Revi Karunakaran
{{Short description|Indian businessman (1931 - 2003)}}
{{Multiple issues|{{more citations needed|date=September 2017}}}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=May 2018}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Revi Karunakaran
| nationality = Indian
| birth_date = 22 November 1931
| birth_place = Alleppey, India
| death_date = 25 November 2003 (aged 72)
| death_place = Ernakulam, India
| occupation = Businessman
}}
Revi Karunakaran (22 November 1931 – 25 November 2003) was an Indian businessman and coir exporter from Kerala. He served as a chairman and managing director of the Karan Group of Companies, which became one of the world's largest exporters of coir products. Karunakaran played a role in modernizing India's coir industry and was a director of the Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI). In 2006, his wife Betty Karan built the Revi Karunakaran Memorial Museum (RKK Museum) in his memory.
Early life and education
Revi Karunakaran was born in Alleppey (formerly Travancore state) on 22 November 1931 into an upper class family. He was the son of K.C. Karunakaran, an industrialist who graduated from Heidelberg University, Germany, and Margret, a German National from wealthy family. His grandfather Krishnan Muthalaly was the first Indian to establish a handloom factory to export coir products, which had been a monopoly of European companies until then.{{Cn|date=January 2025}}
Karunakaran completed his early education in Surrey, UK, and later attended high school in Lausanne, Switzerland. He later graduated with a degree in Business Administration from Babson College, MA, USA. Karunakaran was a polyglot and fluent in several languages, including German, French, English, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, and Malayalam.{{Cn|date=January 2025}}
Life as entrepreneur
After his father's death in 1952, Karunakaran assumed leadership of the Karan group at the age of 20.{{cite web|title=About RKK|url=http://rkkmuseum.com/RKK|website=RKK Museum|accessdate=27 September 2017}} He was the chairman of the Karan Group, which includes companies such as Kerala Balers, Alleppey Company, and William Goodacre & Sons, all leading coir export houses.{{cite web|title=Ravi Karunakaran dead|url=http://www.thehindu.com/2003/11/26/stories/2003112605260400.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170927072148/http://www.thehindu.com/2003/11/26/stories/2003112605260400.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=27 September 2017|website=The Hindu|date=2003-11-26|accessdate=27 September 2017}}
Karunakaran participated in trade delegations and represented India at International forums, including the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and UNCTAD. He served as a consultant for FAO for three years as a consultant on hard fibers and participated in the Tariff Negotiations with the European Economic Community countries.{{Cn|date=January 2025}}
Revi Karunakaran Memorial Museum
{{Main article|Revi Karunakaran Memorial Museum}}
The Revi Karunakaran Memorial Museum is a privately owned museum established in 2006 by Karunakaran's wife Betty, located in Alappuzha, Kerala, holding one of the world's largest private collections of Swarovski crystals, along with porcelain, jade, ivory, and Tanjore paintings.{{Cite book |last1=Planet |first1=Lonely |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yLU7DwAAQBAJ&pg=PT2326 |title=Lonely Planet India |last2=Benanav |first2=Michael |last3=Blasi |first3=Abigail |last4=Brown |first4=Lindsay |last5=Elliott |first5=Mark |last6=Harding |first6=Paul |last7=Kaminski |first7=Anna |last8=Mahapatra |first8=Anirban |last9=Mayhew |first9=Bradley |date=2017-10-01 |publisher=Lonely Planet |isbn=9781787011991 |language=en}}{{Cite news |last=Travel |first=Femina |date=2017-06-19 |title=Five things to do in Alleppey, Kerala |url=https://www.femina.in/life/travel/five-fun-things-to-do-in-alleppey-kerala-52219-5.html |access-date=2018-02-25 |work=Femina India |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=Revi Karunakaran Museum in Alappuzha, Revi Karuna Karan Museum |url=http://www.alappuzhaonline.in/city-guide/revi-karunakaran-museum-in-alappuzha |access-date=2018-02-25 |website=www.alappuzhaonline.in}}{{Verification needed|date=January 2025}} The museum spans 28,000 square feet and showcases elements from Hinduism, Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism in its design and displays.{{cite web |title=About us - RKK Museum |url=http://rkkmuseum.com/about-us |accessdate=27 September 2017 |website=RKK Museum}} The third phase of the museum was inaugurated in 2015 by Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, former president of Sri Lanka.{{Cite news |title=കാഴ്ചയുടെ അത്ഭുത ലോകം തുറന്ന് ശ്രീലങ്കന് മുന് പ്രസിഡന്റ് (Former Sri Lankan President opens an amazing world to behold) |url=http://www.mathrubhumi.com/alappuzha/malayalam-news/alappuzha-1.688947 |access-date=2018-02-25 |work=Mathrubhumi}}{{Cite news |title=ചന്ദ്രിക കുമാരതുംഗെ ആലപ്പുഴയില് (Chandrika Kumaratunga in Alappuzha) |url=http://www.deepika.com/News_Cat2_sub.aspx?catcode=cat2&newscode=381381 |access-date=2018-02-25 |work=Deepika}}{{cite web |title=RKK Museum 3rd Phase Inaguration |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1tHR9PRSRd4 |accessdate=27 September 2017 |website=YouTube}}
Death
Karunakaran died on 25 November 2003 at a hospital in Ernakulam. His body was cremated on the premises of Santhi Bhavan, his home in Alappuzha, on the same day.{{Cn|date=January 2025}}