 He walked to school for about 15 kilometres daily through paddy fields, and was often unable to pay the modest fees.He often listened to school lessons while standing outside the classroom, having been barred from attending because tuition fees were outstanding.The family lacked money to buy books and his elder brother K. R. Neelakantan, who was confined to home as he was suffering from asthma, used to borrow books from other students, copy them down, and give them to Narayanan.