KOZHIKODE: When 101 people received the Padma Shri award from President Ramnath Kovind in New Delhi on Tuesday with all the happiness and pride, the smile was completely missing from the face of Writer Balan Putheri, one of the recipients of the Padma Shri for 2021.
He received the award from the President with grief largely writ on his face over the realization that back home, his wife, Shantha Kadavath will no longer be there to receive him when he returns.
Shantha breathed her last after a long fight with breast cancer on Tuesday morning when Balan, who is visually challenged, had already reached New Delhi to receive the honour.
With trembling hands, he received the honour from the President as it was hard for him to imagine a world without his beloved wife, said his younger brother Santhosh Putheri.
"He was completely shattered when we informed him about the demise of our sister-in-law. Her funeral took place at Karipur, near Kondotty which is our family land, he further said. I stayed here as her condition was already worsening and my elder brother Damodaran accompanied my brother Balan to the ceremony in New Delhi. He is supposed to be back home by Wednesday night."
His 20-year-old son Ramlal, who is also visually and mentally impaired stayed back home at Karipur along with the family here.
Shantha had been fighting cancer for over 8 years now, but the family had a great hope to bring her back to a normal life. But Balan's biggest day turned out to be the most tragic one with the demise of his wife.
Balan is among the six awardees from Kerala for the Padma award winners for 2021. He has published 213 books, most of them about Hindu mythology and temple rites. He sold these books at temples and places of religious gatherings.
Earlier there was a controversy among the writers in Kerala that Balan's strong inclination towards Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) had paved the way for this greatest recognition of the country, but Balan had already dismissed these controversies as baseless.
Balan Putheri published his first book in 1983. Later in a span of 10 years, he completed more than 50 books and his 50th book is Guruvayoor Ekadasi.