 Kochubava was born on November 28, 1955 at Kattoor village in Thrissur district of the south Indian state of Kerala to Veeravu, a coir merchant and his wife, Beevathu, in a family with limited financial resources.After early schooling at St. George's Convent UP School, Karanchira and Pompei St. Mary's High Secondary School, Kattoor, he graduated from Sree Narayana College, Nattika before moving to Sharjah to work at a private company for the next two decades.On his return to India, he joined "Gulf Voice" as its editor and settled in Kozhikode.