[Stories and Poetry from the Room of IAS Officers]

“I have been more of an officer than a writer.

Now I should be more of a writer than a retired officer.”

Jayakumar is a poet, lyricist, screenwriter and painter. He has written lyrics for nearly 100 Malayalam films and large number of songs for albums, Television and radio. He has also written and directed a children's film. He has held 17 solo exhibitions in India and abroad. He has authored twenty five books in Malayalam, and four works in English . His translations of Tagore, Kahlil Gibran and Rumi are well acclaimed.

K. Jayakumar (കെ. ജയകുമാര്‍) [Born 6 October 1952] is a senior Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer from Kerala who retired as the Chief Secretary, Government of Kerala. Jayakumar is also a popular Malayali poet, lyricist, translator and scriptwriter. He is the son of noted Malayalam film director M. Krishnan Nair. He has served as the founding vice-chancellor of the Malayalam University. Jayakumar belongs to 1978 batch of IAS. He began his civil service career as an assistant collector in 1980. During his career Jayakumar held important bureaucratic positions at various levels in the Governments of Kerala and India, including District Collector, Kozhikode; Director of Tourism Department, Government of Kerala; Director of Public Instructions (DPI), Kerala;, Secretary, Tourism and Culture, Managing Director, Film Development Corporation, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Tourism & Culture, Government of India; Agriculture Production Commissioner, Government of Kerala. He served as the Chief Secretary, Government of Kerala during the period April 2012 to October 2012. In 2008, Jayakumar was honored by presenting the first K.P.S. Menon Memorial Award in recognition to his distinguished service as a bureaucrat. On retirement as the Chief Secretary, Jayakumar was appointed as the first Vice-Chancellor of the Thunchath Ezhuthachan Malayalam University.

Jayakumar is the eldest son of the late eminent film director M. Krishnan Nair and K. Sulochana Devi. He has two younger brothers, K. Harikumar and K. Sreekumar (K. Sreekuttan), the latter being a popular film director himself. He is married to Meera, and has two children - a son named Anand and a daughter named Aswathi. Selected poems:

  • Santhapavriksham
  • Rathriyude Sadhyathakal
  • Ardhavrithangal
  • Solamante Pranayageethangal
  • Rumiyude Pranayakavithakal (translation)
  • Geetanjali(translation)
  • Aadityahridayam
  • Aparathayod anuragapoorvam
  • Vayalar-Ganarachanyile Gandharvam


Let's Read Some Poetry:

[Kamala A Monologue] 

I have waited to plan

The sapling of this poem

In this fresh pit

Moist like a stubborn wound.


The tiny roots have tried to probe

The conspiracy of love and lust

you playful hatched.

They Tried in vain to decode

The mocktail of fiction and fact

You gleefully mixed.


The roots wanted

To sieve desire from memories.

The heart of the sapling always pulsed

In awe and disbelief

At the audacity of your honesty

And the cunning fecundity of your creativity.

And the beguiling candour of a mind

In sequential cloud bursts of blasphemy.




Kerala - a poem in green and gold: The book Kerala:a poem in green and gold is an absorbing account on Kerala by K. Jayakumar I.A.S. a senior bureaucrat with Government of Kerala and a writer of repute. Spread over ten chapters, the book is a veritable source of information on Kerala, most appealing to travelers, and to a good extend for those interested in understanding some of the quintessential aspects of Kerala s history and culture. A multifaceted littérateur, Mr. Jayakumar s book on Kerala has come at a time when Kerala is riding the crest of its popularity wave, as one of the most sought after travel destinations in India. The book highlights the hallmark of Kerala s universal identity Green. Its cultural fabric that also had the influence resulting out of Kerala s relationship with foreign maritime powers; its unique heritage that is evident in its folklore and folksongs are succinctly told. The book also introduces readers to Kerala s northern region of Malabar, which possess a unique socio-cultural setting. The folk, ritualistic and classical art forms of Kerala, the festival splendours also find a place in the book. The book also takes readers to the current socio-cultural and economic status of Kerala, the prevailing trends and an account of a typical Keralite with a special treatment on the lure of Kochi the Queen of the Arabian Sea.

Malabar: the gateway to India: Malabar, the gateway to India is a comprehensive narrative melding history, culture, and the lifestyle of a people for whom the territorial identity signifies a cumulative experience. Cradled between a long coastline and the tapering end of the Western Ghats, this land is a veritable melting pot—for the people, over generations, have harmoniously embraced a constant influx of diverse ethnic and religious groups from across the oceans, and elsewhere.

From K Jayakumar — author, poet, filmmaker, and career bureaucrat — comes an exquisite narration on the history and culture of the people of Malabar. Flip through the pages to discover the mystique that defines the region, now part of the state of Kerala. It is spice country. It is the land of Kalaripayattu. And, the land where the atmospheric Theyyam, a ritual form of worship, still holds sway.

Enhancing the visual quality of this book with exquisite takes on localities, arts, crafts, and the people who make this an enchanting land with a reputation for its hospitality and a delectable multi-cuisine, is the photographer, Saji Chunda—who seized the moment to freeze in frame rare vistas of Malabar. Rounding off the book with an apt aesthetic finesse is what the seasoned Art Director, George Jacob, has accomplished.