G. V. Raja

Lt. Col. P. R. Godavarma Raja (13 October 1908 – 30 April 1971) often referred to as G. V. Raja, was a sports and tourism promoter and administrator, pilot, sportsman and Sanskrit scholar . He took special care in inspiring the youth into sports and was instrumental in founding the Kerala Sports Council in 1953. G.V Raja occupied the post of Council President till he was killed in a flight mishap in 1971. G.V Raja also played a key role in establishing the Thiruvananthapuram Tennis Club, Flying Club, and the development of the Thiruvananthapuram International Airport.

G V Raja was the founder President of the Kerala State Sports Council as well as Kerala Cricket Association, and patron of a large number of sports clubs and associations. The CricInfo website reports that Raja was the first Keralite to become the Vice-President of Board of Control for Cricket in India, and had he lived, he would have become President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India.

G.V Raja was also the President of Tourism Promotion Council of Kerala. He was the main architect in developing Kovalam as an international tourist spot. He died in an air crash near Kullu (Kulu) Valley on April 30, 1971. Sports journalists, historians, experts and sportsmen consider him as the Father of Sports and Tourism in Kerala. G.V Raja's birth anniversary, 13 October, is observed as "Kerala Sports Day".

P. R. Godavarma Raja was born to Ambalika Thamburatty of Poonjar Royal House and Puthusseri Narayanan Nampoothiri on 13 October 1908 at Poonjar as the couple's third son in Kottayam India. The Poonjar dynasty originated from the Pandyan Kings of the Sangam Age. The founder of the dynasty, Manavikrama Kulashekhara Perumal, was a Pandyan king whose mother was a Chera princess. In 1152 AD, he shifted from Madurai to Poonjar due to the incessant civil wars in Tamil Country. In his flight from Madurai over the Nilgiri hills, he and his family carried with them one of the three idols of Meenakshi, their "Kula Devatha", which was used in the annual car festival of Meenakshi Sundareswara. It was established as a "Pratishtha" in the Meenakshi temple on the banks of the Meenachil river. Manavikraman Raja purchased the land that covers present day Kottayam, Pathanamthitta and Idukki districts from the Tekkancoor Rajas. Erattupetta was the commercial center of the Poonjar kingdom.

G. V. Raja did his school education at S.M.V. High School, Poonjar and MD Seminary Higher Secondary School, Kottayam. He then went to Madras to pursue a Degree in Medicine.

When the marriage proposal from the Travancore Royal Family reached him, as a prospective bridegroom for Karthika Thirunal Lakshmi Bayi, G.V Raja was studying in Madras for attaining a Degree in Medicine. He accepted the marriage proposal, discontinued his education. And the preparations for their wedding began in 1933 itself. Huge wedding venue was created at Sundara Vilasom Palace. On 24 January 1934, at the age of 26, he married the then 17-year-old Maharani Karthika Thirunal Lakshmi Bayi. Many prominent Indian Royals were invited for the wedding and the event was a lavish affair and the celebrations lasted for a whole week, according to Mathrubhumi Daily. The royal couple stayed at Kovalam for their honeymoon. And it was during this time, G.V Raja became smitten by the beauty of the place and referred to the place as his "first love". After he settled down with his wife in Trivandrum G.V Raja started his military career in the Travancore State Force as a Captain of the Nair Brigade. The Maharajah entrusted him with the additional responsibility of dealing with foreign dignitaries and state guests. He was also appointed as the head of the sports and tourism departments of the then royal government. He served in the military till 1949 and retired as a Lt. Colonel. Later on he entered into public administration and decided to develop and promote Kovalam as a tourist destination. He started Kerala Travels Limited to popularize key tourist locations in Travancore Kingdom. When Travancore merged with India, Kerala Travels Limited became a private entity under him. In the 1960s, KTL collaborated with Thomas Cook and started popularizing Kovalam in western countries which started the advent of hippie culture in Kovalam Beach. He invited many foreign dignitaries and promoted the place by organising parties at the Kovalam Palace, according to Kerala Tourism Development Corporation website.

Sree Padmanabhasevini Maharani Karthika Thirunal Lakshmi Bayi

The couple had four children, Elayarajah (Crown Prince) Sree Padmanabhadasa Avittom Thirunal Rama Varma (1938-1944, died at the age of six of a rheumatic heart condition), Pooyam Thirunal Gowri Parvati Bayi (1941), Indo Anglian writer Aswathi Thirunal Gowri Lakshmi Bayi (1945) and Sree Padmanabhadasa Sree Moolam Thirunal Rama Varma (1949).

G. V. Raja practiced and promoted sports in Kerala. He was involved in sports promotion, tourism, the aviation industry, and establishing the necessary infrastructure for the promotion of all these varied fields.

The "Kerala for you" Web site reports that G. V. Raja established the All India Sports Council in 1954, the first of its kind in the country. He formed the Golf Club Association in Kerala. He introduced Keralites to mountaineering and surfing. He excelled in football, tennis, golf, cricket etc.

G. V. Raja invited Wimbledon champion Bill Tilden to play an exhibition match on 30 January 1938 to popularise Tennis in the state. Following this, he founded the Trivandrum Tennis Club on 1 February 1938 at Shasthamangalam. G. V. Raja was the president of Kerala Cricket Association from 1950 to 1963. He became the first person from Kerala to become an office-holder of BCCI Board of Control for Cricket in India when he became its Vice President. He was the founder President of the Travancore Sports Council (renamed Kerala Sports Council) that was formed in 1954. The Council was formed as the result of a meeting of 11 sports organizations of Kerala. After the formation of Kerala state, it became the Kerala State Sports Council. G. V. Raja remained the President of the Council till his death. The list of other organizations that he started includes Trivandrum Golf Club Committee, Veli Boat Club, Roller Skating Ring, SreePaadam Stadium and Trivandrum/Kerala Flying Club (re-named as Rajiv Gandhi Academy for Aviation Technology). He served as the Officer Commandant of the Travancore University Labour Core and was also the first Physical Education Director of the university. In 1953 he conducted Thiru-Kochi Swimming Competition. He formed the Aquatic Association and was the President of Lawn tennis Association. He was instrumental in organizing the Asian Cup qualifying round tournament, involving Israel, Iran, Pakistan and India, at the Maharaja’s College Grounds, Ernakulam in 1959 and had spearheaded a team of organizers in hosting the Santosh Trophy for the first time in Kerala in 1956.

G. V. Raja played the pivotal role in developing Kovalam as a major tourism destination. He established the first travel agency of the state named Kerala Travels in 1959. He also took the initiative to develop the Trivandrum Airport.

In 1971 he went to Patiala, to participate in All India sports Council Conference. He made an unscheduled trip to the Kulu Valley on 30 April 1971. With two others, G V Raja flew in a three-seater aircraft which nose-dived and crashed, killing all its passengers. He was aged 62 at the time of his death. His body was flown to Thiruvananthapuram and cremated at Poonjar. He was the man behind the development of Thiruvananthapuram airport, but he died before fulfilling his dream.

The sports school in Thiruvananthapuram was named G.V. Raja Sports School in his honour. A sports stadium in Thiruvananthapuram is named after him. Kerala State Sports Council instituted the G.V. Raja award, awarded yearly for excellence in sport. The Kerala Tourism Department's award for lifetime achievement in tourism is also named after him. Lt. Col. Raja's birth anniversary, 13 October, is observed as "Kerala Sports Day".