If one were asked to classify Malayalam’s most celebrated contemporary poet O.N.V. Kurup, whose voice merged with eternal silence on Saturday, one might be tempted to call him a neo-romantic.
All his poems and lyrics had the stamp of neo-romanticism about them, be they inspired by the revolutionary fervour of the pink decades or his more intimate explorations into the mind and experiential world of the human individual or his later requiem for the Earth. Like many of his generation, he set out on his six decades-long poetic odyssey inspired by the legendary Changampuzha Krishna Pillai, but he moved on to pure narratives, drawing from classical texts, and, almost simultaneously to the ecological concerns of the modern world.
Early days
Born on May 27, 1931, at Chavara in Kollam, ONV had cleared his intermediate course from University College, Thiruvananthapuram. He did his graduation in Economics from Sree Narayana College, Kollam, and postgraduation in Malayalam from University College. He joined as a teacher at Maharajas’ College, Ernakulam, in 1957 and continued to serve as a teacher in various colleges for the following 25 years. All the while, he was deeply involved in his cultural activities, writing songs for plays, the notable among them his lines for such celebrated plays as Ningalenne Communistaki . He is credited with having written songs for hundreds of plays, besides the many lilting melodies that he contributed to Malayalam cinema.
For global peace
ONV’s cultural activism did not end with writing songs. He was an active participant in the work of the Indian People’s Theatre Association (IPTA) and had as close associates music composers M.B. Sreenivasan, Salil Chaudhary, and G. Devarajan. He was also involved in activities for global peace and protection of the environment. As chairman of the Kerala Kalamandalam, he had played prominent part in securing deemed university status for the premier institute of the classical arts.
If the lines on the lip of every Malayali, Njangal Koyyum Vayalellaam Njangaludethaakum Painkiliye , showed one aspect of ONV’s creative genius, the lines of his two narrative poems Ujjayini and Swayamvaram are symbols of poetic excellence not easily achievable in shorter lyrics. His tone became sombre when he wrote the Requiem for the Earth .
His voice has been stilled by time, but the angst his lines convey would continue to haunt every sensitive reader of his.
