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Lt. Col. Karthika Nal P. R. Godavarma Raja (13 October 1908 – 30 April 1971) often referred to as G.V. Raja, was a scholar, sports and tourism promoter, pilot, and sportsman. He took special care in inspiring the youth into sports and was instrumental in founding the Kerala Sports Council in 1953, occupied the post of Council President till he was killed in a flight mishap in 1971. Raja occupied the post of Council President till he was killed in a flight mishap in 1971. Lt. Col. Raja also played a key role in establishing the Thiruvananthapuram Tennis Club, Flying Club, and the development of the Thiruvananthapuram International Airport.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Trivandrum Tennis Club : About us / History )〕〔"Trivandrum International Airport/History, Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia"Trivandrum International Airport〕 Lt. Col. G V Raja was the founder President of the Kerala State Sports Council as well as Kerala Cricket Association, and patron of a large number of sports clubs and associations.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Kerala State Sports Council : KSSC Presidents )〕 The CricInfo website reports that Raja was the first Keralite to become the Vice-President of Board of Control for Cricket in India, and had he lived, he would have become President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India.〔cricinfoIndia website : "The greatest figure who dominated Travancore - Cochin and Kerala cricket like a Colossus was the legendary Col.Godavarma Raja of the Travancore Royal Family. A Prince among sportsmen and a sportsman among princes, Col.Raja was responsible for putting Kerala on the sports and tourist map of India. It was under his inspiring leadership that a few members from the Trippunithura royal family and cricket enthusiasts from Trivandrum and Kottayam met in 1950 and formed the Travancore-Cochin Cricket Association. From this, emerged the Kerala Cricket Association. Calm must have been the middle name of Col. Raja. He possessed the Midas touch. He was the undoubted CEO of all sports and games organisations in the State. A keen sportsman himself he played all the games, but tennis and polo were among his favourites. An endearing personality, with a gentle smile always on his lips and mischievous, twinkling eyes, Col Raja was one of God's good men. He was the first from this part of the state to become a Vice President of the BCCI. Prof. MV Chandgadkar, a former secretary of the BCCI one told me how Col.Raja walked into the conference hall at Jaipur where the Board was in session, clutching his tennis rackets! The Raja was ever ready for a game of tennis once the day's business was over. Col.Raja's hospitality was proverbial. He played host to Vijay Merchant, Col.CK Nayudu and Lala Amarnath when he came as manager of the Railways athletic squad and the Kumararaja of Venkitagiri who led the Andhra side and scores of other worthies. For 13 years from 1950 he was the President of the Kerala Cricket Association and had he lived - he died in a tragic an crash, in an aircraft piloted by himself - he would have become President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India. Col Raja still lives in the memory of all lovers of the game and the GV Raja pavilion at the University Stadium is a fitting tribute to this great son of Kerala."〕 Lt. Col. Raja was also the President of Tourism Promotion Council of Kerala. He was the main architect in developing Kovalam as an international tourist spot. He died in an air crash near Kulu Valley on April 30, 1971. Sports journalists, historians, experts and sportsmen consider him as the ''Father of Sports and Tourism'' in Kerala. Lt. Col. Raja's birth anniversary, 13 October, is observed as "Kerala Sports Day". ==Personal life== Karthika Nal (Malayalam birth star) P. R. Godavarma Raja was born to Ambalika Thamburatty of Poonjar Royal House and Puthusseri Narayanan Nampoothiri on 13 October 1908 at Poonjar as the couple's third son in Kottayam India. The Poonjar dynasty originated from the Pandyan Kings of the Sangam Age. The founder of the dynasty, Manavikrama Kulashekhara Perumal, was a Pandyan king whose mother was a Chera princess. In 1152 AD, he shifted from Madurai to Poonjar due to the incessant civil wars in Tamil Country. In his flight from Madurai over the Nilgiri hills, he and his family carried with them one of the three idols of Meenakshi, their "Kula Devatha", which was used in the annual car festival of Meenakshi Sundareswara. It was established as a "Pratishtha" in the Meenakshi temple on the banks of the Meenachil river. Manavikraman Raja purchased the land that covers present day Kottayam, Pathanamthitta and Idukki districts from the Tekkancoor Rajas. Erattupetta was the commercial center of the Poonjar kingdom. G. V. Raja did his school education at S.M.V. High School, Poonjar and MD Seminary Higher Secondary School,〔"Sri. V J Itticheria (1919--1943) The buildings,ground were given to Baselius College were built during his tenure. During his time greats Olympian Abdul Salle, Col. Godavarma Raja studied here."〕 Kottayam. He then went to Madras to pursue a Degree in Medicine. On 24 January 1934, at the age of 26, he married the then 17-year-old Maharani Karthika Thirunal Lakshmi Bayi, the sister of Maharajah Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma of Travancore. When the marriage proposal from the Travancore Royal Family came, he was studying in Madras for attaining a Degree in Medicine. He accepted the marriage proposal and the preparations for their wedding began in 1933 itself. Huge wedding venue was created at ''Sundara Vilasom Palace''. Many prominent Indian Royals were invited for the wedding and the wedding was a lavish affair and the wedding celebration lasted for a whole week, according to ''Mathrubhumi Daily''. The royal couple stayed at Kovalam for their honeymoon and it was during this time, Godavarma Raja, smitten by the beauty of the place, decided to develop and promote Kovalam as a tourist destination. After marriage he discontinued his education as he settled down with his wife, Karthika Thirunal, in Trivandrum. He then joined and served in the Travancore State Force as a lieutenant colonel of the Nair Brigade.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Goda Varma Raja )〕 The couple had four children, Elayarajah (Crown Prince) Sree Padmanabhadasa Avittom Thirunal Rama Varma (1938-1944, died at the age of six of a rheumatic heart condition), Pooyam Thirunal Gowri Parvati Bayi (1941), Indo Anglian writer Aswathi Thirunal Gowri Lakshmi Bayi (1945) and Sree Padmanabhadasa Sree Moolam Thirunal Rama Varma (1949).〔"Though by the 26th amendment to the Constitution, Article 363 was repealed whereby the rights and privileges of the rulers of Indian states were taken away, still the name and title of the rulers remained as such and unaffected in so far as names and titles were not contemplated as rights or privileges under the repealed Articles 291 and 362 of the Constitution."〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「G. V. Raja」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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