Poet Puthusssery Ramachandran, who fought for freedom and Malayalam, passes away

_{Thiruvananthapuram: Noted Malayalam poet, writer and freedom fighter Dr Puthussery Ramachandran passed away here on Saturday. He was 92. Ramachandran was ailing for some time and staying with his daughter at ‘Geet’ in Elankom Gardens, Vellayambalam in the capital city.}

_{Born on September 23, 1928 as the son of Pokkatt Damodaran Pillai and Puthusseril Janaki Amma at Vallikkunnam in Mavelikkara taluk, Ramachandran studied at Manakkad Primary School, Vattakkatt Govt UP School, Vallikkunnam SNDP Sanskrit School and Pope Pius XI English High School, Bharanikkavu.}

_{Drawn to the freedom movement during his school days, Ramachandran was expelled from school for taking part in Quit India Movement and the students’ agitation held following the Punnapra Vayalar struggle. However, he was allowed to rejoin later.}

_{While studying in S N College, Kollam, he was arrested and jailed. He soon became the Sooranad local committee secretary of the Communist Party during 1951-53. Taking leave from party work, he completed BA (Honours) with first rank from University College during 1953-56, subsequently joining S N College, Kollam as a teacher. In 1969, he joined the Malayalam Department of Kerala University and retired from service in 1988.}

_{Ramachandran was a major force behind various international conferences and also the founder president of University Teachers’ Federation. He was also a visiting professor at Moscow and Texas Universities.}

_{He won several major awards and honours, including fellowship of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi in 2009, Bhasha Samman of Kendra Sahitya Akademi in 2014 and Ezhuthachan Award in 2015, among others.}

_{Ramachandran’s major works include Grameena Gayakan, Avunnathra Uchathil, Sakthi Pooja, Puthussery Kavithakal and Kannassa Ramayanam.}

_{He also played a major role in earning the classical status for Malayalam.}

_{Ramachandran’s wife B Rajamma had predeceased him. He is survived by daughter Dr Geetha R Puthussery (Rtd Prof., NSS Women’s College, Karamana), sons P R Unnikrishnan (Asst GM, IOB, Chennai), P R Hemachandran (USA), P R Premachandran (Civil Supplies), P R Jayachandran (Rtd Group Captain, IAF), and P R Syamachandran (Canada) and their spouses Dr K S Ravikumar (Pro-VC, Sanskrit University), K P Geethamony (Asst Director, Agriculture Department), Sreedevi Nair, Indu (Directorate of Collegiate Education) and Reshma Jayachandran.}