THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The man of letters is no more. Celebrated poet and Jnanpith winner O N V Kurup, 84, who, with his mastery over words and effortless style in capturing earthy nuances, enraptured Malayali readers for over six decades, has bid goodbye.
The veteran poet and lyricist breathed his last at a private hospital here at 4.50 pm following cardiac arrest. A left-leaning poet, ONV had made a mark in the world of poetry with his revolutionary poems. Through his flowery language and symbolic portrayal, Kurup had spun a magic web of poetry for his readers.
ONV, a member of the Kendra Sahitya Akademi for five years from 1982 and served as the chairman of Kerala Kalamandalam, is survived by wife P P Sarojini, son Rajeevan and daughter Mayadevi. The cremation will be held at Santhikavadom with official honours on Monday.
Our Friendship a Unity of Poetry
Kavalam Narayana Panicker - Dramatist, theatre director and poet
When I met him last time he had said bye in a philosophical way as we all have to go through such stages in life. He had been sick and had restricted himself to one of the rooms in his house. I met him twice after his health deteriorated, but didn’t try to talk to him since it would be a strain on him. Before that we met at a function to watch the performance of dancer Methil Devika in last August. He had been happy and enthusiastic as usual.
We were friends though our style was different. My poems were dynamic in nature and his more poetic. Both cannot be compared. But our friendship was unity of poetry as well.
We can understand the peculiarity of a person’s character through the style of his writing. We respected each other and were together in many poetry reading meets and other public functions along with other poets. We read poems in places where people used to come in large numbers, including the busy Cherthala market.
He had informed me when he planned to contest election to Parliament and I had asked, “Is it desirable for you.” I was doubtful that a person like him could be defined through the practical ideologies of politics. He was beyond such defined yet limited spaces. May his soul rest in eternal peace.
He Left Sans Penning my Next Song
Hariharan, film maker
He had agreed to write songs for my next movie as well and I had plans to visit him with the script. When I called he had said, “my health is not good but it has not affected my reading and writing.” But the flood in Chennai altered my plans and I couldn’t meet him.
I was a great fan of his poems and my love for poetry spurred me to request him to write songs for my films. I was adamant on having poetic elements in songs in my films and he had been more adamant on his songs being poetic. The similarity in taste led to us working together in around 12 films. He was a perfectionist in writing. He wrote and rewrote lines till he had attained the final form in the famous song ‘Aaadhi Usha Sandhya Poothathivide’ in ‘Pazhassi Raja’.
He belonged to that rare kind of poets who were talented beyond our imagination. He was an ardent lover of nature, which is reflected in his songs. His songs couldn’t be separated from nature. I had the opportunity to read all his poems and even ‘dared’ to comment on them.
He had been a ‘guru’ and an older brother to me. He was a rare personality who kept his spirits high till the end.