Ezhuthachan Award presented to Puthussery Ramachandran

Thiruvananthapuram: Noted poet and linguist Puthussery Ramachandran was Wednesday presented with Ezhuthachan Award, the highest literary honour instituted by the state government.

Chief Minister Oommen Chandy gave away the award which comprised a purse of Rs 1.50 lakh, citation and a plaque to the 87-year-old scholar at the Darbar Hall here.

A veteran of Dravidian linguistics, Ramachandran is one of state's literary personalities who took up social issues through their writings.

He also had translated several poems from English, Sanskrit, Tamil and other foreign languages to Malayalam.

Presenting the award, Chandy hailed the contributions of Ramachandran to the Malayalam language and literature and said it was the most deserving recognition to the scholar.

Kerala Sahitya Akademi President Perumbadavam Sreedharan said Ramachandran had always retained progressive thoughts and ideologies in his life and writings.

Ramachandran said though he was happy to accept an honour in the name of the 'Father of Malayalam language' Ezhuthachan, he was sad to some extent that the contributions of Niranam poets, the 15th century poet trio, in the evolution and development of Malayalam language, were yet to get a deserved recognition.

State Cultural Affairs minister K C Joseph and Chief Secretary Jiji Thomson were also present during the function.