Sculptures at Sukapuram temple were early inspirations for Namboothiri
Namboothiri was born at Karuvattu Mana in Ponnani, in Malappuram district of the south Indian state of Kerala[1][5] to Parameshwaran Namboothiri and Sreedevi Antharjanam, as their eldest son.[6] During his childhood, he was influenced by the sculptures at the Sukapuram temple near his house. "I had this urge to draw and mould sculptures after seeing these," Namboothiri said.[7] In order to pursue education in art, he moved to Chennai, with financial assistance from Krishnan Namboodiri of Varikkasseri Mana.[8] There, he joined the Government College of Fine Arts, Chennai where he had the opportunity to study under Debi Prasad Roy Chowdhury, the founder and principal of the institution,[9] and S. Dhanapal.[10] It was during this period that he came into contact with K. C. S. Paniker, who would exercise influence over the young artist.[11][12]
Namboothiri was married to Mrinalini and the couple had two sons, Parameshawaran and Vasudevan.[6] The family lived in Naduvattam in Malappuram district.[15]
One of Namboothiri's first professional assignments was during his Chennai days, when he assisted K. C. S. Paniker to complete an oversize painting for the Indian Railways. One of the most prolific literary illustrators of India,[3] he turned to copper relief work after resigning from Mathrubhumi and soon organized an exhibition consisting of 12 relief works.[6] Later, he made some of his most notable drawings at Kalakaumudi when he illustrated RandamoozhamofM. T. Vasudevan Nair; he stated later that these illustrations provided him with satisfaction.[17] Namboothiri's illustrations of his characters prompted V.K.N. to call the artist as the Paramashivan of line sketches (The Lord Shiva of line drawings).[12] He was also a proponent of "finger painting".[5] Among his copper relief works, he has created a series based on various events from Mahabharata, entitled Lohabharata,[18] and another based on Parayi Petta Panthirukulam.[19] He had created a few large sculptures for Cholamandal which include Modern Family on a Scooter and Maithuna as well as a 500 ft (150 m) long outdoor drawing featuring incidents from the Indian freedom movement.[20]
Namboothiri had served as the chairman of the Kerala Lalitakala Academy twice, and it was during his tenure that the academy constructed and moved to an owned building in Thrissur.[10] His contributions were also reported[by whom?] in the conversion of the Durbar Hall Ground in Kochi into an art gallery. He had embarked on a self-appointed mission of pictorially documenting the cities of Kerala. The project, entitled Nagarangal (The Cities), began with Kochi.[6][12]
Film director and cartoonist G. Aravindan was a friend of Namboothiri, and when Aravindan made his debut movie, Uttarayanam, he invited Namboothiri to work as the art director of the film.[note 1] The film went on to receive five Kerala State Film Awards in 1974, including the Award for Best Art Director for Namboothiri.[21] Kerala Lalithakala Akademi awarded Namboothiri the Raja Ravi Varma Award in 2003 and he became the third recipient of the award which was instituted in 2001.[22] The Kerala State Institute for Children's Literature awarded him the Bala Sahitya Award for best illustration for his work in Kuttikalude Ramayanam (Ramayana for children) in 2004.[23]
A documentary on the life of the artist, Namboodiri-Varayude Kulapathy (Namboodiri — The Emperor of Lines) was made by Ask Movies. The 44-minute documentary film, directed by Binuraj Kalapeedhom, covers the artist's life from his childhood, through his Chennai days, and to his eighties.[24]Varayum Vaakkum, (Lines and Words) is a book published by N. P. Vijayakrishnan, compiling Namboothiri's reminiscences and some of his drawings.[25]Namboothiriyude Sthreekal (The Women of Namboothiri) is another book published by Vijayakrishan and includes several of the artist's line drawings of women and a foreword by Mohanlal.[26]
Sketches: the memoir of an artist, by K.M. Vasudevan Namboodiri, foreword by M.T. Vasudevan Nair, translated from the Malayalam by Gita Krishnankutty, 2019 (Penguin Books India). ISBN978-0143449645
^He had also been involved with two more films, Kanchana Sita by Aravindan,[18] and Njan Gandharvan, the 1991 film by P. Padmarajan in which the costume of the Gandharvan was designed by Namboothiri.[8]
