When a hundred lamps came alive at the VJT Hall in the capital, they symbolised a life in creativity that has left behind over a score of poetry collections.
The lamps were lit to mark the birth centenary of M.P. Appan, Malayalam’s celebrated poet. Organised by the Kerala Sahithya Akademi, the event saw lovers of poetry gather to remember the poet and his works.
Inaugurating the celebrations, former Chief Secretary R. Ramachandran Nair said Appan filled his poems with sweetness and light. His poems were representative of his optimistic world view and his personal humility.
Chairing the meeting, Akademi president Perumbadavom Sreedharan said the values that Appan’s poems were intended to take his readers to higher values in life. His poems marked the coming together of a good human being and good poet.
Speaking on the occasion, writer and Akademi Akber Kakkattil said Appan’s poems brought together romantic, classical and realistic elements. Noted scholar D. Benjamin said Appan wrote his poems of bright hues at a time when Malayalam poetry was plunging into the depths of pessimism and cynicism.
