Villayil Raman Gopala Pillai (1915-1981) was a Singaporeannovelist writing in Malayalam under the pen name G.P. Njekkad, after his natal village in Kerala.
Married to Bhargavi Pillai, he migrated to Singapore from Kerala, India in 1947. He had five children including Singaporean poet Chandran Nair.
Pillai worked as a manager-cum-accountant for Cathay Advertising in Singapore. An only child, Pillai had a fairly good education despite family objections based on astrological beliefs. He was formally schooled up to the age of 12. Pillai was a self-taught man, reading feverishly all kinds of books (especially Bengali novels translated into Malayalam) from a young age. "An author or a novelist must be well-read before he attempts to write himself", he told "Asiaweek" in an interview in 1981.
Careeredit
As a teenager, Pillai had several short stories rejected but he persevered, writing lighter satires. His first published story in 1932 criticised the caste system. He wrote articles and short fiction until 1962, when his first novel was published. Entitled "Kaithapookal" (Tainted Flowers), it was set entirely in Kerala. This was followed by "Maruppachakal" (Barrier of Sand), "Vruthabhangam" (Unbalanced Life), "Thapasu" (Meditation), "Agniparvatham (Volcano),"Vazhiyariyathe" (Journey without Signs) and "Aavarthanam" (Repetition) which was a best-seller.[citation needed] Many of these novels dealt with human relationships interwoven with the social fabric and were set in Singapore. His last novel, "Chirakudal Chalanangal" (Wings and Movements), was serialised by Kerala's then leading weekly, "Mathrubhoomi" (Motherland).
Pillai is remembered in Kerala as a popular novelist. His nine novels, though mostly set in Singapore and Malaysia, appealed to Malayali readers because of their immigrant "rags-to-riches" leitmotif. His characters were mainly from Kerala but he often incorporated other communities, like the Chinese. Readers in relatively poor Kerala was exposed to a world very different from what they were accustomed to. That was the attraction of Pillai's novels.
Another leitmotif of Pillai's works was the evident feminism running throughout his works. "I am a woman's man; 75% to 90% of my characters are female",[citation needed] he told "Asiaweek"'s Jagjit Kaur Nagpal. Perhaps as a legacy of Kerala's historical matrilineal system under which Malayali women enjoyed high social status, or perhaps because of Pillai's experiences as a field assistant in a Keralan tea estate where tea-pickers were mostly women who toiled under appalling conditions, Pillai displayed a sympathetic attitude in many of his works towards the plight of women. "The female character is always growing in my mind", he said, "her actions and everything about her"..."It is something (his feminism) very natural to me; it is a habit. For instance, if there are two persons in a race --a man and a woman-- my attention will automatically go to the woman!"[citation needed] He attempted to write against women once but in the end relented: His intention was to portray an unpleasant, grumbling female but his dedication finally read "to one who keeps honey in the heart and chili on the tongue".
Pillai died shortly after the interview with "Asiaweek" of a second heart attack at the age of 66. He was remembered and regretted by the local Keralan community in Singapore who lost their prominent Malayalam writer; one who managed to gain both critical appreciation and commercial success in India's highly competitive literary circles.
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This article has multiple issues Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page Learn how and when to remove these template messages This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources V R Gopala Pillai news newspapers books scholar JSTOR April 2012 Learn how and when to remove this message The topic of this article may not meet Wikipedia s general notability guideline Please help to demonstrate the notability of the topic by citing reliable secondary sources that are independent of the topic and provide significant coverage of it beyond a mere trivial mention If notability cannot be shown the article is likely to be merged redirected or deleted Find sources V R Gopala Pillai news newspapers books scholar JSTOR April 2012 Learn how and when to remove this message This article includes a list of references related reading or external links but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations Please help improve this article by introducing more precise citations April 2012 Learn how and when to remove this message Learn how and when to remove this message Villayil Raman Gopala Pillai 1915 1981 was a Singaporean novelist writing in Malayalam under the pen name G P Njekkad after his natal village in Kerala Villayil Raman Gopala Pillai Contents 1 Background 2 Career 3 Works 3 1 Novels 4 References 5 See alsoBackground editMarried to Bhargavi Pillai he migrated to Singapore from Kerala India in 1947 He had five children including Singaporean poet Chandran Nair Pillai worked as a manager cum accountant for Cathay Advertising in Singapore An only child Pillai had a fairly good education despite family objections based on astrological beliefs He was formally schooled up to the age of 12 Pillai was a self taught man reading feverishly all kinds of books especially Bengali novels translated into Malayalam from a young age An author or a novelist must be well read before he attempts to write himself he told Asiaweek in an interview in 1981 Career editAs a teenager Pillai had several short stories rejected but he persevered writing lighter satires His first published story in 1932 criticised the caste system He wrote articles and short fiction until 1962 when his first novel was published Entitled Kaithapookal Tainted Flowers it was set entirely in Kerala This was followed by Maruppachakal Barrier of Sand Vruthabhangam Unbalanced Life Thapasu Meditation Agniparvatham Volcano Vazhiyariyathe Journey without Signs and Aavarthanam Repetition which was a best seller citation needed Many of these novels dealt with human relationships interwoven with the social fabric and were set in Singapore His last novel Chirakudal Chalanangal Wings and Movements was serialised by Kerala s then leading weekly Mathrubhoomi Motherland Pillai is remembered in Kerala as a popular novelist His nine novels though mostly set in Singapore and Malaysia appealed to Malayali readers because of their immigrant rags to riches leitmotif His characters were mainly from Kerala but he often incorporated other communities like the Chinese Readers in relatively poor Kerala was exposed to a world very different from what they were accustomed to That was the attraction of Pillai s novels Another leitmotif of Pillai s works was the evident feminism running throughout his works I am a woman s man 75 to 90 of my characters are female citation needed he told Asiaweek s Jagjit Kaur Nagpal Perhaps as a legacy of Kerala s historical matrilineal system under which Malayali women enjoyed high social status or perhaps because of Pillai s experiences as a field assistant in a Keralan tea estate where tea pickers were mostly women who toiled under appalling conditions Pillai displayed a sympathetic attitude in many of his works towards the plight of women The female character is always growing in my mind he said her actions and everything about her It is something his feminism very natural to me it is a habit For instance if there are two persons in a race a man and a woman my attention will automatically go to the woman citation needed He attempted to write against women once but in the end relented His intention was to portray an unpleasant grumbling female but his dedication finally read to one who keeps honey in the heart and chili on the tongue Pillai died shortly after the interview with Asiaweek of a second heart attack at the age of 66 He was remembered and regretted by the local Keralan community in Singapore who lost their prominent Malayalam writer one who managed to gain both critical appreciation and commercial success in India s highly competitive literary circles Works editNovels edit Kaithapookal Tainted Flowers Writers Cooperative Kerala 1962 Maruppachakal Barrier of Sand Writers Cooperative Kerala Vruthabhangam Unbalanced Life Writers Cooperative Kerala Thapasu Meditation Writers Cooperative Kerala Agniparvatham Volcano Writers Cooperative Kerala Vazhiyariyathe Journey without Signs Writers Cooperative Kerala Aavarthanam Repetition Writers Cooperative Kerala Chirakudal Chalanangal Wings and Movements Writers Cooperative Kerala References editLiving and Dying Offshore by Jagjit Kaur Nagpal Asiaweek Magazine 6 March 1981 The Individual in Society by Assif Shameen Asiaweek Magazine 22 May 1980See also editList of Nairs Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title V R Gopala Pillai amp oldid 1104999260, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
