M.Govindan was a famous writer and cultural activist of Kerala. India.
He was born in Ponnani in Malappuram

Malappuram

Malappuram is a municipality in the South Indian state of Kerala, spread over an area of 33.61 km2. It serves as the administrative headquarters of Malappuram district. As per the 2011 census Malappuram urban agglomeration is the fourth largest UA in kerala with a total population of...

 district on September 18, 1919. He joined the freedom struggle while studying in high school class and could not complete his studies. He went to Madras (now ‘Chennai

Chennai

Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...

’) and settled there. In 1944 he joined Madras government service and worked there for 14 years. He was actively involved in politics in his early days and later concentrated on intellectual life. He was attracted towards the ideas of Radical Humanism expounded by M.N.Roy.

He edited three magazines Navasahiti, Gopuram and Sameeksha and organised many academic forums for cultural debate. He spotted and groomed many avante-garde writers and artists through his magazines. He wrote profusely both in Malayalam and English and his creative works were largely in Malayalam. His works include poems, short stories, plays and essays.

He died on January 23 in 1989 in Guruvayur, Kerala.