Pa. Raghavan, often called as Para, was born to R. Parthasarathy and P. Ramamani in Adayar, Chennai. His father hailed from Thanjavur District of Tamilnadu and is from a family of teachers. His father had a career in education starting as a teacher and held various posts such as Head Master, District Education Officer before retiring as the Deputy Commissioner in the Department of Education. He wrote short stories and poems under the pen name R.P. Sarathy. He has also translated books such as Baba Nama, Mahavamsa and India After Gandhi. Due to the nature of his father’s job, the family had to shift to various places and Para attended different schools in these places to complete his education. The family finally settled in Chennai and Para completed his diplomo in Mechanical Engineering in the Central Polytechnic, Chennai. Today, Para lives with his wife and daughter in Chromepet, Chennai.
