RICH TRIBUTE TO SUKUMAR AZHIKODE

RICH TRIBUTE TO  SUKUMAR AZHIKODE

Malayalam writer and orator Sukumar Azhikode passed away on 24th december morning. He was 85. Azhikode was admitted to hospital Dec 7, last year and his condition had deteriorated in the past few days. Family sources said his body would be taken to his home in Eravimangalam and would be kept for an hour and then moved to the Sahitya Akademi hall. His body will then be taken to his home town in Azhikode in Kannur district and the funeral will take place Wednesday afternoon at the Payamabalam beach.

A quintessential critic in speech and writing, Azhikode's had been a powerful voice in the intellectual discourse in Kerala.An outstanding academic and teacher, Azhikode had served as chairman of the National Book Trust (NBT) and as member of the executive councils of Kerala and Kendra Sahitya academy. A recipient of high literary honours including the Kendra Sahitya Academy award, Azhikode hit national headlines a few years back by declining to accept Padma Shri holding such honours went against the spirit of Indian Constitution which saw all citizens as equal.

He was an ardent Gandhian till the end of his life, Azhikode was close to the Congress in his early life and in the 1960s even unsuccessfully contested the Lok Sabha polls as its candidate.

But later, he distanced himself from the Congress and moved close to the Left camp without compromising on his Gandhian convictions and the Nehruvian vision of a liberal and just social order.His great work 'Tatvamasi', an intellectual exploration of the eternal wisdom of the Vedas and Upanishads, is a widely appreciated work.

Azhikode's major critical works like 'Asante SeethaKavyam', a detailed textual study of poet Kumaran Asan's 'Chinthavishtayaya Seetha' (Seetha immersed in thought) are considered as classics of modern Malayalam literature. Azhikode headed the Malayalam Department of Calicut University and later retired as its Pro-vice chancellor. A prolific writer of columns and a powerful orator, his penchant to give vent to ire on social, political and cultural evils often sparkedcontroversies.

His MajorContributions in Literature

Aasante Seetakavyam, Ramananum Malayalakavitayum (Ramanan and Malayalam Poetry)

Mahatmavinte Margam (Way of the Mahatma), Purogamanasahityavum Mattum (Modern Literature and Others), Malayala Sahityavimarsanam (Criticism of Malayalam Literature), Vayanayute Swargattil (In the Paradise of Reading), Tatvamasi, Malayala Sahitya Patanangal (Studies on Malayalam Literature), Tatvavum Manushyanum (Philosophy and Humans), Khandanavum Mandanavum (Destructive Criticism and Constructive Criticism), Entinu Bharatadare, Azhikodinte Prabhashanangal (Speeches of Azhikode), Azhikodinte Falitangal (Jokes of Azhikode), Guruvinte Dukham (Sorrow of the Teacher), Aakasam Nashtapetunna India (India Losing Horizon), Pathakal Kazhchakal (Routes and Sights), Mahakavi Ulloor (The Great Poet Ulloor) . 

                                                        PROF.JOHN KURAKAR