K. Jayakumar (born 6 October 1952) is an Indian

civil servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...

, poet, and author. He is an

Indian Administrative Service The Indian Administrative Service (IAS) is the administrative arm of the All India Services of Government of India. Considered the premier civil service of India, the IAS is one of the three arms of the All India Services along with the Indian ...

(IAS) officer from

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 ...

who retired as the Chief Secretary of the

Government of Kerala Government of Kerala is the subnational government of the Indian state of Kerala. The government is led by a chief minister, who selects all the other ministers. The chief minister and their most senior ministers belong to the supreme decision ...

. He has also worked as

lyricist A lyricist is a songwriter who writes lyrics (the spoken words), as opposed to a composer, who writes the song's music which may include but not limited to the melody, harmony, arrangement and accompaniment. Royalties A lyricist's income ...

, translator and screenwriter. He is the son of film director M. Krishnan Nair. He has served as the founding vice-chancellor of the Malayalam University.

Career

Jayakumar belongs to 1978 batch of IAS. He began his civil service career as an assistant collector in 1980. During his career Jayakumar held important bureaucratic positions at various levels in the Governments of

and

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, including

District Collector A District Collector-cum-District Magistrate (also known as Deputy Commissioner in some states) is an All India Service officer of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) cadre who is responsible for ''land revenue collection'', ''canal reven ...

Kozhikode Kozhikode (), also known in English as Calicut, is a city along the Malabar Coast in the state of Kerala in India. It has a corporation limit population of 609,224 and a metropolitan population of more than 2 million, making it the second la ...

; Director of Tourism Department, Government of Kerala; Director of Public Instructions (DPI), Kerala;, Secretary, Tourism and Culture, Managing Director, Film Development Corporation, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Tourism & Culture, Government of India; Agriculture Production Commissioner, Government of Kerala. He served as the Chief Secretary,

during the period April 2012 to October 2012. In 2008, Jayakumar was honored by presenting the first K.P.S. Menon Memorial Award in recognition to his distinguished service as a bureaucrat. On retirement as the Chief Secretary, Jayakumar was appointed as the first Vice-Chancellor of the

Thunchath Ezhuthachan Malayalam University Thunchath Ezhuthachan Malayalam University, also called Malayalam University, is a state university in Tirur, Kerala, India. History It was established by the Government of Kerala and inaugurated by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy on 1 November ...

. He now serves as the Chairman of Sathya Sai IAS Academy, located in Sai Gramam,

Thonnakkal Thonnakkal is a village in Thiruvananthapuram district in Kerala, India. It is located on the National Highway 47 on the way to Kollam from the state's capital. It is located about 25 km from the state's capital Thiruvananthapuram. Mahakavi Ku ...

, Thiruvananthapuram.

Literary career

Jayakumar is also a poet, lyricist, screenwriter and painter. He has written lyrics for nearly 100

Malayalam films Malayalam cinema is an Indian film industry of Malayalam-language motion pictures. It is based in Kochi, Kerala, India. The films produced in Malayalam cinema are known for their cinematography and story-driven plots. In 1982, ''Elippathayam' ...

and large number of songs for albums, Television and radio. He has also written and directed a children's film. He has held 17 solo exhibitions in India and abroad. He has authored twenty five books in Malayalam, and four works in English . His translations of Tagore, Kahlil Gibran and Rumi are well acclaimed. His popular film songs include ''Kudajadriyil Kudikollum'', ''Chandanalepa Sugandham'', ''Souparnikamritha Veechikal'', ''Sooryamsuvoro Vayalpoovilum'', etc. In

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

, he received the

Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Overall Contributions The Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Overall Contributions is an award given every year by the Kerala Sahitya Akademi (Kerala Literary Academy) to Malayalam writers for their overall contributions to Malayalam literature. It is one of the twelve ...

, and Asan Poetry Prize.

Personal life

Jayakumar is the eldest son of the late eminent film director M. Krishnan Nair and K. Sulochana Devi. He has two younger brothers, K. Harikumar and K. Sreekumar (K. Sreekuttan), the latter being a popular film director himself. He is married to Meera, and has two children - a son named Anand and a daughter named Aswathi.

Selected poems

*''Santhapavriksham'' *''Rathriyude Sadhyathakal'' *''Ardhavrithangal'' *''Solamante Pranayageethangal'' *''Rumiyude Pranayakavithakal'' (translation) *''Geetanjali''(translation)

Other books

*''Aadityahridayam'' *''Aparathayod anuragapoorvam'' *''Vayalar-Ganarachanyile Gandharvam''

References

External links

An image
of K. Jayakumar {{DEFAULTSORT:Jayakumar, K. Malayali people Poets from Kerala Living people 1952 births 20th-century Indian poets Indian Administrative Service officers Recipients of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award