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Pillai or Pillay, meaning "Child of King" (Prince) or "Child", is a surname found among the Malayalam and Tamil-speaking people of India and Sri Lanka.
Ayyappan Pillai, better known as Chattampi Swamikal was a Hindu sage and social reformer whose thoughts and work influenced the launching of many social, religious, literary and political organisations and movements in Kerala and gave voice to those who were marginalised.
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The Ettuveetil Pillamar were Nair nobles from eight ruling Houses in erstwhile Travancore Kingdom in the present-day Kerala, India. They were associated with the Padmanabhaswamy temple in Venad (kingdom) and the Ettara Yogam. Their power and wealth grew until Marthanda Varma (1706–1758), the last king of Venad and the first king of Travancore, defeated them in the 1730s.
Valiathan, alternatively Vallyathan, is a title, and now family name, held by a group of Nair families, all branches along the matrilineal line of the main Valiathan family, who are known as the Vattaparambil Valiathan. According to legend, it is said that the Maharajah Marthanda Varma of Travancore sought the help of the Vattaparambil, later Valiathan, family in order to overcome the powerful clan of Ettuveetil Pillamar, the Lords of the Eight Houses. The Maharajah and his heir apparent, the popular Dharmarajah, therefore addressed the oldest, and most powerful, lady of the Vattaparambil House as Valiyamma. Later the lord of the Vattaparambil House died in battle against the Ettuveetil Pillamar, leaving the family without a head figure. When Marthanda Varma finally became king, he gave the title of "Valiathan" to the Vattaparambil family.
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Thikkurissy Sukumaran Nair was an Indian poet, playwright, script writer, lyricist, orator, film director and actor, though he is best known as an actor in Malayalam cinema. He is the recipient of Padma Shri from the Government of India, which is one of the highest civilian honours in India. In a career that spanned about 47 years, he acted in over 700 films. He is considered to be the "first superstar of Malayalam cinema". In 1993, he was honoured with the J. C. Daniel Award, Kerala government's highest honour for contributions to Malayalam cinema.
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Vennikkulam Gopala Kurup (1902–1980) was an Indian poet, playwright, translator, lexicographer and story writer of Malayalam. He was the author of a number of poetry anthologies, besides other works, and he translated Abhijnana Shakuntalam, Tulsi Ramayana, Tirukkuṛaḷ, the poems of Subramania Bharati and two cantos of The Light of Asia of Edwin Arnold into Malayalam. He also contributed in the preparation of a dictionary, Kairali Kosham. A recipient of the Odakkuzhal Award and Thirukural Award, Kurup received the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Poetry in 1966. Sahitya Akademi honoured him with their annual award in 1974.
Bodheswaran, , was an Indian independence activist, social reformer and a poet of Malayalam literature. He was known for his nationalistic poems such as Keralaganam and for his involvement in social movements like Vaikom Satyagraha and other related events which led to the Temple Entry Proclamation of 1936.
Madampi(equivalent to Lord in English) is an aristocratic title given to the uppermost subdivisions of Nairs in Kerala, by the Maharajahs of Travancore and Cochin. Usually, it was given in addition to the Pillai title. Madampis served as Jenmis or landlords during the pre-independence era. Their power was severely reduced after the Communist government passed the Land Reforms Ordinance. The title Madampi was also used in Cochin, to denote the 71 Nayar chiefs who ruled under the Maharajah of Cochin. A few Nambuthiri landlord families, most notable of whom being those in Vanjipuzha and Makilanjeri, were also given the Madampi title. In Cochin, the Madampis had their own armies, but seldom numbered more than 100. Their power was only a little bit higher than that of the Desavazhis. Madampis supplied chieftains along with soldiers in times of war to the King.
Pillai, meaning Prince, is a title of nobility which can either refer to a ruling chief, members of the nobility, or junior princes of the royal family and was mostly used by the upper-caste Nair feudal lords who were historically ranked as or immediately below the king. The oldest lineages of Pillais include not only Kshatriyas but also brahmins who took up the sword. From the early modern period, the title also came to be bestowed upon Savarna subjects by the Kings for services military or political, most of whom were of Nair origin. The Nair Pillai caste is unrelated to other Pillais. It is important not to confuse them with the Vellala Pillai, Chetti Pillai, illathu Pillai, etc. Some of them also use 'Pillai' surname in some parts of Kerala, they have distinct identities and no relation with Kerala title "Pillai".
Thycaud Ayyavu Swamikal was a spiritualist and social reformer. He was the first to challenge caste customs in Kerala during a time when caste restrictions and untouchability were at their peak.
The Thachudaya Kaimals were a lineage of ruling Nair chiefs in Travancore, now in the Indian state of Kerala. The Thachudaya Kaimal is a sacerdotal dignitary in Kerala and is considered the spiritual chief and temporal ruler of the Koodalmanikyam Temple and its estates. The line goes back into antiquity and is mentioned in the Skanda Purana. Tradition dictates that the Guruvayur temple belonging to the Zamorin of Malabar, the Koodalmanikyam temple of the Thachudaya Kaimal family of Travancore and the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple of the Travancore royal family are the grandest temples in Kerala in terms of size and proportion of offerings.
R. Narayana Panickar was an Indian essayist, playwright, translator, lexicographer, novelist and historian of Malayalam. He was credited with over 100 books but the best known among them are the seven-volume work, Kerala Bhasha Sahitya Charitram, a comprehensive history of Malayalam literature up to 1951 and Navayuga Bhasha Nighantu, a lexicon. He also wrote a number of novels and translated several works including Purananuru, Akanaṉūṟu and Silappatikaram. He was also a historian and published works such as Thiruvithamkoor Charitram and Kerala Charitram. Sahitya Akademi honoured him with their annual award in 1955.
Pathonpatham Noottandu is a 2022 Indian Malayalam-language period action film written and directed by Vinayan. Set in the 19th century Travancore, the story is based on the life of Arattupuzha Velayudha Panicker, a warrior who fought against social injustices suffered by the lower caste. The film stars Siju Wilson and Kayadu Lohar, with Anoop Menon, Chemban Vinod Jose, Sudev Nair, Vishnu Vinay, and Senthil Krishna in supporting roles. The original score was composed by Santhosh Narayanan and songs by M. Jayachandran.
References
- ↑ "CLASSIFICATIONS NAIR COMMUNITY". www.nairs.in. Retrieved 2024-10-19.
- ↑ Fuller, C. J. (1976-12-30). The Nayars Today. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-21301-1.
- ↑ Nair, R. Raman; Devi, L. Sulochana (2010). Chattampi Swami: An Intellectual Biography. South Indian Studies. ISBN 978-81-905928-2-6.
- ↑ Sankunni, Kottarathil (2024-05-08). Aithihyamala. Mathrubhumi Books.
- ↑ Nair, R. Raman; Devi, L. Sulochana (2010). Chattampi Swami: An Intellectual Biography. South Indian Studies. ISBN 978-81-905928-2-6.
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