Darkness has spread all over as values born of cultural progress increasingly face destruction, writer Anand (P. Sachidanandan) said here on Monday.
Our duty, he said, was not confined to the protection of values, rather, it extended to the responsibility of keeping alive the process of their creation.
Ezhuthachan Award
“We must realise that light alone can dispel that darkness,” Anand said while accepting the Ezhuthachan Award for the year 2019 from Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
Renaissance, he said, was not a one-off occurrence. On the other hand, it was a continuing process that should be helped to its feet whenever it faltered.
The progress of culture had never been easy, the award-winning author of novels such as Aalkootam, Maranacertificate and Marubhoomikal Undakunnathu said.
The positive and hope-giving aspect of the agitations and demonstrations that we saw in the country now was that they were led not by people in power politics, but by the general populace upholding certain values and ideas, Anand said.
Appropriate time
Anand’s selection for the highest literary award given by the Kerala Government came at an appropriate time when the entire nation was in turmoil over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said, while presenting the award.
“A painful situation has emerged where people born and raised in India are forced to answer the question ‘who is a true Indian citizen?’. Anand’s works are of a prophetic nature that foresaw such frightening scenarios,” Mr. Vijayan said.
In such upsetting times, literary works by writers such as Anand were akin to greenery in the desert, he said. “They have to be protected and honoured.”
“We live in an era when Anand’s works should be read and frequently discussed,” the Chief Minister said.
Writers’ freedom
“It is important that the freedom of writers like Anand is protected, especially when such freedoms are increasingly curtailed. Standing up for their freedom and standing up for democracy are one and the same,” he said.
In placing writing alongside history, politics and human beings, Anand elevated Malayalam literature to global dimensions, the award citation read out by Chief Secretary Tom Jose said. The award carries a purse of ₹5 lakh.
Cultural Affairs Minister A.K. Balan, writer Vaisakhan who headed the award jury and Rani George, Secretary, Cultural Affairs, spoke.
