Col GV Raja, A visionary who put Trivandrum and Kerala on the Global Map – April 14, 2023 at 04:48AM

Sports:

Col G. V. Raja, was a sports and tourism promoter and administrator, pilot and a keen sportsman. He took special care in inspiring the youth into sports and was instrumental in founding the Kerala Sports Council in 1953. G. V. Raja occupied the post of Council President till he was killed in a flight mishap in 1971 at Kulu. G. V. Raja also played a key role in establishing The Flying Club, and the development of the Thiruvananthapuram International Airport.

G. V. Raja invited Wimbledon champion Bill Tilden to play an exhibition match in Jan, 1938 to popularise Tennis in the state. Following this, he founded the Trivandrum Tennis Club on 1 February 1938 at Shasthamangalam.

He was the founder of Kerala Cricket Association, and patron of a large number of sports clubs. Raja was the first Keralite to become the Vice-President of Board of Control for Cricket in India, and had he lived, he would have become President of the BCCI.

He formed the Golf Club Association in Kerala and also introduced Keralites to mountaineering and surfing.

Tourism:

As the spouse of Karthika Thirunal Lakshmi Bayi, he became the prince consort of Travancore and the Maharaja enthrusted him to head the Tourism department at that time. He was the main architect in developing Kovalam as an international tourist spot.

After their wedding, G. V. Raja and his wife had spent their honeymoon at Kovalam. During this time, G. V. Raja had become smitten by the beauty of the place and in later years, even referred to Kovalam as his “first love”.

Since he had a prominent place in public administration, he decided to develop and promote Kovalam as a tourist destination, and then expanded his interest to other places of tourist interest within Travancore. He started Kerala Travels Limited to popularize various key tourist locations in the Travancore Kingdom. When Travancore merged with India, KTL became a private entity under his ownership.

In the 1960s, KTL collaborated with Thomas Cook and started popularizing Kovalam in western countries, and this resulted in kick-starting the hippie culture in Kovalam Beach, something he wasn’t that keen on. He invited many foreign dignitaries and promoted the place by organising parties at the Kovalam Palace regularly.

Father of Sports and Tourism in Kerala. Col G. V. Raja’s birth anniversary, 13 October, is observed as “Kerala Sports Day”.