Aswathy Thirunal Gowri Lakshmi Bayi (born 1945) of the Travancore Royal Family is a noted writer from Kerala. She has ten books to her credit. Aswathy Thirunal is the niece of the last King of

Travancore The Kingdom of Travancore ( /ˈtrævənkɔːr/), also known as the Kingdom of Thiruvithamkoor, was an Indian kingdom from c. 1729 until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, and later Thiruvananthapuram. At ...

Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma Sree Padmanabhadasa Sree Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma , popularly known as Sree Chithira Thirunal, was the last ruling Maharaja of the Princely State of Travancore, in southern India until 1949 and later the Titular Maharajah of Travancore ...

Birth and education

Aswathy Thirunal was born as the third child of Maharani

Karthika Thirunal Lakshmi Bayi Maharani Karthika Thirunal Lakshmi Bayi (1916-2008) was the only sister of the last ruling Maharajah of Travancore, Sree Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma and of his successor, Sree Uthradom Thirunal Marthanda Varma. Under the matrilineal ''Marum ...

of Travancore Royal Family and Lt. Col

G. V. Raja Lt. Col. P. R. Godavarma Raja (13 October 1908 – 30 April 1971), often referred to as G. V. Raja, was an Indian sports and tourism promoter and administrator, pilot, sportsman and Sanskrit scholar . He took special care in inspiring the youth ...

on 4 July 1945. Her siblings are Avittom Thirunal Rama Varma (1938-1944), Pooyam Thirunal Gowri Parvati Bayi (1941) and

Moolam Thirunal Rama Varma Sree Padmanabhadasa Sree Moolam Thirunal Rama Varma (born 1949) is the current titular Maharajah of Travancore. He is the youngest of the four children of the former titular Maharani of Travancore, Sree Padmanabhasevini Maharani Karthika Thir ...

(1949), the present scion of

. She was educated at home by Anglo-Indian tutors along with her siblings. After finishing school, she joined Women's College

Thiruvananthapuram Thiruvananthapuram (; ), also known by its former name Trivandrum (), is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala. It is the most populous city in Kerala with a population of 957,730 as of 2011. The encompassing urban agglomeration populati ...

to pursue a Degree in Economics and graduated from there in 1966.

Marriage

At the age of 18 in 1963, Aswathy Thirunal married 26-year-old Vishakham Nal Sukumaran Raja Raja Varma, a member of the Paliyakkara West Palace of

Thiruvalla Thiruvalla, alternately spelled Tiruvalla, is a town in Kerala and the Headquarters of the Taluk of the same name located in Pathanamthitta district in the State of Kerala, India. The town is spread over an area of . It lies on the banks of ...

. The couple had two sons and an adopted daughter. Raja Raja Varma died on 30 December 2005 from injuries received in a car accident.

Literary works

Aswathi Thirunal has written several books on subjects such as

temples and

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

temple architecture as well as three collections of English poems, numerous articles in newspapers, and books on the culture and heritage of India — 13 books in total. Some of her important works are: ''The Dawn'' (1994), ''Kerala Temple Architecture: Some Notable Features'' (1997), ''Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple'' (1998), ''Thulsi Garland'' (1998), ''The Mighty Indian Experience'' (2002), ''Budhadarśanaṃ: lēkhanaṅṅaḷ'' (2007), ''Glimpses of Kerala Culture'' (2011), ''Rudrakshamala'' (2014) and ''An Amateur's Attempt at Poetry'' (2018). According to critics, the book ''Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple'' published in 1998, considered a comprehensive work on the ancient temple, is extremely popular and has run into several editions. The book was translated into

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam was des ...

by K. Shankaran Nambuthiri and K. Jayakumar.Her latest book is History Liberated - The Sree Chithra Saga

References

External links

Muralramayan prologue

Onam Memories-(1)-Princess Aswathy Thirunal Youtube.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bayi, Aswathi Thirunal Gowri Lakshmi Travancore royal family 1945 births Living people 20th-century Indian women writers 20th-century Indian non-fiction writers 20th-century Indian novelists Writers from Kerala People from Thiruvananthapuram Indian women travel writers Indian travel writers 21st-century Indian women writers 21st-century Indian writers 21st-century Indian non-fiction writers English-language writers from India Malayalam novelists Indian women novelists Malayalam-language writers 21st-century Indian novelists Women of the Kingdom of Travancore People of the Kingdom of Travancore Women writers from Kerala 20th-century Indian poets Indian women poets 21st-century Indian poets Poets from Kerala Indian women screenwriters Malayalam screenwriters Screenwriters from Kerala Indian women essayists 20th-century Indian essayists 21st-century Indian essayists