Kesari Balakrishna Pillai

Kesari Balakrishna Pillai (1889–1960) was a Malayalam writer, art and literary critic, journalist, thinker and visionary.

Kesari Balakrishna Pillai was known by the name of the newspaper he ran, Kesari. He was also a literary critic, essayist and translated literary works form French and other languages into Malayalam. Kesari is the most influential figure in modern Kerala's intellectual life.M. N. Vijayan has compiled many of Kesari's works with the title Kesariyude Lokangal. He was a mentor to many writers. The Trivandrum Kesari Memorial Hall is named after him. When the rulers of Travancore banned his newspaper, he left Trivandrum and the rest of his life was spent at Paravoor.

Kesari was born in 1889 to Akathoot Damodaran Kartha and Parvathy Amma. Pillai belonged to the Pulickal Mele Veedu family of Thampanoor, Trivandrum.

His father was a scholar of some repute. Later his father divorced his mother. Pillai had his primary education in Trivandrum and Quilon. He took his B.A in history from Maharaja's College, Trivandrum with distinction. He taught in Women's College, Trivandrum and Trivandrum Maharaja's College for some time. Kesari took his law degree while working. As he was not very successful as a lawyer, he took up a career in journalism. He died on 18 December 1960.

Pillai contributed to Malayalam literary criticism through his innovative, interdisciplinary approach, and his writings on art, particularly painting, are regarded as masterpieces. He was a source of inspiration for writers such as Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai, S. K. Pottekkatt, Vaikom Muhammed Bashir, Kesava Dev and others. Balakrishna Pillai wrote extensively on movements in contemporary European literature. He advocated the use of other disciplines like sociology and psychology in literary criticism. He helped to transform Kerala society with his "Futuristic" visions about a "New World". Pillai helped young writers to familiarize themselves with German, French, Italian, Russian, Spanish, Greek and American literature. He translated Mauppasant, Balzac, Sigmund Freud, and Charles Darwin, among others. He wrote articles about socialist views and Marxist principles. He prepared the youth to step over the barriers of language, nations, and religion and created a new style of life.

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