Aswathi Thirunal Gouri Lakshmi Bayi
A writer from the Travancore royal family whose 13 books cover Kerala's temples, history and culture, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2024.
Aswathi Thirunal Gouri Lakshmi Bayi is a writer in English and a member of the former royal family of Travancore. She was named for the Padma Shri in 2024 in the field of literature and education, from Kerala [1].
Life and education
She was born on 4 July 1945 and was schooled privately in the palace before taking a degree in economics at the Maharaja’s College for Women in Thiruvananthapuram [2].
Books
She has written 13 books: three collections of poems and ten works of non-fiction, mostly about Kerala’s culture, the old temples of Travancore and the history of the region [2]. Among the best known are Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple and History Liberated: The Sree Chithra Saga [2]. Translations of her work have appeared in Malayalam, and one book each has been published in Tamil and Hindi [2].
Public work
She has twice served as a director of the State Bank of Travancore and was president of the Bal Vikas Institute for children with special needs [2]. She is a trustee of the Travancore Palace charitable trusts and of the Puthen Malika Palace Museum [2].
Her honours include the Kala Poshaka award of the Lalitha Kala Academy Foundation, Mysore, and the Deva Rama award of the Travancore Devaswom Board [2].
Sources
- [1] Padma Awards 2024: list of awardees — Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. Accessed 15 October 2026.
- [2] Padma Awards 2024: citation for Aswathi Thirunal Gouri Lakshmi Bayi — Padma Awards, Government of India. Accessed 15 October 2026.
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