Ambadi Narayana Poduval

Ambadi Narayana Poduval (1871–1936) was a Malayalam-language short story writer from Kerala, India. Along with Vengayil Kunhiraman Nayanar, Oduvil Kunhikrishna Menon, Moorkoth Kumaran, Chenkulath Cheriya Kunhirama Menon (M. R. K. C.) and C. S. Gopala Panicker, Poduval is regarded as a pioneer of the short story in Malayalam literature.

Life Poduval was born in 1871 in Trichur. His father Seshayar was a lawyer. Parvathi Poduvalsyar was his mother. Kunhikrishna Poduval, a poet at that time, was his relative. He joined Trichur Hindu High School and passed the matriculation exam. Later, he entered the government service while still an intermediate student in Cochin. After a long period of government service, he retired while serving as Sub-Registrar in 1926. He died on 15 July 1936 at Peringavu near Trichur. P. K. Parameswaran Nair writes in his book History of Malayalam Literature: "The stories of Ambady Narayana Poduval give the impression that their author was devoted more to beautifying the language than to the course of the events or the realism of the characters." Nair also observes that of all the early short stories in Malayalam, those of Poduval make a pleasant reading even today.