THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: “I now have only concerns about my state. The only goodness I can find is in its past,” said poet Sugathakumari. She was speaking after inaugurating the ‘Kaviyarangu’ programme organised by the Department of Tourism in connection with Onam celebrations at the VJT Hall on Tuesday. While drawing a gloomy picture of today’s world, she took the gathering on a trip down memory lane. “I can only say, once the state had enough rain, clean waters, green fields, toxin-free food, ethnic flowers, hills, mountains, rivers and pristine Malayalam. ‘Mamalanadu’ has given way to high rise buildings,” she said.
The poet expressed concern about people even forgetting about poetry. “There is nothing good to expect, though I wish everyone better Onam days with pure water, clean rivers and toxin-free food,” she said.
About 15 poets participated at the programme, including Malayalam University Vice Chancellor K Jayakumar, Chunakkara Ramankutty, Murukan Kattakada and Girish Puliyoor.
Along with the ‘Kaviyarangu’, the venue hosted a platform for children to showcase their poetic talents. Writer and teacher S V Venugopal inaugurated ‘Kadhayarangu’ in which around 10 writers, including B Murali, Chandraprakash, G R Indugopan and S R Lal participated. The function concluded with a play called ‘Priyamulloral’ by Chilanka Entertainers.
