THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Transport Minister C P John on Wednesday said that the work on the memorial of late poet ONV Kurup will begin within three to six months. He was speaking at the ONV Literary Award Presentation ceremony to veteran writer M Mukundan, while making the announcement.
“There is a space allotted for the ONV memorial along the Manaveeyam Veedhi, near the Air India office. Currently, it is with the revenue department, and I will initiate the work towards this,” the minister said in an interaction with TNIE.
Reminiscing his memories with the late poet, John said in the event, “Be it ‘Ponnarival Ambiliyil...’ or ‘Nammal Koyyum Vayalukal...’, ONV Kurup was the poet who blended revolution and romanticism effortlessly, silently conveying politics too,” he said.
Going down the memory lane, the minister also fondly remembered the days when he and his friends would fight to read M Mukundan’s works in weeklies.
Hosted on the 95th birth anniversary of the late poet, the ceremony saw filmmaker Adoor Gopalakrishnan present the honour to the novelist at the Senate Hall. Adoor said that ONV was a born poet who created a universe of letters, which cannot be replaced by anyone.
Receiving the award, M Mukundan called it a moment of pride for him to receive an award in the name of the Jnanpit-award-winning poet. “When I was treading through dark routes of writing, ONV was the person who guided me to light,” he said.
Delivering the introductory address in the ceremony, poet Prabha Varma said that ONV set a benchmark so high that it made it difficult for his successors to excel.
The award comprises Rs 3 lakh, a memento designed by sculptor Balan Nambiar and a citation.