Background
He was born at Trivandrum and died at New Delhi.
He was born at Trivandrum and died at New Delhi.
Chaitanya graduated from the Madras University, standing first both in Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts
He is an author of about 40 books on the subjects of art, literature, philosophy and education, and an art critic, musicologist and photographer. Nair was the eldest of three children born to P.A. Krishna Pillai, an advocate, and Gowri Thankamma a housewife. His early schooling and education was between Trivandrum and Allepy in the erstwhile state of Travancore at that time under the Madras Presidency. with Biology as his subject in the former and Literature in the latter.
Nair spent most of his life in Delhi where he retired as Director, Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity of the Government of India.
He is a recipient of the ‘Critics of ideas’ award (1964) from the Institute of International education, New New York
Chaitanya is the author of a four-volume history of Indian painting, has been for three decades art critic of one Indian periodical and music and dance critic of another, has been a member of the jury for Madhya Pradesh Government’s Kalidas Award for eminent musician (1985) and visual artist (1987). As Chairman or member of functional committees he has been associated with over a dozen national cultural organizations and institutions in India.