Thrissur: Noted writer and winner of central and state Sahitya Akademi awards M Sukumaran passed away at the Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday. He was 75.
‘Seshakriya’, ‘Marichittillathavarude smarakangal’, ‘Janithakam’ and ‘Chuvanna chihnangal’ are among Sukumaran’s notable works. Two of his stories – ‘Sangha ganam’ and ‘Unarthupattu’ have been made into feature films.
Sukumaran was born as the son of Narayana Mannadiar and Meenakshiyamma at Chittur in Palakkad district in 1943. His education ended after completing high school. After working at a sugar factory, Sukumaran served as a school teacher. In 1963, he joined the accountant general’s office in Thiruvananthapuram as a clerk. But his services were terminated in 1974 due to his trade union activities.
Sukumaran won the Kerala Sahitya Akademi award for ‘Marichittillathavarude smarakangal’ in 1976 and ‘Janithakam’ in 1997. He also won the award for overall contribution to literature in 2004. His ‘Pitrutarpanam’ was selected for the Padmarajan award for short story in 1992. The central Sahitya Akademi award came to Sukumaran for his ‘Chuvanna chihnangal’ - a short story collection - in 2006. He was conferred the state government’s film award for the best story for ‘Seshakriya’ in 1981 and ‘Kazhakam’ in 1995.
