THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Few people might remember this now, but Gunter Grass, the Nobel Prize-winning German author who died on Monday, had been to Thiruvananthapuram once, more than 40 years ago. During his short stay in the city in 1975, he visited at least two places, the Connemara market at Palayam and the Department of German at the Kerala University.
Dr Latha Thampi, former head of the German Department, recalls the visit. ‘’Dr Alfred Kastning was the head of department at the time. I was a student there,’’ she said. ‘’It was such a special occasion, but you didn’t have so many media then like now. So photos were not taken,’’ she added.
The other place he visited in this city was the Connemara market, says Syed Ibrahim, director of Goethe-Zentrum Trivandrum, which functions under the German Embassy. ‘’Dr Grass had the theory that if you wanted to know the pulse of a people, you only had to visit their markets,’’ Syed said.
The Goethe-Zentrum Trivandrum which was set up in the 2000s, lacks any record of the memorable visit. But they plan to hold a commemoration soon as a mark of respect to the author. Best known for his novel ‘Tin Drum, Grass won the Nobel prize in 1999.