THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Noted Kerala sculptor Kanayi Kunhiraman will not accept the maiden Kerala Shree award instituted by the state government. He decided not to accept the award in protest against the government's apathy in preserving the statues in the state and the poor maintenance of his sculptures. Kanayi said that he would inform about his good decision to the state government soon. However, he told TNIE that he is neither rejecting nor accepting the award for the time being.
"Sculptures are being neglected in the state. The government does not take the demand to protect the sculptures seriously. A helicopter was brought near the 'Samudrakanyaka' sculpture at Shankhumukham and the glory of that sculpture was destroyed. Similarly, the sculptures at Veli are also being neglected. It is the responsibility of the government to preserve these artistic creations. However, the popular sculpture, Yakshi at Malampuzha, is being maintained properly. Except that, all the art creations are not properly maintained, " Kanayi said.
He said that even though the complaint was conveyed to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, no action was taken.
The state government selected six people in the state for the Kerala Shreea ward. They are amphibian biologist Sathyabhamadas Biju, magician Gopinath Muthukad, sculptor Kanayi Kunjiraman, industrialist Kochouseph Chittilappilly, nuclear engineer M P Parameswaran and playback singer Vaikom Vijayalakshmi.
The selection was done at three levels. They were the secretary-level preliminary screening committee, the scrutiny committee, and the award committee.
The award committee comprised filmmaker Adoor Gopalakrishnan, retired IAS officer T K A Nair and writer Khadija Mumtaz. The LDF government had announced the decision to institute the Kerala awards last year. It has fixed the number of awards to be presented. It has also been decided not to give cash as part of the award.
Writer M T Vasudevan Nair was named the recipient of the Kerala Jyothi, the highest civilian honour instituted by the state government, as it announced the maiden Kerala awards. The awards have been instituted on the lines of the Padma awards given by the Union government.