V. R. Gopala Pillai

V. R. Gopala Pillai Biography

Villayil Raman Gopala Pillai, shortly called V. R. Gopala Pillai was a Singaporean writer of Kerala origin. His published novels include - "Kaithapookal", "Maruppachakal","Vruthabhangam", "Chirakudal Chalanangal","Thapasu", "Agniparvatham”, "Vazhiyariyathe" and "Aavarthanam”. Noted Singaporean poet Chandran Nair is his son. He wrote using his pen name, G.P. Njekkad. Njekkad is his native village. He was known for writing the stories of Malayalis settled in foreign countries.

Gopala Pillai was born in Njekkad village of Thiruvananthapuram District, Kerala in 1915. But he migrated to Singapore in 1947. He settled with his family there. He was married to Bhargavi Pillai and the couple had 5 children. He worked as a manager in an advertising firm in Singapore. He was single child to his parents. Though he formally studied till the age of 12, he was a self-taught person who was an avid reader. He read numerous Bengali novels translated into Malayalam.

During his teens he wrote several short stories, but faced rejection. His first story was published in 1932. Since then he wrote short stories till 1962 and later moved to novels. "Kaithapookal" – was his first novel set up in the backdrop of Kerala. "Maruppachakal","Vruthabhangam", "Chirakudal Chalanangal","Thapasu" etc were his works later. Though he was settled in Singapore his novels related to Malayali life and culture appealed Keralities. He was a popular Malayalam novelist during his period.

He published 9 novels in total and most of them told the stories of Malayali immigrants that can be easily related to many people. "Chirakudal Chalanangal" – was his last published novel. His characters were mainly from Kerala, who settled in Singapore, Malaysia etc. His works strongly echoed feminism. He died of a heart attack in 1981 aged 66.

Published: N/A

Updated: March 12, 2016