Puthan Veetil Narayanan Nair, fondly called and popularly known by his pen name Pavanan who was born on 26 October 1925 and died on 22 June 2006, was a well-known rationalist, literary critic and left wing political activist from Kerala, India.
His father was Kuttamath Kunniyur Kunhisankara Kurup and mother, Puthan Veetil Devaki Amma.
He first stint as a journalist was as an editorial board member of the Malayalam journal, Jayakeralam, published from Chennai then known as Madras.
During 1952–53 he worked as a sub-editor of Pourashakthi before becoming a staff-reporter with Deshabhimani, the Malayalam organ of the Communist Party of India.
He then, during 1988–94, worked as Director-in-Charge of Vishwa Vijnana Kosham, an Encyclopedia published by the Government of Kerala.
He was the organization's president for a long time before he was afflicted with Parkinson’s disease from which he had been suffering for the last 4–5 years of his life.