About Me

My Achcchan or father, Sri P. Balakrishna Pillai, used to read Bhagawath Geetha, Jnjaana Vaasishttam, and Bhaagawatham daily after lighting the lamp at dusk. And my Amma or mother, Smt. V.K. Bhargavi Amma, also used to read Raamaayanam and Bhaagawatham whenever it is convenient for her. Our Aasaan, one who initiates, (Sri Raghavan Nair) used to teach us not only the basic alphabets but also all Koottakshams or combined letters and aritmatic tables from 1 to 16. That means once we are out of his class (normally Aasaan Pallikkotam – School – course was from 3 to 5 years), we were well above 5th/6th grade students. That means we do not have anything to study in our primary school and we are free to spend time in playing or in other activities. As my mother used to tell us stories of Sri Raama, Sri Krishna, and other mythological characters, I unknowingly developed interest in Raamaayanam and Bhaagawatham from the very childhood and started reading the Raamaayanam Kilippaatu, Bhaagawatham Kilippaattu, Jnjaana Vaasishttam, and Bhagawath Geetha from my sixth year. Though, I did not know the meaning of what I read. My Amma used to make fun of me by saying that I was like the ‘Pachcha Vandi’, meaning the green colored express bus which did not stop at our Puthiyakavu junction and or even at Karunagapply town, as I never used to apply any punctuations like coma or full-stop. But when I heard Amma saying my neighbor that even though I read non-stop, I do not make any mistake in reading, I was proud of my reading. Amma’s those casual words at my age of six are the greatest encouragement throughout my life. Thus, I started reading Raamaayanam, Bhaagawatham, and Bhagawath Geetha from the very childhood, at the age of five/six (1953/’54), though I never knew the meaning. In the early 70’s I incidentally happened to debate about Bhagawath Geetha with one of my colleagues, M.A. Kulkarni, and realized the need to read Mythologies and Ithihaasaas more deeply and very analytically. I retired in 2013 after forty-three years of experience in various capacities in two major global banks in India and in U.S.A. I have an MBA in Computer Information Systems from City University of New York. Since 2016 I have been volunteering as Treasurer of Pallium India, Inc. I currently live in Charlotte, North Carolina, U.S.A. I enjoy travelling and spending time with family. I am deeply passionate about Hindu Mythology. This passion led me to a month-long pilgrimage in 2012 to Mount Kailash. While I enjoyed the tough hikes, horseback rides, and exposure to the nomadic life of the Tibetans, the best part of my trip was the role as a storyteller for the co-travelling friends during that trip. These friends persuaded me to write a commentary on the Bhaagawatha Purana.