THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Perumbadavam Sreedharan, unassuming as always, was courteous in his remarks about taking charge as the new president of Kerala Sahitya Akademi.
The novelist who rose to fame with his 1993 best seller 'Oru Sankeerthanam Pole', based on the life of Russian author Fyodor Dostoyevsky and his wife Anna, said that he was looking forward to serving a fruitful term in the chair which has been occupied by illustrious predecessors.
Sreedharan succeeds P Valsala as president of the Akademi while R Gopalakrishnan took charge as the new secretary early this week.
"The Akademi is a symbol of the cultural and literary traditions of a people. More than what I can do as a person, I see it as an honourable task to work in collaboration with the cultural leaders, the State's reading public and the government authorities. I hope to fulfil the aspirations of the people around me who want to see the Akademi reach the goals for which it has been established," he said, speaking from his home in Thamalam in the city. Sreedharan is known to keep himself away from the talking points in literary circles, earning him the tag of a loner by choice.
His magnum opus, 'Oru Sankeethranam Pole' had set a record in the publishing history of Malayalam, having released its 37th edition in 2005, besides winning the Vayalar award in 1996.
The nearly two dozen works that preceded 'Sankerthanam' had received sparse critical acclaim. His credentials as an author was waiting for a more solid testimony than the acceptance for his debut novel 'Abhayam'. The phenomenal success of 'Sankeerthanam' had earned him delayed recognition. However, this came under the scanner when it got mired in a plagiarism charge raised by critic V Rajakrishnan. The author refused to speak his thoughts on the controversy on the occasion of his assuming charge of one the State's most revered cultural bodies.
"I am way removed from all kinds of controversies and such an issue does not exist for me. I am a person who walk my paths alone and see no one as an obstacle to doing what I am here to do. Even when my name was heard doing the rounds for the president's chair, I had taken a totally aloof stance. I am telling you this only to let you know how far I have placed myself away from the power corridors and rumour mills," he said.
Sreedharan added that he hoped to repay the love and faith bestowed on him and his abilities to steer the Akademi by putting in his best efforts for its cause.