 He was born in 1928 as the second son of Chandraprabha Thamburatty (daughter of the great scholar A. R. Raja Raja Varma) and Rama Varma of Kilimanoor Palace.While in his mother's womb, Varma was affected by polio and thus was born with disorder in his right leg, which he had to carry till his death.After his initial studies, he joined the Swathi Thirunal Music Academy in Thiruvananthapuram and after the course, joined the academy as an assistant professor in 1957.