 He was also a recipient of the Vallathol Award in 1992 and when the Government of Kerala instituted the Ezhuthachan Puraskaram, their highest literary honour in 1993, he received the inaugural award.Sooranad Kunjan Pillai was born on November 26, 1911 in Sooranad, near Sasthamkotta in the present day Kollam district of the south Indian state of Kerala to Payikkattu Neelakanta Pillai and Karthiyani Pillai Amma.After initial studies under his father, he did his formal education at a local elementary school, Thevalakkara Primary School and Chavara High School where he studied under noted teacher, Azhakathu Padmanabha Kurup, and passed the 10th standard examination in 1927.