Kuttan Menon

Pujya Gurudev had a very good bonding with his father Kuttan Menon and seems to have inherited his passion for tennis and story-telling. Kuttan Menon would invite all his brothers’ children during their vacations and regale them with stories.

Kuttan Menon always wore a dhoti and uttariyam (upper cloth). In those days, in Kerala, it was beneath their dignity to wear stitched clothes. He was a Munseef and had the special privilege of playing tennis in his dhoti in the local tennis club.

Some seven years after Parukutty’s demise, Kuttan Menon married Devaki, an educated young woman with strong religious leanings. The three children, Balan, Padmini and Kanakam moved in with them. In course of time, Kuttan Menon and Devaki had three daughters and one son – Malathy, Unni, Vijayalakshmi and Vimala.

After giving sannyasa diksha to Swami Chinmayananda, Swami Sivananda sent him to give talks in Kerala. At this time Swami Chinmayananda visited his father for the first time as a sannyasi. Kuttan Menon attended some of the talks. He must have been proud and delighted at this transformation of his eldest son. On Swami Chinmayananda’s return, he wrote a letter to Swami Sivananda, which can be read here.