Thettalil Parameswaran Pillai Sreenivasan (born 17 June 1944 in Kayamkulam, Travancore [1] ) is an Indian former diplomat and is the head of the Council for Higher Education of the State of Kerala and also an adjunct professor of eminence at Somaiya Vidyavihar University. [2]
Sreenivasan was born in Kayamkulam as the son of K. Parameswaran Pillai, a school teacher and N. Chellamma. After school and studies at University College, part of the University of Kerala, in Thiruvananthapuram, [3] he joined the Indian Foreign Service (IFS batch, 1967). He is alma Mater of Government Boys' Higher Secondary School, Kayamkulam.
He was secretary of legation third class in Tokyo and legation secretary first class in Thimphu, Bhutan. From 1975 to 1977, he was secretary of legation first class in Moscow. From 1986 to 1989, he was Indian High Commissioner in Suva, Fiji and responsible for seven other island nations in the South Pacific. From 1992 to 1995, he was the Deputy Permanent Representative of India to the UN in New York; from 1995 to 1997, he assumed the office of the Indian High Commissioner in Nairobi, Kenya [4] and served as Permanent Representative of the Government of India at the United Nations Office at Nairobi. From 1997 to 2000 he was Deputy Ambassador in Washington, D.C.
From 2000 to 2004, he was Indian Ambassador in Vienna for Austria and Slovenia, as well as Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations and the International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna. [4] He retired 30 June 2004.
Sreenivasan was the head of the Council for Higher Education of the State of Kerala and executive vice president with the rank of vice-chancellor. [5]
He has continued as a columnist for a variety of newspapers and magazines (see Rediff archive), as is the nonfiction author of autobiographical works to his 37-year diplomatic career. He had been married to Lekha Sreenivasan, [6] a Bharatanatyam dancer and teacher, from 1968 until January 2023, when she died. The couple had two sons.
Alappuzha district, is one of the 14 districts in the Indian state of Kerala. It was formed as Alleppey district on 17 August 1957, the name of the district being changed to Alappuzha in 1990. Alappuzha is the smallest district of Kerala. Alleppey town, the district headquarters, was renamed Alappuzha in 2012.
Malayalam, the lingua franca of the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puduchery, is one of the six classical languages of India. Malayalam literature comprises those literary texts written in Malayalam, a South-Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala. The first travelogue in any Indian language is the Malayalam Varthamanappusthakam, written by Paremmakkal Thoma Kathanar in 1785. Malayalam literature has been presented with 6 Jnanapith awards, the second-most for any Dravidian language and the third-highest for any Indian language.
Elamkulam Manakkal Sankaran Namboodiripad, popularly known as 'E.M.S. Namboodiripad' or simply by his initials 'E. M. S.', was an Indian communist politician and theorist, who served as the first Chief Minister of Kerala in 1957–1959 and then again in 1967–1969. As a member of the Communist Party of India (CPI), he became the first non-Congress Chief Minister in the Indian republic. In 1964, he led a faction of the CPI that broke away to form the Communist Party of India (Marxist).
Mavelikara is a municipality in the Alappuzha district of Kerala, India. It is located 43 km (26.7 mi) south of the district headquarters in Alappuzha and about 95 km (59.0 mi) north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. As per the 2011 Indian census, Mavelikara has a population of 26,421 people, and a population density of 2,088/km2 (5,410/sq mi).
The Nair Service Society (NSS) is an organisation created for the social advancement and welfare of the Nair community that is found primarily in the state of Kerala in Southern part of India. It was established under the leadership of Mannathu Padmanabha Pillai. The NSS is a three-tier organisation with Karayogams at the base level, Taluk Unions at the intermediate level and a central headquarters operating from Perunna, Changanassery in Kerala. G. Sukumaran Nair is currently the General Secretary.
Kayamkulam is a municipality in the Alappuzha district of Kerala, India. It is located 46 km (28.6 mi) south of the district headquarters in Alappuzha and about 110 km (68.4 mi) north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. As per the 2011 Indian census, Kayamkulam has a population of 68,634 people, and a population density of 3,149/km2 (8,160/sq mi).
Alappuzha, formerly known as Alleppey, is a city and municipality in the Alappuzha district of Kerala, India. It is the district headquarters of the district, and is located about 130 km (80.8 mi) north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. As per the 2011 Indian census, Alappuzha has a population of 240,991 people, and a population density of 3,675/km2 (9,520/sq mi).
N. S. Parameswaran Pillai or Nadakkal Parameswaran Pillai (1931–2010) is the co-founder of Indian Coffee Houses in Kerala with T. K. Krishnan. He is also the author of a history of Indian Coffee House, a worker cooperative.
Cannankara Velayudhan Raman Pillai, also known as C. V., was one of the major Indian novelists and playwrights and a pioneering playwright and novelist of Malayalam literature. He was known for his historical novels such as Marthandavarma, Dharmaraja and Ramaraja Bahadur; the last mentioned considered by many as one of the greatest novels written in Malayalam.
Karimpumannil Mathai George (1914–2002), popularly known as Dr. K. M. George, was an eminent Malayalam writer and educator. An erudite scholar and literary critic with astute organisational capabilities, he is best known as a pioneer of Comparative Indian Studies and Literatures. He was a recipient of the fourth highest Indian civilian honour, the Padma Shri, the highest literary award of the Government of Kerala, the Ezhuthachan Puraskaram and the third highest Indian civilian award, the Padma Bhushan, besides other honours.
A. R. Raja Raja Varma (1863–1918) was an Indian poet, grammatician and Professor of Oriental Languages at Maharaja's College (present University College Thiruvananthapuram.
Thirunalloor Karunakaran was a poet, scholar, teacher and leftist intellectual of Kerala, India.
Sankara Pillai Guptan Nair or S. Guptan Nair was an Indian scholar, academic, critic and writer of Malayalam literature.
Kainikkara Padmanabha Pillai (1898–1976), popularly identified as Swathithirunal Kainikkara Padmanabha Pillai after his magnum opus, Swathithirunal, was an Indian author of Malayalam literature, actor, speaker, teacher and thinker. He was known for his plays which dealt with themes such as patriotism, sacrifice and justice and his characters showed heroism, showing influence of William Shakespeare. Kerala Sahitya Akademi awarded him their annual award for drama in 1970. He was also a recipient of the Kalyani Krishna Menon Puraskaram.
University College, Thiruvananthapuram, often abbreviated as UCT, is a public college situated in Palayam, Thiruvananthapuram, India. Established in 1866, it is one of the oldest colleges in Kerala. The college has been accorded "College with Potential for Excellence" (CPE) status by the University Grants Commission.
A Sivathanu Pillai is an Indian scientist who formerly served as Honorary Distinguished Professor at Indian Space Research Organisation (2015–2018) and an honorary professor at IIT Delhi in the Department of Mechanical Engineering (2015–2016) and a visiting professor at Indian Institute of Science (2014–2015).
Pravasi Express Awards were introduced in 2013 for appreciating personalities for outstanding contributions to society and endeavours in their chosen field/profession. The awards are overseen by Pravasi Publications from Singapore, publishers of the Pravasi Express Newspaper.
P. K. Kunju was a politician from Kerala, India. He was a long-time Member of Legislative Assembly. He was Kerala finance minister from 1967 to 1969. He was a member of the Sree Moolam Assembly in 1937, the Travancore Legislative Assembly in 1948-49 and the Thiru-kochi Assembly in 1954. He was elected to the 2nd Kerala Legislative Assembly as a Praja Socialist Party representative from Krishnapuram and the 3rd Legislative Assembly as a Samyukta Socialist Party candidate from Kayamkulam. The Kerala State Lottery was established when he was the finance minister.