Renowned Malayalam writer and retired college professor Kalpetta Balakrishnan passed away on Monday. He was 75. He had retired as Malayalam department head of Thrissur Sree Kerala Varna college in 1999.
Balakrishnan also served as secretary of Kerala Kalamandalam and a Senate member of Cochin and Calicut universities. He was also a member at Kerala Sahitya Academy, Language Institute, Children Literature Institute, State Institute of Encyclopedic Publications, South Zone Cultural Council, etc.
His body will be kept at Kerala Sahitya Academy office Thrissur on Tuesday for the public to pay respect.
Balakrishnan did his post-graduation in Malayalam from Kerala University in 1967. His research was on Gandhian principles in Kerala literature. He has also secured several awards and honours for his poems and writings.
‘Akalcha,’ ‘Akamporul Puramporul,’ ‘Gilgamesh,’ ‘Choolimala,’ ‘Poovikalodu Parayaruthu’ are some among his novels. He has also contributed a lot of works to Kerala's literary criticism. ‘Appoloyude Veena,’ ‘Niroopakante Viswadarshanam,’ ‘Kalaghattam,’ ‘Gandhian Soundarya Vicharam,’ etc are some among them.
Balakrishnan has also translated the Hindu epic Mahabharatha into Malayalam. He had edited and translated the Assembly speeches of former Kerala Chief Minister and Congress leader K Karunakaran.
He was also the scriptwriter of the movie Malamukalile Daivam, which had won the National Award for the best regional movie.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has expressed his heartfelt condolences over the death of Kalpetta Balakrishnan. He is survived by his wife K Saraswathy, sons Jayasurya, Kashyap and daughter Aparna.
The late writer was born in 1945 in Kottayam district and later, his family migrated to Kalapatta in Wayanad. His schooling was in Wayanad. Apart from Kerala Varna College, he had also taught at Mar Athanasius college in Kothamangalam, and at the Thrissur centre of Sree Sankaracharya Sanskrit University.
He had named his house in Ayanthol Maithri park in Thrissur 'Kalapatta Villa', as he had an emotional bond with Wayanad.