ALAPPUZHA: Seven years after the death of Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai, the eternal storyteller of Kuttanad, who died in 1999, his ethereal presence once again took physical form at Sankaramangalam house in Thakazhi, on Tuesday where he lived along with his wife.

Minister for culture M.A. Baby unveiled a life-size statue of the late writer at Sankaramangalam, which is at present a museum under the State Archaeological Department, in the presence of family members, Minister for Cooperation G. Sudhakaran and admirers of the writer.

Thakazhi's widow Katha too was present. It was a dream came true for Ms. Katha and Thakazhi's admirers who had been demanding the development of the Sankaramangalam house for long.

The statue has been installed at the southern part of the house, near the Thakazhi Smrithi Mandapam, which was inaugurated on Tuesday.

The statue faces the entrance of the house. The dignitaries paid floral tributes at the memorial before the unveiling ceremony.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Baby said the State Government had accepted the suggestion of Mr. Sudhakaran, who is also the local MLA, to portray the characters of the late writer at the museum, modelled after the portrayal of characters of Shakespeare at his home at Stratford-on-Avon.

He added that that the project would be undertaken jointly by the Culture Department, the Alappuzha district panchayat and various other departments.

Mr. Sudhakaran said Thakazhi had portrayed Kuttanad and its social transformations with great precision. He said the late writer was among the most widely read foreign writers by Russians.

Thomas Mar Makarios, Metropolitan of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, who was a close friend of Thakazhi, spoke.

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