N. Gopalakrishnan, 80, was in the forefront of cancer care and palliative care movements here. He collected funds for the Pallitative Care Society in Kozhikode.
This ‘adopted son’ of Kozhikode, an active presence in the cultural sphere of the city for decades, surrendered to cancer on Wednesday.
Mr. Gopalakrishnan was a writer and translator and winner of the Kendra Sahitya Akademi award for translation in 2006.
He is known for the translation, into Malayalam, of former Prime Minister Narasimha Rao’s autobiography The Insider.
K.P. Ramanunni’s novel Sufi Paranja Katha and a number of works of M.T. Vasudevan Nair and E. Vasu were translated into English by him. He had penned quite a number of articles in English. Nammal Vazhum Kalam and Peruvazhiyile Natakangal are among his notable collection of articles.
Mr. Gopalakrishnan, a native of Kottayam, settled in Kozhikode after he retired as Member, Railway Claims Tribunal in 1994.
He was born to A.N. Panikkar, an eminent lawyer, K. Parukutty Amma.
He passed the Civil Services examination in 1956 and joined the railway service the next year.
He worked in the All India Radio for some time before joining Railways. He was also the managing director of a news channel for some time.
The body was being kept at a private hospital where he breathed his last.
The funeral will be held at the public crematorium, Mavoor Road, on Friday after his daughter Lakshmi arrives from the United States.