MALAYALAM
Anthology of essays
B.R.P.BHASKAR
CHANGAMPUZHA — Vidhiyude Vettamrigam: M. P. Veerendrakumar, Mathrubhumi Books, MM Press, Cherooty Road, Kozhikode-673001. Rs. 70.
WITH A number of titles, covering a variety of subjects from travelogues to treatises, under his name, M. P. Veerendrakumar is one of the most prolific writers in Malayalam today. The book under review is a collection of essays, most of them tributes to leading writers and scholars. The book gets its title from the piece on Changampuzha Krishna Pillai (1911-47), who brought poetry within the reach of the masses and whose lilting lines were on many lips. Veerendrakumar chastises the literary establishment for not giving the poet due recognition in his lifetime. The charge is not unjustified, but that perhaps is the fate that still awaits a young writer who strikes out a new path. Pundits smiled on lesser poets than Changampuzha only because they lived up to a ripe age and posed no challenge to them. Ponkunnam Varkey, Unnikrishnan Puthoor, V. Panoli and D. C. Kizhakkemuri are the other men of letters featured in this volume. There is also a piece on Mother Teresa.
The essays are strewn with English quotations, many of which can be dropped without doing harm to the author's purpose.
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