Edappally Raghavan Pillai

Edappally Raghavan Pillai (30 May 1909 – 4 July 1936) was an Indian poet of Malayalam literature and a close associate of Changampuzha Krishna Pillai. The pair, the front-runners of romanticism in Malayalam, was considered by many as the Shelley and Keats combination of Malayalam poetry. Kesari Balakrishna Pillai compared Pillai to the Italian poet, Giacomo Leopardi. Raghavan Pillai was a close friend of Changampuzha Krishna Pillai and the friends were referred to as Edapally poets or as the twins of Edapally. Both the poets were exponents of romantic poetry which earned them the moniker, Shelley and Keats combination of Malayalam poetry. It is believed that the pastoral play, Ramanan, by Changampuzha is an elegy based on the life and death of his friend Raghavan Pillai. Kesari Balakrishna Pillai likened Pillai to the Italian poet, Giacomo Leopardi. Pillai's body of work comprises Sudha, Chillikkashu, Thushara Haaram (1935), Nava Saurabham (1936), Hridhaya Smitham (1936) and Maninaadham (1944), the last one considered by many as his best work. Ramanan has since been adapted as a feature film, into a Kadhaprasangam by Kedamangalam Sadanandan and into a music album. A memorial has been built for the poet by the public at Mulamkadakam in Kollam, the place where Pillai committed suicide.