His early schooling and education was between Trivandrum and Allepy in the erstwhile state of Travancore at that time under the Madras Presidency.
[2][3] The major categories [4] of his works are: a five-volume philosophy of freedom for which he got a Jawaharlal Nehru Fellowship (1978); a ten-volume history of world literature in English and several Indian languages which won a special award from the Kerala Sahitya Academy;[citation needed] several books on Indology; books for children published during the International Year of the Child.
[citation needed] Chaitanya is the author of a four-volume history of Indian painting,[5] has been for three decades art critic of one Indian periodical and music and dance critic of another, has been a member of the jury for Madhya Pradesh Government's Kalidas Award for eminent musician (1985) and visual artist (1987).
[citation needed] As Chairman or member of functional committees he has been associated with over a dozen national cultural organizations and institutions in India.
He was honoured with a D Litt (Honoris Causa) by the Rabindra Bharati University in 1986 and received the Padma Shri from the Indian Government in 1992.