A recipient of the Kendra Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, he hailed from a rugged village called Thiruvaazhaamkunnu, near Mannarkkad in Palakkad district and lived most of life in Angadipuram in Malappuram district, the place famous for the Thirumanthamkunnu Temple.
Born into an Ambalavasi family on 16 February 1916, to Koodallur Kurinjikavil marath Shankunni Marar and Njeralathu pothuvat Janaki Poduvalasyar.
He inherited the art of playing the edakka from his uncle, Njeralathu Karunakara Pothuval, and went on to establish an indelible mark in this field.
By the age of 56, he became the father of seven children: Janakikutty, Krishna Vijayan, Gopalakrishnan, Anjaneyan, Gaayathri, Hari Govindan, and Aananda Sivaraman.
The fourth edition of his autobiography named Sopanam was published by Kerala Sahitya Akademi.