Noted novelist and Sahitya Akademi Award winner Thoppil Mohamed Meeran, 74, passed away at his residence at Veerabahu Nagar in Pettai near here around 1.30 a.m. on Friday. He is survived by his wife Jaleela and sons Shameem Ahmed and Mirzad Ahmed.
Born in the coastal hamlet of Thaengaaipattinam in Kanniyakumari district on September 26, 1944, Mohamed Meeran authored the novels ‘Oru Kadalora Graamaththin Kathai’, ‘Thuraimugam’, ‘Koonan Thoppu’, ‘Saaivu Naarkkaali’ and ‘Anju Vannam Theru’ between 1988 and 2011. ‘Saaivu Naarkkaali’ (The Reclining Chair), which was released in 1995, got him the prestigious Sahitya Akademi Award in 1997.
His short story collections – ‘Anbukku Muthumai Illai’, ‘Thangarasu’, ‘Ananthasayanam Colony’, ‘Oru Kutti Theevin Varippadam’, ‘Thoppil Mohamed Meeran Kathaigal’ and ‘Oru Maamaramum Konjam Paravaigalum’ – and translations gave him a prominent place in the literary world.
In all, he bagged eight awards, including one from the Tamilnadu Kalai Ilakkiya Perumandram in 1992.
Kanniyakumari slang
“His mastery over Tamil and Malayalam was amazing as he could use both languages in his novels effortlessly. The speciality of all his literary works is that his novels lucidly narrated the fisherfolk’s life with finer and intricate details in Tamil laced with Malayalam, a slang found only in Kanniyakumari district,” MDMK general secretary Vaiko said in his condolence message.
After people from various walks of life paid floral tributes to the celebrated novelist, special prayers were conducted in the Jama Masjid in Pettai before the mortal remains were laid to rest on the premises in the evening.