KOCHI: Changampuzha Krishna Pillai was not only a romantic poet, but also a revolutionary who dared to question superstitious practices prevalent in society, said Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
He was speaking after launching the web portal www.changampuzha.com, an initiative by the School of Letters, MG University, in Kochi on Thursday.
Works of poets and writers like Changampuzha, who dared to question the system, gain significance these days when attempts to foist culture and tradition of a particular region upon the people are on the rise.
“Our tradition and culture have undergone considerable changes over the years. The world would not have progressed had mankind refused to accept the changes. The path to future is through correcting the mistakes of the predecessors by the new generation,” Pinarayi said.
The CM said Changampuzha as a poet should not be limited to the genre of romanticism. “We can discern revolutionary streaks in many of his works,” said the CM, who also quoted some verses of Changampuzha.
Pinarayi urged the School of Letters to launch a mobile version of the website and e-books of the poet. The portal containing all major literary works of the poet and research papers on them was developed by Harikumar Changampuzha, the grandson of Changampuzha Krishna Pillai and a teacher at the School of Letters. It was prepared as part of a UGC-sponsored research project .
Harikumr Changampuzha welcomed the gathering. MGU Vice-Chancellor Babu Sebastian presided over. Writer M K Sanu delivered the keynote address. School of Letters director V C Haris, GCDA chairman C N Mohanan, CPM district secretary P Rajeev and Chandramohan Kumar of Changampuzha Grandhasala spoke.