P. Sundaram Pillai

Profile: P. Sundaram Pillai

- July 9, 2021


By Shalini Srinivasan, Sanjana Kapur & Gankhu Sumnyan

Illustration: Sundara Moorthy

P. Sundaram Pillai was born on the 4th of April, 1855, in Alappuzha, in Kerala, to Perumal Pillai and Madathy Ammal. He was educated in the Tamil literary tradition, reading widely and deeply in classics like the Tirukural. He went to Trivandrum, where he studied in the Maharaja’s College. In 1877, a year after he finished his BA, he was married to Shivagami Ammal. He taught, first at the Thirunelveli English-Tamil School, and later as Professor of Philosophy at his old college. Pillai continued to study and got an MA degree. He also worked for the Travancore Education Service. Sundaram Pillai’s learning was vast – he was familiar with philosophy and literature in Tamil, English, and Sanskrit.

He noticed that though the Tamil language had a rich and ancient literature, there were no plays, not in the Western sense. He set out therefore, to write a great drama in blank verse. The play was called Manonmaniyam and became immensely popular, shortly after it was published in 1891. Though the play is too long to be performed in full, it has been adapted and enacted, and is popular even today. The play also features an invocation to the Tama language, Niraaarum Kadal Udutha, that has been adopted by the Government of Tamil Nadu as the state song.

To receive more such stories in your Inbox & WhatsApp, Please share your Email and Mobile number.

To receive more such stories in your Inbox & WhatsApp, Please share your Email and Mobile number.

Comic of The Month

The Sons of Rama

The story of Rama and Sita was first set down by the sage Valmiki in his epic poem 'Ramayana.' Rama was the eldest son of Dasharatha, the king of Ayodhya, who had three wives - Kaushalya, Kaikeyi and Sumitra. Rama was the son of Kaushalya, Bharata of Kaikeyi and Laxmana and Shatrughna of Sumitra. The four princes grew up to be brave and valiant. Rama won the hand of Sita, the daughter of King Janaka. Dasharatha wanted to crown Rama as the king but Kaikeyi objected. Using boons granted to her by Dasharatha earlier, she had Rama banished to the forest. Sita and Laxmana decided to follow Rama. While in the forest, a Rakshasi, Shoorpanakha, accosted Laxmana but had her nose cut off by him. In revenge, her brother Ravana, king of Lanka, carried Sita away. Rama and Laxmana set out to look for her and with the help of an army of monkeys, defeated Ravana. On returning Ayodhya after fourteen years of exile, Rama banished Sita because of the suspicions of his subjects. In the ashrama of sage Valmiki, she gave birth to her twin sons, Luv and Kush.

20 Minute Read