“The MSV Kannadasan friendship was legendary”, says S.P. Muthuraman. “When Kannadasan died, MSV had a statue of his made. He requested the then Chief Minister Jayalalithaa for land in T. Nagar to install the statue. The Chief Minister ensured that the State Government took care of the installation. MSV started the Kannadasan-Viswanathan Trust, with contributions from many philanthropists, and every year programmes are organised in the poet’s memory, including contests for school and college students.”
“Kannadasan used to say to K.V. Mahadevan, ‘ Maama, you can set even an essay to tune’,” says Panchu.
AVM Saravanan on Kannadasan’s humility: “Learning that ‘Madhaviponmayilal’ was Vaali’s lyric, Kanandasan went to Vaali’s house to compliment him.”
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Many of Kannadasan’s poems have been translated into French.