Sebastian is a renowned Malayalam poet noted for the uniqueness and contemporaneity of his poetry. He was born in Kottappuram, Kodungaloor as the son of Kalathil Devasya and Kunjamma. He started writing poetry during his childhood. He completed his primary education from St. Michael’s School which was popularly known as “Palli School.” The first poem was written when he was in the fifth grade. As a child, the poet was interested in reading. He used to go to nearby libraries and read books especially poems. It was during this time he acquainted with the works of Kumaranasan, P. Kunjiraman Nair, Changampuzha, and so on. Sebastian was very passionate about poems from his childhood and he comments that he has got this taste from his mother. His mother used to sing many songs while she was doing household chores. The poem “Pattukettiya Kotta” reflects the memories of his mother singing in the kitchen.

Sebastian cherished his love for poetry and his poems were published in several manuscript magazines and print magazines when he was a child. Though he was not a very brilliant student, some of the teachers recognized the artistic flare and encouraged him. When he was sixteen, the poem “Mahabeer” was published in a magazine called Prerana. The same issue of this magazine had a poem by A. Ayyappan. Poet A. Ayyappan read “Mahabeer” and wrote a letter to him. Later, this friendship flourished through letters. He also cherished friendship with poets like Balachandran Chullikkad, Satchidanandan, filmmaker John Abraham and so on. Satchidanandan was a mentor to him. Sebastian used to visit him and it was he who suggested write under the name ‘Sebastian’. Until then he used to write in little magazines and manuscript magazines under various names including, Sebastian Kalathil, Sebastian Kottappuram, Sebastian K. D., and Sebastian Kodungaloor. His first collection of poetry Purappadu was published with an introduction written by Satchidanandan. He had a strong bond with many writers across Kerala. He met many poets including Chullikkad at Arpookara, Kottayam from where the magazine Comrade was printed and distributed.

In the 1990s, Sebastian settled in Aluva in order to look after his brother’s business. During this time, A. Ayyappan lived near his shop and they conducted ‘Kaviyarangu’- gatherings of poets in the town. Many renowned poets participated in the gatherings including Chullikkad, Vijayalakshmi, V. M. Girija and so on. Sebastian also had an affinity with Guru Nityachaithanya Yati. He wrote several poetry collections. Apart from poems, he edited the complete collection of the poems of A. Ayyappan, an anthology of modern poetry and collection of memoirs and academic articles about Balachandran Chullikkad which was published on his 60th birthday. He also wrote the biography of the famous dancer Guru Gopalakrishnan. He traveled across India and represented Kerala in about 10 international literary festivals. His poems were published in Indian Literature, the journal published by Kendra Sahitya Akademi. He traveled across India and those experiences are reflected in his poetry. His poetry deals with various themes including gender issues, environmental concerns, globalization, subaltern issues so on, and so forth.

He received many awards

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