Vivan Sundaram Father: Meet Kalyan Sundaram

Vivan Sundaram’s father Kalyan Vaidyanathan Kuttur Sundaram, also referred to as K. V. K. Sundaram, was an Indian civil servant.

Kalyan Sundaram was born on May 11, 1904, in Kuttur. He is an alumnus of Presidency College and Christ Church, Oxford.

Kalyan Sundaram was the first Law Secretary of independent India and the second Chief Election Commissioner of India. He was also a Sanskrit scholar, translating for English audiences the works of the Sanskrit writer Kalidasa.

Kalyan Sundaram began his ICS career in the Central Provinces in 1927 and first worked in districts before in 1931.

Kalyan Sundaram received in 1968 the second highest civilian award which can be bestowed by the Indian Government: the Padma Vibhushan. Sundaram chaired the Fifth Law Commission of India for the period 1968–71.

In 1958, Kalyan Sundaram became the second person to hold the position of Chief Election Commissioner. Kalyan Sundaram died on 23 September 1992, in New Delhi of natural causes.