 He was born in Ottapalam, Madras Presidency (now Kerala) in British India (now India) to MA Candeth, being the grandson of the landlord and writer Vengayil Kunhiraman Nayanar.His maternal grandfather was Sir C. Sankaran Nair, who was the President of the Indian National Congress.He told a reporter during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 that "I am a Nair from Kerala.