Early life and education.

Kanai Kunjiraman was born at Cheruvathoor in Kasargod district as the first son of PP Raman and K Madhavi on July 25th 1937.

His father wanted him to be an engineer or advocate. But his affinity towards art led him to join the Fine Arts College in Madras to acquire Diploma in Fine Arts.

It was in Madras he came into contact with KCS Panicker, a renowned painter of all time. For Kanai, KCS Panicker has been a morale booster and Panicker inspired him a lot.

While studying, Kanai was awarded the Cultural Scholarship by the Government of India. While in Madras he also came in to contact with several famous personalities, which helped him a lot in realizing the new vistas of art, especially the sculpture related art form.

After the completion of the diploma, he worked as a teacher at the Ethiraj College, Madras.