[3] Pokkudan was born in 1937 at Iddukkil Thara, a hamlet in the remote village of Ezhom Moola, near Pazhayangadi, in Kannur district in the south Indian state of Kerala in a tribal family to Aringelayan Govindan Parotti and Kallen Vellachi.

He was more aligned to the radical group in the Communist Party of India, was involved in many people's movement and was arrested on many occasions.

[8] He was one of the protagonists of Papilio Buddha, a 2013 feature film by Jayan Cherian, which focuses on the environmental and spiritual aspects of life.

[9] Pokkudan was married to Meenakshi and the couple had three daughters, Pushpalatha, Pushpavalli and Rekha and three sons, Anandan, Raghunath and Sreejith.

[16] A Malayalam film called Sthalam was made in 2011 based upon the life of Kallen Pokkudan.