‘Kesavadev was an apostle of dissent’

Thiruvananthapuram: Governor P Sathasivam said that the literary works of P Kesavadev had always been about the ‘extraordinary lives of ordinary people’. “He was an apostle of dissent as evident from his work Ethirppu (Dissent),” Sathasivam said while handing over P Kesavadev awards, instituted by the P Kesavadev Trust, on Wednesday.
Poet Prabha Varma received P Kesavadev Literature Award while Mohanlal bagged P Kesavadev Diabscreen Kerala Award for his active participation in health campaigns, on screen and off screen.

Minister A K Balan, who presided over the function said, “P Kesavadev’s life experience is one key thing that distinguishes him from other social reformers and novelists. He was an immensely brave man who had the courage to speak the truth as it is to anyone’s face”.

“Stars are not born in the skies, rather from the hearts of the people and Mohanlal has proved this through his contributions, whereas Prabha Varma is a man who wields words as the ultimate weapon. At a time when art forms are considered evil by communalists, seeing such artists is encouraging,” said the minister.

Prabha Varma said, “I consider P Kesavadev as the man who translated the black and white realities of the downtrodden into literature at a time when only stories of gods and kings were written about. Post-modernism removed the lives of downtrodden from movies and replaced it with fictional characters like dinosaurs and aliens.”

Mohanlal mentioned P Kesavadev as “a revolutionary in both life and literature”, and added that he wished to continue doing his part of sharing awareness on health issues to public.

P Kesavadev Trust managing trustee Dr Jothidev Kesavadev, UST Global CEO Sajan Pillai and writer George Onakoor spoke.