He was born on 4 July 1929 in Chavara Thekkumbhagom in Kollam district, as the eldest son of Meloottu Velayudhan and Sarada.
After schooling in his native village he joined Sree Narayana College, Kollam for higher studies where he was associated with the Communist Party of India and its student wing AISF.
[2] Being a member of the Communist Party of India he was arrested and imprisoned in 1975, during the Indian Emergency declared by the then regime headed by Indira Gandhi.
His eldest son Vasantakumar Sambashivan, a Professor of Chemistry at Sree Narayana College, Kollam follows his father's way.
Kochi Rajappan (thabalist), Kadavoor Madhu and Venmony Vijayakumar (harmonist), Changanassery Rajan, Babu, Yousef and more.