Two years after musical legend M.S. Viswanathan passed away, a fitting memorial for him will come up at his native Elapully village in Palakkad district.
The memorial, comprising a cultural centre and larger-than-life statue of the musical genius, will come up close to the house where Viswanathan was born and spent his first eight years amidst poverty and misfortunes. The Department of Culture is also planning to revitalise the ancestral house that is in shambles now.
According to Culture Minister A.K. Balan, a memorial committee has already been constituted for early start of the work. The formal inauguration of the committee will be held on December 23 at a mega event when musical contributions of the genius will be recalled. The event, to be organised with the involvement of Vylopilly Samskrithi Bhavan and Swaralaya, will also have a musical nite titled ‘Hridayavahini’ that will feature songs composed by the musician.
The memorial will be completed by the end of December next year. “Viswanathan is Elapully’s illustrious son. He had elementary education in the local school here,’’ recalls C.P. Pramod, an office-bearer of the committee. During his life time, the music director and composer regularly visited the remote village that is located close to the Palakkad-Pollachi highway to remember his mother Narayanikutty.
Remembering mother
“Renovating the ancestral house was one of his long-cherished dreams,” recalls E. Jayachandran, another member of the committee.
His passion to renovate the house was because it symbolised the trials and tribulations his mother went through to bring him up.
