Kerala - Kozhikode   

Kozhikode honours one of its great sons

Special Correspondent

KOZHIKODE: "This city is very much like a wife to me; sometimes, I get tired of it and run away, but I soon find myself returning to my city, driven by an uncontrollable urge to be where I belong,'' said M.T. Vasudevan Nair, Jnanpith winner, here on Thursday.

He was speaking at a civic reception at Tagore Centenary Hall, arranged in his honour by the Corporation of Kozhikode to felicitate him for winning the Padmabhooshan.

The Mayor, Thottathil Ravindran, presented Mr. Vasudevan Nair a memento and M. Bhaskaran, leader of Communist Party of India (Marxist) in the Corporation Council, a brocaded shawl.

Mr. Vasudevan Nair was in an uncharacteristically autobiographical mood.

He recalled his first visit to the city as a child along with his father, on a short visit from the erstwhile Ceylon (now Sri Lanka).

His father had to visit the city to go to a bank to encash a cheque.

Much later, he came to the city in search of a job. Then, there were days when the city had a vibrant literary scene, it being home to great masters of Malayalam literature, such as the novelists S.K. Pottekkatt, Uroob and N.P. Mohammed and the poet Akkitham.

"In a couple of years, I will be celebrating five decades of life in this city,'' Mr. Vasudevan Nair said.

He, however, was quick to add that he did not deserve the honour of being honoured by the city since he considered himself to be very much a part of it.

"MT constantly reminds us how sweet Malayalam language is,'' said P. Valsala, novelist, felicitating Mr. Vasudevan Nair. The author of Nellu said she was looking forward to more works from Mr. Vasudevan Nair that would reveal the responses of his literary sensibilities to challenges of modern world.

The author U.K. Khader said the civic reception was a proud moment for the State since by honouring Mr. Vasudevan Nair with Padmabhooshan, the nation had honoured the people of Kerala.

The Chairman of Kerala State Film Development Corporation, P.V. Gangadharan, who has produced box-office hits based on Mr. Vasudevan Nair's film scripts, said the absence of the latter was being strongly felt in Malayalam film world.

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Kozhikode honours one of its great sons

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