THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Manaveeyam Veedhi is enriched with the installation of one more statue. Musician G Devarajan now has ‘company’ with his long-time associate and legendary poet-lyricist P Bhaskaran. A statue for Bhaskaran in the capital city is the result of the constant efforts made by the LDF Government, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Tuesday. He was speaking at a function after unveiling the statue of the poet at Manaveeyam Veedhi.
“It was the former LDF Government that identified a suitable place at Palayam near Martyr’s Column for installing his statue. But the then Union Government did not give approval citing some installations related to defense purposes. Later, a government-owned land was identified at Palayam itself. But that did not materialise due to some legal hurdles. Then, Kozhikode City Corporation came forward and expressed desire in installing his statue at Kozhikode. But the relatives of Bhaskaran expressed interest in installing it in the capital city. Apparently, the UDF Government came to power and neither made efforts to identify a place nor build a statue. However, our government decided to identify a plot and install the statue in the capital city,” said the Chief Minister.
He also pointed out Bhaskaran had given valuable contributions to Malayalam cinema and his political stand also made him a revolutionary artist.“Bhaskaran maashu always stood with the ideologies of the Communist Party. He had to face the wrath of the then Travancore rulers and the police. He was the only poet who was arrested and forced to walk on the street. Later, his political statements reflected on his artworks including films. “Vayalar Garjikunnu was made after Punnapra-Vayalar revolt. Later in his life, he had also made contributions in Akashavani stations and private TV channels,” Vijayan said.
He also honoured the sculptor of the statue, Jeevan Thomas. Cultural Affairs Minister A K Balan presided over the function. He said the government would take steps to begin cultural hubs in all the districts in the state.“Though the capital city has a cultural corridor like Manaveeyam Veedhi, more such initiatives have to come up in other districts too,” Balan said. He also promised to make Manaveeyam Veedhi a cultural hub for the capital city.
Kerala State Chalachitra Akademi chairman Kamal said the akademi was planning to screen world cinema at Manaveeyam Veedhi every weekend to make films more friendly to the common man.Playback singer K J Yesudas, actor Madhu, musicians Sreekumaran Thampi, M K Arjunan also paid tributes to Bhaskaran. V S Sivakumar MLA, Mayor V K Prasanth also spoke during the function.