K V Krishna Ayyar – The doyen of Malabar history

Posted by Maddy Labels: ,

I will always remember this historian with a bit of fondness, for not only did he kindle my interest in history, but also had a hand in some of our family affairs at Palghat. He was a friend of my great grandfather, who together with JA Thorne got Ayyer started on the history path, Ayyar was a friend of my uncle and my brother talks about his later days in Kudallur and Pallavur, often. I never met him formally, unfortunately, but am now compiling this short article about him after reading all his books and some of his very interesting contributions to other collections. Ayyer later did yeoman service as a lecturer and was later professor of history at the Zamorin’s college (Guruvayurappan College) Calicut. But let us get to the details of his life and works.