It has been 25 years since Nilambur Balan, who enlivened quite a few characters in both theatre and cinema, passed away.
But his memory has been kept alive by his friends and well-wishers through annual programmes.
The 25th death anniversary of Nilambur Balan, a multi-faceted personality, is being observed with a variety of programmes, which began on Saturday with an exhibition of paintings by Sunil Asokapuram, who has completed 25 years in his career as an artist.
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The exhibition that began at the Kerala Lalithakala Akademi art gallery mainly features the illustrations that he had done for stories and poems in popular Malayalam magazines.
These are miniature paintings done in soft pastel and myriad colours.
Besides the illustrations, there are a few paintings in acrylic that are completely different in style.
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Darkness
What strikes one about these 20-odd paintings is that the darkness reflected in them.
It is not just dark colours that lend them the feel, but the themes too, which Mr. Sunil attributes to a dark period in his life.
One-man art camp
A set of paintings by K. Prabhakaran, made at a one-man art camp held on the same occasion last year, are also being exhibited.
A group of plays are being staged on the art gallery premises during the six-day programme, including Prathinidhi Kombathanu by Creative Group, Kannur; Zero by Arangu, Kozhikode; Swavarga Sankadangal, a street play based on a story by K.R. Meera by Lisa College, Kaithappoyil; and Mike by Kalithara, Kozhikode.
Other sessions
Discussions on a large number of topics and talks on various issues, screening of the movie Oralppokkam , and poetry sessions are part of the six-day remembrance programme.