Ambalika Thamburatty, a lady belonging to the Poonjar dynasty, and her husband, Puthusseri Narayanan Nampoothiri.

In accordance with the Sambandam system and the matrilineal Marumakkathayam system then prevalent in Kerala, Godavarma Raja belonged not to the family and caste of his father, but to that of his mother; he was a member of the Poonjar dynasty, and similarly, his children would belong to the family of their mother.

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 (the Pandya capital) to present-day Kerala due to incessant civil wars in the Tamil Country.

The royal family agreed and made a formal proposal of marriage to Goda Varma's parents.

After he settled down to royal duties 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 receiving and dealing with foreign dignitaries and important state guests.

He started Kerala Travels Limited to popularize various key tourist locations in the Travancore Kingdom.

When Travancore merged with India, Kerala Travels Limited became a private (corporate) entity under his ownership.

He invited many foreign dignitaries and promoted the place by organising parties at the Kovalam Palace, according to Kerala Tourism Development Corporation website.

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.

[20] G. V. Raja invited Wimbledon champion Bill Tilden to play an exhibition match on 30 January 1938 to popularise Tennis in the state.

[25] He became the first person from Kerala to become an office-holder for the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) when he became its Vice President.