Kandathil Varghese Mappillai (1857 6 July 1904) was an Indian journalist, translator and publisher who was the founder of the newspaper

Malayala Manorama ''Malayala Manorama'' is a morning newspaper in Malayalam published from Kottayam, Kerala, India by the Malayala Manorama Company Limited. Currently headed by Mammen Mathew; it was first published as a weekly on 22 March 1888, and currently has ...

and the magazine ''

Bhashaposhini ''Bhashaposhini'' is an Indian monthly magazine. It is one of the oldest Malayalam literary review magazines. History and profile ''Bhashaposhini'' was first published in 1892 as a literary journal of the Bhashaposhini Sabha. The founding edito ...

''.

Early life

Varghese Mappillai was born in 1857 as the fourth son of Karuthalil Eapen Mappillai. He studied up to F.A. with the financial support of his father. After completing his studies, Mappillai began working as a treasury officer (Muthalpadikkaran). Later on he took up the job of a ‘ munshi’ (

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam was des ...

teacher) in a CMS School for a short period. He was the editor of ‘

Kerala Mithram ''Kerala Mithram'' was one of the earliest Malayalam language newspaper published from Cochin, Kerala, India during 1881. It was printed in the beginning of the month as three, then one week later. Devji Bhimji, from Gujarat was the patron of the ...

’ which was published in 1881 from

Cochin Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) ( the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of K ...

. His journalistic mind and love for literature paved way for establishing the

Company in 1888. On 22 March 1890, (M.E 1065, Meenam 10th) the first issue of ''Malayala Manorama'' was published.

Literary contributions

The

Malayalam language Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam was des ...

and journalism were the soul and spirit of Varghese Mappillai. Under his leadership and vision ''Malayala Manorama'' progressed. He utilized the media to nourish and flourish Malayalam language and literature. K. M. Cherian,

Kattakayam Cherian Mappillai Kattakayam Cherian Mappillai (1859–1936) was an Indian poet and playwright of Malayalam literature. He was known for the epic poem ''Shreeyeshu Vijayam'', which earned him the title of Mahakavi. He was the founder editor of '' Vijnaana Rathnaak ...

Kottarathil Sankunni Kottarathil Sankunni (born Vasudevan, 1855–1937) was an Indian writer of Malayalam literature. Best known as the author of Aithihyamala, an eight-volume compilation of century-old legends about Kerala, Sankunni's writings cover prose and poetry ...

K. C. Kesava Pillai Kanakku Chembakaraman Kesava Pillai (1868–1914) was an Indian composer of Carnatic music and a poet of Malayalam literature. He was the Poet Laureate of Travancore and was known for ''Kesaveeyam'', a mahakavya in Malayalam, two Attakatha (perf ...

and C. S. Subramaniam Potti were his close associates. Varghese Mappillai became an established writer at a very young age. ''The Malayalam Primer for Children'' written by Varghese Mappillai was, however, not known to many. The drama ''Abrayakutty'', an independent Malayalam translation of

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

’s ''

The Taming of the Shrew ''The Taming of the Shrew'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1590 and 1592. The play begins with a framing device, often referred to as the induction, in which a mischievous nobleman tricks a drunken ...

'', and ''Keerthanamala'' were some of the contributions by him to Malayalam literature. Varghese Mappillai formed an association for Malayalam writers called Kavisamajam. He also formed an association called Bhashaposhini which later on became a magazine encouraging literature and language. Varghese Mappillai also made noteworthy contributions in reforming the Malayalam alphabet. He died on 6 July 1904 (M.E. 1079, Mithunan 23), at the young age of 47.

References

{{Authority control Malayalam-language writers 1857 births 1904 deaths 19th-century publishers (people) Indian publishers (people)