 After losing his mother at the age of nine, he stayed with his elder sister's family and did his schooling in Nagarcoil.Later, he secured his graduate degree with honours in Science and English literature from the Maharaja's College (present-day University College Thiruvananthapuram) of the University of Madras in 1921 after which he graduated in medicine from Madras Medical College in 1926.Continuing at the same institution, he passed MD in 1931 and became a member of the Royal College of Physicians of London, the next year.