Poems of poets Kumaranasan and Kadammanitta Ramakrishnan always remained as voices of the oppressed sections of the society, said Mr. M.A. Baby, Minister for Education and Culture.
Mr. Baby was delivering the presidential address at the stone-laying ceremony of the proposed Kadammanitta Smriti Mandapam, a memorial to poet Kadammanitta Ramakrishnan in his home village of Kadammanitta near Pathanamthitta on Thursday.
He said the poems of Mr. Ramakrishnan, better known as Mr. Kadammanitta, had drawn inspiration from his real life experiences, leaving them immortal pieces of Malayalam poetry. Kadammanitta’s Hindi poem, ‘Kya’, written after touring the violence-torn Gujarat, was a brilliant piece of poetry that had touched the chords of human psyche, Mr. Baby said.
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The Minister said the Cultural department would extend active co-operation to the proposal for the auditorium and library attached to the Smriti Mandpam.
Renowned film maker, Adoor Gopalakrishnan, laid the foundation stone for the proposed Smriti Mandapam, a memorial launched by the poet’s family, at Kadammanitta where his mortal remains were cremated a year ago.
Mr. Gopalakrishnan said Kadammanitta Ramakrishnan’s poems added colour and vigour to campus life at one stage and the people of Kerala were indebted to him for popularising the art of poetry recitation.
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Mr. Purushan Kadalundi, Kerala Sahitya Akademi secretary, Mr. K.C. Rajagopalan, MLA, Mr. Pirappacode Murali, litterateur, Prof. Kadammanitta Vasudevan Pillai, former vice-chairman of Kerala Folklore Akademi, Mr. K.Haridas, Kadammanitta Padayani Village co-ordination committee president, Mr. V.K. Purushothaman Pillai, Prof. T.K.G. Nair, Kadammanitta Ramakrishnan Foundation leaders, V.P. Manojkumar, grama panchayat president, Ms. Santha Ramakrishnan, the poet’s wife and son Dr. Vijayakumar also spoke.
The Smriti Mandapam will be constructed at a total cost of Rs. 10 lakh by the poet’s family members and will be handed over to the foundation, later.