Sahitya Varthakal

Adoor to lay foundation stone for Kadammanitta Smriti Mandapam 

                         Renowned film maker, Adoor Goplakrishnan, will lay the foundation stone for the proposed Smriti Mandapam in memory of the late Malayalam poet, Kadammanitta Ramakrishnan, at Kadammanitta near here on Thursday forenoon. Addressing a press conference here on Wednesday, Ms. Santha Ramakrishnan, the poet’s wife and son, Vijayakumar, said the proposed Smriti Madapam would be built by the family at a cost of Rs. 10 lakh at their residential courtyard where the poet’s mortal remains were cremated a year ago. 

Education Minister, M.A. Baby, would preside over the stone-laying ceremony. Ms. Ramakrishnan said the memorial would be handed over to the Kadammanitta Ramakrishnan Foundation (chaired by Mr. Adoor Gopalakrishnan) later.She said the poet’s family would also explore the possibility of constructing a library and auditorium attached to the Smriti Mandapam at a later stage. Mr. Anto Antony, MP, Mr. K. Sivadasan Nair, Mr K.C. Rajagopalan, Mr. Raju Abraham, MLAs and Kerala Sahitya Akademi chairman, M. Mukundan, will also attend Thursday’s function.The Kadammanitta Ramakrishnan Foundation leaders, T.K.G. Nair and V.K. Purushothaman Pillai, were also present.

Mathrubhumi Literary Award for ‘Kovilan’

                         Novelist V.V. Ayyappan, who is better known “Kovilan,” has been selected for this year's Mathrubhumi Literary Award instituted by the Mathrubhumi Printing and Publishing Company Limited. The award comprises Rs. 2 lakh in cash, a citation and a plaque. The winner was selected by a jury headed by writer C. Radhakrishnan as chairman and writers M. Mukundan and M.N. Karassery as members, Mathrubhumi managing director M.P. Veerendrakumar and managing editor P.V. Chandran said in Kozhikode. 

“Kovilan” was selected for his contribution to the Malayalam literature. The jury noted the vast geographical background of his novels, from the Army camps to the Himalayas to kole fields in Thrissur. Born in 1923 at Kandanassery in Guruvayur, Thrissur District, “Kovilan” had won the Kerala Sahitya Akademi award in 1972 and 1977 and the Kendra Sahitya Akademi award in 1998. He is also the recipient of the Ezhuthachan Award, the highest literary award instituted by the Kerala government in the name of Thunchath Ezhuthachan, father of modern Malayalam language, in 2006.