VAYALAR RAMA VARMA

Vayalar Rama Varma was born on March 25, 1928, to Vellarappally Kerala Varma and Vayalar Raghavaparamil Ambalika Thampuratti. From a young age, he was trained in Sanskrit through the traditional gurukula system. Closely associated with the Communist movement, Vayalar was a prominent figure in Kerala’s social and cultural spheres. He received the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award in 1961 for his poetry collection Sargageetham. A celebrated lyricist, he won the Kerala State Film Award for Best Lyricist three times and was honored with the President’s Gold Medal in 1974 as the best film lyricist in India. He passed away on October 27, 1975. His wife was Bharathithampuratti of the Chengannur Puthen Kovilakam, and they had four children: Sharachandran, Indulekha, Yamuna, and Sindhu. In his memory, the Vayalar Rama Varma Literary Award, one of Kerala’s most prestigious literary honors, has been awarded annually on October 27 since 1977.