 Ayyappa Paniker

Dr. K. Ayyappa Paniker, sometimes spelt "Ayyappa Panicker" (12 September 1930 – 23 August 2006), was an influential Malayalam poet, literary critic, and an academic and a scholar in modern and post-modern literary theories as well as ancient Indian aesthetics and literary traditions.He was one of the pioneers of modernism in Malayalam poetry, where his seminal works like "Kurukshethram" (1960), considered a turning point in Malayalam poetry, "Ayyappapanikkarude Krithikal" and "Chintha" and several essays were an important influence on the playwrights of his generation.