Krishnan Jayakumar (born 6 October 1952) is an Indian civil servant, writer, poet, lyricist, translator, painter, and public speaker. He retired as the Chief Secretary of Kerala and later served as the founding Vice-Chancellor of the Thunchath Ezhuthachan Malayalam University. Over a career spanning more than four decades, he has contributed extensively to administration, literature, art, and the promotion of the Malayalam language.
K. Jayakumar is the son of Malayalam film director M. Krishnan Nair and Sulochana Devi. He is married to Meera, and the couple has two children, Anand and Aswathy.
He completed his Master’s degree in English Literature from Nagpur University, where he was a gold medalist.
Career
Civil Service
Jayakumar joined the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) in 1978 in the Kerala cadre and went on to serve the state and central governments in a variety of roles for more than three decades. He began his career as Sub-Collector of Kozhikode and later served as General Manager of the District Industries Centre in Alappuzha and as Managing Director of the Kerala State Coir Corporation. He was appointed District Collector of Kozhikode in 1986. He also renovated the EMS Stadium to host the Nehru Trophy International Football Tournament. During this tenure, he initiated modernization programmes in Kozhikode, including improvements to roads and urban infrastructure.
Over the years, he held several key administrative positions including Managing Director of the Kerala State Cashew Development Corporation and the Kerala State Film Development Corporation; Secretary of Tourism, Information and Culture, Water Resources, Higher Education, School Education, Encyclopedic Publications, and Devaswoms; Director of the Department of Tourism; Registrar of Mahatma Gandhi University; and later Acting Vice-Chancellor of Mahatma Gandhi University. As Secretary, Devaswoms and the Chairman of the High Power Committee appointed by the Kerala High Court from 2011 to 2017, he was responsible for the implementation of Sabarimala Master Plan which was instrumental in improving pilgrims' facilities. He served as a member on the Supreme Court appointed Committee for inventorization of the treasuries of Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple.
As Director and later Secretary of Kerala Tourism between 1988 and 1995, Jayakumar was instrumental in transforming the sector. He pioneered imaginative promotion strategies, innovative product design, and public-private partnerships that laid the foundation of modern tourism in the state and helped brand Kerala internationally as “God’s Own Country.”
In the field of education, Jayakumar served as Director of Public Instruction and later as Secretary of School Education from 1995 to 2001. He emphasized quality improvements in school education and launched the IT@School programme, which introduced information technology into classrooms across Kerala. At the Government of India level, he was appointed Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Culture, where he provided leadership to the National Manuscripts Mission and contributed to the drafting of UNESCO Conventions on the Safeguarding of Intangible Heritage and the Protection of Cultural Diversity.
In his later years in service, Jayakumar rose to senior roles such as Agricultural Production Commissioner, Additional Chief Secretary (Water Resources and Devaswoms, Home, and Vigilance), and finally Chief Secretary of Kerala, the highest-ranking civil service position in the state, before retiring in 2012.
Vice-Chancellor, Malayalam University
On retirement from the IAS in 2012, Jayakumar was appointed by the Government of Kerala as the founding Vice-Chancellor of the Thunchath Ezhuthachan Malayalam University, Tirur, where he served until 2017. His mandate was to establish the new university as an alternative academic centre dedicated to the enrichment of the Malayalam language, literature, culture, history, and society.
During his five-year tenure, Jayakumar oversaw the creation of the university’s academic and administrative framework. He recruited the first cohort of faculty members, set up Boards of Studies, and established governing bodies such as the Academic Council and Research Council. Under his leadership, the university launched five postgraduate programmes in 2013 and introduced additional courses and a doctoral programme in 2015, with theses written in Malayalam. He also ensured the construction of new buildings, including a modern library and dedicated blocks for teaching and research.
Jayakumar promoted Malayalam studies through initiatives such as the establishment of a literary archive to preserve manuscripts and rare books, a heritage museum, and the creation of facilities for sound recording and film editing. He initiated a publication programme to reprint and publish works of academic value, including titles overlooked by commercial publishers, and he spearheaded the development of a comprehensive Online Malayalam Dictionary Project. Under his leadership, Malayalam University also undertook translation and international outreach programmes, including participation in the Frankfurt Book Fair in 2016, which led to the publication of Malayalam works in German and French. He was instrumental in creating the Gundert Chair at the University of Tübingen, Germany in 2015, the first such international chair established by a Kerala university, enabling faculty and student exchanges.
He also established a series of annual memorial lectures, including the Ezhuthachan, Vallathol, Chandu Menon, and Elamkulam Kunjan Pillai lectures, and organized literary and film festivals such as Sahiti and Darshini. Beyond institutional development, Jayakumar played a decisive role in securing the recognition of Malayalam as a Classical Language in 2013, drawing on his earlier experience as Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Culture when Tamil was granted classical status.
Through these initiatives, Jayakumar positioned the university as a centre of excellence for the study of Malayalam and demonstrated the viability of higher education and research in the medium of Malayalam.
Literaryand art contributions
Jayakumar is a prolific author in both Malayalam and English, with a body of work that spans poetry, literary criticism, biography, and translation. He has published 44 books, including 37 in Malayalam and seven in English. His poetry collections include more than 400 poems compiled across seven anthologies in Malayalam and three in English. His English works include Kerala: A Poem in Green and Gold (2005) and Malabar: The Gateway to India (2019).
As a translator, he has rendered into Malayalam the works of world poets and thinkers such as Rabindranath Tagore, Kahlil Gibran, Rumi, Omar Khayyam, and Kabir. He also translated Geet Govindam into English and seventy poems of O. N. V. Kurup into English, which were published by Orient BlackSwan. His translations extend to international voices such as the Russian poet Bella Akhmadulina, and his efforts have contributed to widening the accessibility of world literature for Malayalam readers.
Alongside his literary career, Jayakumar has been a prominent lyricist in Malayalam music and cinema. He has written over 500 songs, including lyrics for more than 100 Malayalam films He has also written scripts for documentaries and television serials, as well as plays, most notably Samrat, a drama based on the life of Emperor Ashoka, which was translated into Hindi and staged over 250 times across India. In addition, he directed a children’s film, Varnachirakukal, and scripted an English feature film directed by Rajeevnath (Mama is Waiting).
A self-taught painter, Jayakumar has pursued art alongside his literary and administrative career. He has held 15 solo exhibitions of his paintings in India and abroad, with shows in Seoul, Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai, and Kochi. His visual works often explore themes of culture, nature, and spirituality, complementing his poetic sensibilities.
Public Speaking
Jayakumar is also known as a public speaker and cultural ambassador. He has delivered more than 100 lectures across India and abroad on the value and relevance of the Malayalam language, addressing audiences in Kerala, the Middle East, Europe, and the United States. In 2019, he delivered around twenty talks on the relevance of Mahatma Gandhi in the 21st century, reflecting on the continuing importance of Gandhian ideals of truth, non-violence, and morality in contemporary public life. His talks, particularly those addressing the Malayali diaspora, have been influential in inspiring initiatives to translate Malayalam literature into world languages and to promote Malayalam globally.
Jayakumar IAS receiving Prof Adinadu Gopi award at Kollam 2025
Awards and recognition
Jayakumar has been the recipient of numerous awards across literature, poetry, translation, music, and public service. For his contributions as a poet, he received the Mahakavi Kuttamath Award, the Kunjunni Master Award, and the Asianet Award. As a lyricist, he was honoured with the Kerala Sangeet Nataka Akademi Award for drama songs, the P. Bhaskaran Award, and several recognitions for his extensive body of work in Malayalam cinema and albums.
His translations have also won critical acclaim, earning him the Sergey Yesenin Award for translation and the V. Abdulla Award, among others. In recognition of his distinguished career in public service, he received the K. P. S. Menon Award for excellence in administration, the Vayala Vasudevan Pillai Award for creatively blending administration with literature and art, and the Outstanding Malayali Award from the World Malayali Council.
He has also been conferred with honours by Malayali associations abroad, including the Qatar Malayali Association Vaikom Muhammed Basheer Award (shared with Malayalam University), the Muscat Malayali Association Award, and the Malayala Patashala Award for promoting Malayalam language and culture. Other distinctions include the Mar Gregorios Award for positive contributions to public life, the Sukumar Azhikode Award, the Kurooramma Puraskaram, and the Bharanikkavu Sivakumar Award.
In 2024, K. Jayakumar received the Kendra Sahitya Akademi Award in the Malayalam category for his poetry anthology Pingalakeshini, selected from nine shortlisted works for its contemplative exploration of the erosion of moral values, earning a cash prize of ₹1 lakh, a citation, and a memento.
Personal life
Jayakumar IAS speaking at Prof Adinadu Gopi award at Kollam function 2025
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 Books
Lalitha Jeevitham (Malayalam)
Simple Life (English)
Ahalyashila (collection of essays)
Pingalakeshini (2020) (Anthology of poems)
Ezhuthachan Ezhuthumpol (2022) (Long poem)
Soochikalillatha Clock(2024) (Anthology of poems)
Sancharathinte Sangeetham (2024) (Memoirs)
Orpheus (2024) (English Translation of ONV's poems)
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