K. V. Simon

K. V. Simon Biography

K. V. Simon was a noted Mahakavi (great poet) of Malayalam who received this designation after authoring Vedaviharam, a work on Christianity. He was a propagator of Brethren movement in India and was a polyglot and musician. He was also known as a teacher and social reformer too. He has authored around 30 books and 300 Christian devotional songs. He was a prominent leader of Brethren movement in Kerala and groomed several dedicated disciples who spread his messages and principles successfully among Indian masses.   

He was born in 1883 in Idayaranmula. His father Varghese was a Hindu pandit. His mother Kandamma was a great lover of poems. Simon was a child prodigy who learnt Malayalam alphabets at the age of 4 and started writing poems at the age of 8. His elder brother Cheriyan was his first guru who nourished the writing talents of his younger brother. He edited his works and corrected mistakes too. He completed his school studies at the age of 13 and started his career as a teacher. His elder brother was a language scholar who helped Simon a lot. Apart from it through his hard works too, Simon learnt more about Malayalam language and a few more Indian and foreign languages as well. He got married in 1900 to Rahelamma and the couple had one daughter.

Sathyaprakasini was one of his earliest religious books written in response to the religious criticism done by Krishnan Namboodiri of Travancore. He gave references from Hindu scripts itself as proofs to his statements. He was also trained in classical music. He wrote his Mahakavya in Kilipaattu styel which earned him the title Mahakavi.

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Updated: June 16, 2014