Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma

In 1900, following the absence of heirs in the Travancore Royal Family, she had been adopted by her maternal great-aunt.

According to the matrilineal traditions of the Travancore Royal Family, Sree Chithira Thirunal, at the time of his birth, was proclaimed the Heir Apparent of Travancore with the title of : Sree Padmanabhadasa Maharajkumar Sree Balarama Varma II, Elaya Rajah (Crown Prince) of Travancore.

At the age of 6, Sree Chithira Thirunal began his education under tutors specially chosen by his uncle, Maharajah Sree Moolam Thirunal, in subjects like Malayalam, Sanskrit, Tamil, English, Mathematics, History, Geography, General Literature, Art and Culture.

His early education in Malayalam and Sanskrit was imparted by the eminent scholar of the time, Sri Attoor Krishna Pisharody and in English by Mr. Dowel I.C.S (Indian Civil Service) and T. Raman Nambeeshan.

Later he had his higher education under Captain G.T.B. Harvey, and Mr Dutt I.C.S (Indian Civil Service).

At the age of 16, he began his training in State Craft and Administration, for two years, in Bangalore.

Sree Padmanabhadasa Sree Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma, popularly known as Sree Chithira Thirunal (7 November 1912 – 20 July 1991), was the last ruling Maharaja of the Indian princely state of Travancore, in southern India until 1949 and later the Titular Maharajah of Travancore until 1991.

His reign is known for several notable reforms that have indelible impact on the society and culture of Kerala.

Sree Chithira Thirunal was the eldest son of Junior Maharani of Travancore, Sethu Parvathi Bayi, and Sri Pooram Nal Ravi Varma Koyi Thampuran of the Royal House of Kilimanoor.

He was born on Deepavali on his mother's sixteenth birthday, on 7 November 1912, as the Heir Apparent to the throne of Travancore.

His siblings were Karthika Thirunal Lakshmi Bayi and Uthradom Thirunal Marthanda Varma.

Sree Chithira Thirunal's mother, Sethu Parvathi Bayi, was distantly related, by birth, to the royal house of Travancore in the direct female line.

He was privately educated, and became the Maharajah of Travancore, at the age of 11, upon the death of his maternal great uncle, the then Maharajah of Travancore Sree Moolam Thirunal, on 7 August 1924.

Sree Chithira Thirunal was an Hon. Major General with the British Indian Army and the Colonel-in-Chief and the Supreme Commander of the Travancore Military and of the Travancore-Cochin State Forces, for the period 1924–56.

Sree Chithira Thirunal lived in Bangalore until 1 July 1931, and acquired knowledge in practical administration for 15 months, under the guidance of Krishnaraja Wodeyar IV, the Maharajah of Mysore.

The head tutor of Sree Chithira Thirunal, Captain.

Harvey, quoted in his report to the Travancore government that : ''His Highness is an intelligent and willing pupil and his educational progress has been quite satisfactory.

His mental equipment and the present standard of his knowledge in English, Malayalam and other subjects like Mathematics, History and Geography are higher than those laid down by the Committee ruling 'Minor Ruler's Education and Training in Administration'.

His Highness continued to make very satisfactory progress in his studies and that mental progress and expansion of personality have been marked and rapid.

The establishment of a separate household, has resulted in much greater self-reliance, initiative and power of decision.

Opportunities for studying the laws and institutions of a progressive State have greatly broadened His Highness' experience and enlarged His Highness' sympathies and interests''.

By the time he reached the majority age of eighteen, Sree Chithira Thirunal, had finished his administrative training in Mysore and returned to Travancore.

Even after turning eighteen, Sree Chithira Thirunal's investiture ceremony wasn't done and his accession to full power looked unlikely, as rumours were spread about him that he was not mentally stable and hence not qualified to occupy the throne.

His mother, Maharani Sethu Parvathi Bayi, contacted Sir C. P. Ramaswamy Aiyar, a family friend, who then presented Sree Chithira Thirunal's case to the then Viceroy of India, Lord Wellington, and arranged a meeting between the two.

After meeting the young Monarch, the Viceroy was highly impressed and found the rumours baseless, and thus all the obstacles, in Sree Chithira Thirunal's accession to power, were removed.

As Sree Chithira Thirunal was quite young, and because of the amount of controversy that had been swirling around him, Viceroy Lord Wellington insisted that Sir C.P. must become the Legal and Constitutional Adviser to the young Monarch.

Sree Chithira Thirunal attained full ruling powers on 6 November 1931, with the title : Major General His Highness Sree Padmanabhadasa Vanchipala Sree Chithira Thirunal Sir Balarama Varma II, Manney Sultan Maharajah Raja Ramaraja Bahadur, Shamsher Jang, Maharajah of Travancore, Knight Grand Commander of the Most Exalted Order of the Star of India, Knight Grand Commander of the Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire.

As was customary, he took the regnal name Sree Chithira Thirunal as he was born under the Chithira nakshatram or star.

ln his speech, after assuming full power as the Maharajah of Travancore, he declared : "It is my hope that I shall be enabled by God’s grace to earn the affection and esteem of all communities and classes amongst my people whose advancement in every department of life will be my perpetual pre-occupation and my sole aim."

Upon India's independence from the British on 15 August 1947, Sree Chithira Thirunal initially chose to keep his domain an independent country.

As this was unacceptable to the Government Of India, several rounds of negotiations were held between the Maharaja and the Indian representatives.

Finally an agreement was reached in 1949 and Sree Chithira Thirunal agreed to merge Travancore officially as a part of the Union of India.

In 1949, Travancore was united with Cochin, and Sree Chithira Thirunal served as the first and only Rajpramukh (Governor equivalent) of the Travancore-Cochin Union from 1 July 1949 until 31 October 1956.

He became an Hon. Colonel in the Indian Army since 1949, as the Travancore Military was integrated by him into the former, as the 9th (1st Travancore) and the 16th Battalion of the Madras Regiment (2nd Travancore).

On 1 November 1956, the state of Kerala was created by uniting the Malayalam-speaking areas of the Travancore-Cochin Union with Malabar, and Sree Chithira Thirunal's office of Rajpramukh came to an end.

After the Constitutional Amendment of 1971, he was stripped of his political powers and emoluments from the privy purse by the Indira Gandhi government.

At the age of 78, after suffering a stroke, he fell into a coma for nine days and died on 20 July 1991.

Along with the Sree Chitra Thirunal Institute of Medical Sciences and Technology, many other charitable trusts were established using the funds, land and buildings provided by him.

Sree Chithira Thirunal also sponsored the higher education of a Young K. R. Narayanan who went on to become the 10th President of India.

Sree Chithira Thirunal was the eldest son of Sethu Parvathi Bayi, popularly known as "Amma Maharani", the Queen Mother and Junior Maharani of Travancore, by her consort, Ravi Varma Kochu Koyi Thampuran of Royal House of Kilimanoor, a Sanskrit scholar and the great-nephew of the celebrated painter Raja Ravi Varma.