K M Vasudevan Namboothiri

KM Vasudevan Namboothiri was a well-known  Indian line sketch artist, illustrator, and sculptor. He was born on 13 September 1925 in Ponnani, Kerala. His parents were Parameshwaran Namboothiri and Sreedevi Antharjanam. He was married to Mrinalini. Since childhood, he has been fascinated by the sculpture of the Sukapuram Temple near his house. To pursue an education in arts, he got admission to the Government College of Fine Arts, Delhi. In the college, he studied under the guidance of Institute founder and Principal Debi Prasad Roy Chowdhury and S. Dhanapal.

He was influenced by the painter K.C.S. Paniker. In 1954, he got two diplomas, one in Fine Arts and the other in Applied Arts. After that, he was in Cholaman. Dal Artist Village of K.C.S. Paniker completed a six-year course in one year. In 1960, he returned to Kerala and joined the newspaper Mathrubhumi as a staff artist. Till 1982, he stayed with the newspaper. He worked on the illustrations of the literary work of Malayalam writers such as Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai Thakazhi Sivasankar Pillai is an Indian novelist, >> Read More... , Kesavadev, M.T Vasudevan Nair, Uroob, Edasseri Govindan Nair, and S. K Pottekkatt. He has also published the pocket cartoon series Naniyammayum Lokavum. Later, he moved to the news magazine Kalakaumudi and then joined The New Indian Express newsweekly.

Namboothiri has done a lot of work in painting. He assisted K. C. S. Paniker to complete the oversize painting of Indian Railways. He has organized exhibitions showing 12 relief works. He has drawn in Randamoozham, a Malayalam language mythological drama written by MT Vasudevan Nair. His notable work is illustrations in Lohabharata, which shows various events of Mahabharata and Parayi Petta Panthirukulam Parayi Petta Panthirukulam is a popular television >> Read More... , a folktale in Kerala. In addition to this, he has also made sculptures for the Cholamandalam, such as Modern Family on a Scooter and Maithuna. 

Namboothiri received various awards for his contribution to the art world. In 1974, he received the Award for Best Art Director for the film Uttarayanam. In 2003, he was awarded Raja Ravi Varma Award by Kerala Lalithakala Akademi. For his work in Kuttikalude Ramayanam (Ramayan for children), he received the Bala Sahitya Award for best illustration in 2004. Namboodiri-Varayude Kulapathy is a documentary film made on his life. Varayum Vaakkum (Lines and Words) is a book depicting Namboothiri’s painting published by N. P. Vijayakrishnan. Namboothiri passed away on 7 July 2023 at age 97.