Attoor Krishna Pisharody, ???????? ???????????? was born on 29 September 1875 to Vadakkedathu
Narayanan Nambudiri and Pappikutti Pisharasyar in Attoor, a small village in
Thrissur district, Kerala.
He received primary education from his father.
A
maternal uncle, Bharata Pisharody initiated him into classical Sanskrit.
Further
education in vyakara?a, advanced kavyas, etc.
was provided by
Meledathu Ramunni Nambiar.
A paternal uncle Vengeri Vasudevan Nambudiri, invited
him to live in his house and taught him nyaya, vyakara?a, and
ala?kara.
For some two years he assisted an aged uncle in managing a
vedic school at Ceruvannur Sabhamatham.
At the age of eighteen, Attoor unhappy
with managerial responsibilities, left for Kodungallur Kovilakam with the twenty-five
rupees that he had saved.
Attoor who had already mastered ala?kara, specialized primarily in
nyaya under Mahamahopadhyaya Bhattashri Godavarma Tampuran.
The
education and the experiences at Kodungallur Kovilakam were instrumental in
shaping Attoor's intellect and outlook, as he recalled later in life.
At 22,
Attoor returned home as a complete scholar and started instructing in Sanskrit.
His first student was Mooppil Nair, the landlord of the house where he stayed.
To
the Nair, he imparted Sanskrit lessons receiving lessons on the veena in return.
At 25, he married Nannikutti Pisharasyar of Vadakootu Pisharam in Pazhayannur.
This
alliance was very propitious.
Nannikutti was musically trained and a vainika,
while the father-in-law, Bharata Pisharody was an expert vainika.
It provided the
perfect foil for Attoor to continue learning from them music and veena while
pursuing his exploration into the science of music.
The couple shared this
wonderful relationship imbibibed in music for the next fifty-six years of their
married life until the demise of Nannikutti.
His ascent as an academic began with his appointment as a teacher in Alathur
High School.
After that he worked for five years at the Bhaaratavilasam Press in
Thrissur.
In 1911, at the invitation of Kerala Panini A.
R.
Rajarajavarma, he
was inducted as a Professor at The Maharajas College, Thiruvananthapuram as a
Professor.
Following the tenure of Rajarajavarma, Attoor presided over the
Oriental language department for a period of sixteen years when he retired from
public teaching career.
This was followed by a prestigious appointment as Tutor
to His Highness, The Maharaja of Travancore in 1927 that lasted five years.
After this, Attoor officially retired and returned to Thrissur where he spent a
very active post-retired life in his newly built home appropriately named
`Sree Thilakam'.
Together with his wife, they ran a gurukulam where music flowed.
After his wife's death, Attoor retired completely into himself, away from public
life, away from teaching, the passion of his life.