Malayalam poet Puthussery Ramachandran is no more

He played a key role in getting classical status for Malayalam

Puthussery Ramachandran

Malayalam poet, scholar and teacher Puthussery Ramachandran passed away here on Saturday evening after a brief illness. He was 92.

A scholar of Dravidian linguistics and a professor of Malayalam for more than 30 years, Dr. Ramachandran was a recipient of several awards.

He was the honorary director of the International Centre for Kerala Studies, University of Kerala.

Dr. Ramachandran played a major role in the preparation of the elaborate document which culminated in the recognition of Malayalam as a classical language by the Central government in 2013.

He published his first poem Onnanthyakkuttam at the age of 16.

Revolutionary politics

As a poet, he drew inspiration from revolutionary politics, the life and struggles of the common man and the spiritual tradition of Indian philosophy.

Dr. Ramachandran is known for his in-depth study of the early and medieval Malayalam language and history of Kerala.

Kannassa Ramayanam

Dr . Ramachandran is credited with publishing the complete text of Kannassa Ramayanam , the first complete Ramayana in Malayalam, with notes and interpretations.

His most important scholarly work is Kerala Charithrathinte Adisthana Rekhakal (The basic documents of the history of Kerala). He has also translated works from English, Sanskrit, Tamil, Russian and African languages.

The Sahitya Akademi honoured him with its translation award in 2005 and Bhasha Samman in 2014. In 2009, he was conferred the fellowship of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi.

Awards

He is a recipient of the Ezhuthachan Puraskaram of the State government and the Mahakavi Vallathol award. In 2012, he was selected for the Yesenin award, instituted by the Russian Cultural Centre and the Sergei Yesenin Museum, Moscow, for popularising Russian poetry and culture in south India.

He had taken the initiative in organising the first World Malayalam Conference in Thiruvananthapuram in 1977 and was also the organising secretary of the First All India Conference on Dravidian Linguistics in 1971.

He is survived by his daughter and five sons.