Kandathil Varghese Mappillai was an Indian journalist, translator, and publisher who was the founder of the newspaper Malayala Manorama and the magazine Bhashaposhini.
He was born in 1857 in a Malankara Orthodox Church family. He studied up to F.A. After completing his studies, Mappillai began working as a treasury officer. Later on, he took up the job of a Malayalam teacher in a school for a short period.
He was the editor of Kerala Mithram, which was published in 1881 from Kochi. His journalistic mind and love for literature paved the way for establishing the Malayala Manorama Company in 1888. On 22 March 1890, the first issue of Malayala Manorama was published. It is said that the Malayalam language and journalism were his soul and spirit. Under his leadership and vision, Malayala Manorama progressed. He utilized the media to nourish and flourish the Malayalam language and literature. He became an established writer at a very young age. The Malayalam Primer for Children was written by him. The drama Abrayakutty, an independent Malayalam translation of William Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew, and Keerthanamala were some of the contributions by him to Malayalam literature. He formed an association for Malayalam writers called Kavisamajam. He also formed an association called Bhashaposhini, which later became a magazine encouraging literature and language. He made noteworthy contributions to reforming the Malayalam alphabet.
He died on 6 July 1904, at the young age of 47.
*Collected from the public domain
*Updated on 03/09/2025
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