K.K. Nair retired as a monocaster machine operator at Manipal Power Press. He has translated 19 novels, 8 collections of stories, 7 collections of poetry and more than ten works from Kannada to Malayalam. Hundreds of his translations and independent articles have been published in newspapers. 'Kunhappa' is his autobiography. His translations have won the Karnataka Sahitya Academy Award, the Central Sahitya Akademi Award, the Bharatiya Bhasha Sansthan Award. He has also received the Kuvempu Bhasha Bharati Pradhikaram Honorary Award.