Vayalar Ramavarma
Native name
വയലാർ രാമവർമ്മ
Born 25 March 1928
Vayalar, Alleppey, Travancore, India
Died 27 October 1975 (aged 47)
Government Medical College, Trivandrum
Occupation Lyricist, poet
Genre Poetry, lyrics
Years active 1956-1975
Notable works
Paadamudrakal
Enikku Maranamilla
Oru Judas Janikkunnu
Ente Maattolikkavithakal
Notable awards
1962 Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Poetry
1969 Kerala State Film Award for Best Lyrics
1972 National Film Award for Best Lyrics
1972 Kerala State Film Award for Best Lyrics
1974 Kerala State Film Award for Best Lyrics
1975 Kerala State Film Award for Best Lyrics
Spouse
Chandramathi Thamburatti
(m. 1951⁠-⁠1956)
Bharathi Thamburatti
(m. 1957)
Children 4, including Vayalar Sarath Chandra Varma
Parents
Kerala Varma
Ambalika Thamburatti
Vayalar Ramavarma (25 March 1928 - 27 October 1975), also known as Vayalar, was an Indian poet and lyricist of Malayalam language. He was known for his poems which include Sargasangeetham, Mulankaadu, Padamudrakal, Aayisha and Oru Judas janikkunnu and for around 1,300 songs he penned for 256 Malayalam films. He received the National Film Award for Best Lyrics in 1972 and was the winner of the Kerala State Film Award for Best Lyricist in its year of inception which he received three more times. He was also a recipient of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Poetry in 1962.  His collaborations with G. Devarajan produced the golden era of Malayalam film music and many songs written and composed by these duo remain the ever green classics in Malayalam. Ramavarma is regarded as one of the most successful and critically acclaimed lyricist in the history of Malayalam cinema.
Biography
The memorial at poet's home Raghavaparambu, in Vayalar
Bust of Vayalar Ramavarma in Manaveeyam Veedhi, Thiruvananthapuram.
Vayalar handwriting
Ramavarma was born on 25 March 1928, at Vayalar, a small village in Alappuzha district of the south Indian state of Kerala to Vellarappilli Kerala Varma and Raghavaparambil Ambalika Thamburatti. He lost his father at an early age and his education in the traditional gurukula way, was supervised by his uncle, which was followed by formal education at the Sanskrit School as well as Cherthala English School.[9] He started writing poetry while in school, publishing the first poem in "Swarat" magazine, which he continued after discontinuing education after 9th standard and published poems in periodicals such as "Arunodayam" and "Chakravalam". He started a weekly in 1951, under the name, Janadhipathyam, but the weekly, which published articles promoting communist ideals, did not last long. Subsequently, he served as the editor of a publication from Madras.
Ramavarma married Puthekovilakathu Chandramathi Thamburatti in 1951 but the couple were issueless. Subsequently, he married Bharathi Thamburatti, the younger sister of Chandramathi Thamburatti, and the couple had a son, Vayalar Sarath Chandra Varma, a noted poet and lyricist, and three daughters, Indulekha, Yamuna and Sindhu. His death came on 27 October 1975, at the age of 47, following a surgery at the Government Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram where he had been admitted for the treatment of Cirrhosis. Later revelations by poet, Ezhacherry Ramachandran, that the actual cause of death was medical negligence, created a controversy, but Ramachandran later refused to stand by his earlier statement. The memoirs of his wife, Bharathi Thamburatti, titled Indradanussinte Theerathu, also became controversial due to certain remarks made in the book about K. J. Yesudas.
PROF. V. MADHUSOODANAN NAIR
Velayudhan Pillai and Gourikutty Amma. He imbibed quite early the tradition of many a ritualistic song from his father, who was a reciter of Thottam Pattu. His early schooling was at the local schools in Neyyattinkara and Kotturkonam after which he passed a pre-degree course from Velu Thampi Memorial Nair Service Society College. Subsequently, he graduated from Mahatma Gandhi College and earned a master's degree from the University College Thiruvananthapuram. He started his career as a journalist, working at Kumkumam magazine and Veekshanam daily and also as a program announcer at the Thiruvananthapuram station of the All India Radio before working as a sub-editor at Kerala Bhasha Institute. Later, he shifted to academics by joining St. Xavier's College, Thiruvananthapuram as a faculty[4] from where he superannuated from service as the Professor and Head of the Department of Malayalam.
Madhusoodanan Nair is married to S. Malathi Devi and the couple has two daughters, Rashmi and Ramya and a son, Vishnu. The family lives in Devaswom Board Junction, Thiruvananthapuram.