Vayalar Ravi was born in 1937 in Vayalar, a village in Alappuzha District in Kerala, to a middle-class family. His father Mr. M.K Krishnan was a veteran freedom fighter, a social activist who fought against untouchability and continued as Secretary of SNDP Taluka Committee for a long period. His mother Mrs. Devaky Krishnan was a prominent political congress leader of Kerala. She was the President of Kerala State Mahila Congress. She contested elections in the citadal of communists since 1960. Ravi was married to Mercy, a writer and political activist, in the year 1969. She is presently an MLA in the Kerala State Assembly. They are blessed with a son and two daughters.