോവലുകളിൽ [Narrative techniques in the historical novels of C V Raman Pillai] (Ph.D.) (in Malayalam). Shodhganga: University of Kerala. hdl:10603/147674.
• Vēṇugōpan Nāir, S. V.; C.V. Raman Pillai National Foundation (1995). Vātsalyarasaṃ C. V. Yude Akhyāyikakaḷil. C.V. Raman Pillai National Foundation ; Distributors, Kar̲an̲t Buks. OCLC 36315647.
• K. Ayyappa Paniker, History of Malayalam Literature (C. V. Raman Pillai - Chapter 34)[20]
• N. Balakrishnan Nair, Saakshaal C. V.

See also

• Kappazhom Raman Pillai
• Thunchath Ezhuthachan Malayalam University

See Also (Social reformers of Kerala)

• Sree Narayana Guru
• Dr. Palpu
• Kumaranasan
• Rao Sahib Dr. Ayyathan Gopalan
• Brahmananda Swami Sivayogi
• Vaghbhatananda
• Mithavaadi Krishnan
• Moorkoth Kumaran
• Ayyankali
• Ayya Vaikundar
• Pandit Karuppan

References

External links

• "Malayalam novelist and dramatist C.V. Raman Pillai". sruti.com. 29 January 2019. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
• സി വി രാമൻ പിള്ള - വാക്കിന്റെ രാജശില്പി [C. V. Raman Pillai, The Master Sculptor of Words] (Video) (in Malayalam). Thiruvananthapuram: Information and Public Relations Department, Government of Kerala. 21 July 2018. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021.

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