Malickathazhathu Pulluvazhy Narayana Pillai was born in the village of Pulluvazhy near Perumbavoor in Ernakulam district, Kerala. His early schooling was in the local school in Pulluvazhy and completed his Pre-University course at Nirmala College, Muvattupuzha. He then moved to Banaras Hindu University and after obtaining his B.Sc degree in Agricultural Science from there, he began his professional career as a telephone operator in the East German Consulate at Delhi. Later, he joined Central Planning Commission, Delhi as an economic investigator and worked there for five years. It was during this time that he started his literary career. In 1967, he joined the Hong Kong based Far Eastern Economic Review as the assistant editor. In 1970, he
