ONV foresaw changes in State: CM

Chief Minister inaugurates commemoration of poet’s 85th birth anniversary

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan browsing through a collection of O.N.V. Kurup’s poems at a meeting to commemorate the poet on his 85th birth anniversary in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday. CPI(M) Polit Bureau member M.A.Baby and poet Kureepuzha Sreekumar are present.

The poet in O.N.V. Kurup foresaw the changes that time would bring in the State, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said.

He was speaking after inaugurating a meeting to commemorate the 85th birth anniversary celebrations of the poet organised by the ONV Prathibha Foundation here on Friday evening.

Mr. Vijayan said ONV had dreamt of a social order which gave everyone a chance to live with dignity.

He tried to make it a reality through his cultural activities. He had a definite political perspective too. In one of his poems in the Forties, he told farmers and farm workers that the land they tilled would be theirs.

This was at a time when the common man could not even imagine such a situation. ONV even drew flak for it. But when the EMS government issued the land reforms ordinance, it marked the start of the realisation of the poet’s dream. Through his poems, ONV opened people’s mind and hearts to the winds of change sweeping across the State.

Because ONV’s poems and songs reflected an affinity for man and the earth, they gained widespread acceptance. He successfully reinvented himself in keeping with the changing times and its challenges, Mr. Vijayan said.

It was fitting that his first public programme after assuming office was a meeting to remember ONV, the Chief Minister said. The poet had earnestly desired that the Left Democratic Front (LDF) come to power in the State. He had hoped for a change in governance, but could not see it become a reality. However, his blessings would remain with the front, he said.

Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader M.A. Baby who presided over the function said the void left by the poet was felt every minute. His poetry was significant, but equally important was the fact that he never forgot the path he treaded. ONV understood the link between man and environment, and knew that a just society could be built only if nature was protected. People saw him as their voice, he said.

A collection of poems by ONV brought out by DC Books was released by Mr. Baby by handing it over to poet Kureepuzha Sreekumar. Foundation chairman K. Jayakumar spoke. Later, academic P. Pavithran delivered a lecture on the struggle led by ONV for preserving Malayalam language.

Earlier in the day, a gathering of poets and a seminar were held.