Swathi Thirunal Rama Varma

Svāti Tirunāḷ‍ Rāma Varma (Malayalam: സ്വാതി തിരുനാള്‍ രാമവർമ്മ)(16 April 1813 – 27 December 1846) was the Maharaja of the Kingdom of Travancore, British India. He is also considered as a brilliant music composer and is credited with over 400 classical compositions in both Carnatic and Hindusthani style.

A well-formulated code of laws, courts of justice, introduction of English education, construction of an observatory, installation of the first Government printing press, establishment of the first manuscripts library were amongst the many initiatives taken by Svāti Tirunāḷ‍, as a King, to modernise Travancore. 'Efficiency was the key word and corruption a taboo', according to the article The Monarch Musician in The Hindu.

Early life

Swāthi Tirunāḷ‍ was born into the Chera dynasty of the Matrilineal royal family of Travancore, which is now a part of Kerala, on 16 April 1813. He was the second child of Queen Gowri Lakshmi Bayi who ruled Travancore from 1811–15, and Rajaraja Varma Koyi Thampuran of Changanasseri Palace. While in the womb itself, he was proclaimed King and was referred to as Garbha Sreemaan. He reigned under the regency of his mother from 1813–15 and then under the regency of his maternal aunt Gowri Parvati Bayi until 1829. When he was just four months old, his mother invited Colonel Munro, representative of the East India Company, and his officials and declared in the Durbar that she was entrusting the East India Company with the care of her child and expected the Company to co-operate with him in future.