V. R. Gopala Pillai

Pillai worked as a manager-cum-accountant for Cathay Advertising in Singapore. An only child, Pillai had a fairly good education despite family objections based on astrological beliefs. He was formally schooled up to the age of 12. Pillai was a self-taught man, reading feverishly all kinds of books (especially Bengali novels translated into Malayalam) from a young age. "An author or a novelist must be well-read before he attempts to write himself", he told "Asiaweek" in an interview in 1981.

Married to Bhargavi Pillai, he migrated to Singapore from Kerala, India in 1947. He had five children including Singaporean poet Chandran Nair.

As a teenager, Pillai had several short stories rejected but he persevered, writing lighter satires. His first published story in 1932 criticised the caste system. He wrote articles and short fiction until 1962, when his first novel was published. Entitled "Kaithapookal" (Tainted Flowers), it was set entirely in Kerala. This was followed by "Maruppachakal" (Barrier of Sand), "Vruthabhangam" (Unbalanced Life), "Thapasu" (Meditation), "Agniparvatham (Volcano),"Vazhiyariyathe" (Journey without Signs) and "Aavarthanam" (Repetition) which was a best-seller. Many of these novels dealt with human relationships interwoven with the social fabric and were set in Singapore. His last novel, "Chirakudal Chalanangal" (Wings and Movements), was serialised by Kerala's then leading weekly, "Mathrubhoomi" (Motherland).

Villayil Raman Gopala Pillai (1915-1981) was a Singaporean novelist writing in Malayalam under the pen name G.P. Njekkad, after his natal village in Kerala.