Pokkuveyil Mannilezhuthiyathu , a memoir by poet and Jnanpith laureate O.N.V. Kurup, was released by poet-activist Sugathakumari at a function held here on Thursday.
The memoir, which was released simultaneously in Kollam, Kochi, and Kozhikode, traces the author’s childhood days, his stint as a teacher, his political journey, association with socio-cultural movements, and the world of letters, theatre, and movies.
The first copy of the book was received by poet V. Madhusoodanan Nair in the presence of T.N. Seema, MP, Communist Party of India (Marxist) district secretary Kadakampally Surendran, and writer Ezhacherry Ramachandran .
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Ms. Sugathakumari said that the poet, in his inimitable style, presents a factual account of his journey as a human being, without criticising or praising anything. His language had all along been “love,” she said. The poet might have his ideological moorings but his indebtedness was to the “mother earth.”
V.K. Joseph of Chintha Publications, which brought out the memoir, highlighted an incident in the book where the poet saw a group of youngsters celebrating Gandhiji’s assassination by distributing sweets at Thampanoor. “ONV thought they were distributing sweets without knowing about the assassination. He was taken aback when they said they were celebrating it,” Mr. Joseph said.
The account was relevant today when there was a clamour for a temple in the name of Gandhiji’s assassin, he said.
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