Many feel orphaned as Maash becomes history

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: As ‘Azhikode Maash’ becomes history, there are umpteen  persons who feel orphaned. They had  made Maash, a chronic bachelor, live comfortably in the absence of a  family for himself.  They looked upon him with  love, affection, admiration and   as a ‘guru’ and guardian.Poet Chemmanam Chacko and freedom fighter K E Mammen were  his bosom friends. His disciples like former mayor of  Kozhikode A Sankaran, media men like S. Nasser in Kollam and academics  took care of  him. In every corner of  the state, there were scores of  persons who longed to receive a warm pat from him. V  Sumedhan, an NRK hailing from Vakkom and settled in the city, got a  bust of Maash carved in a single piece wood  mounted on the wall of  his drawing room. He was host to  Azhikode whenever he came to the city. “My closeness with Maash started in the early nineties, when he was selected for the first award instituted to commemorate my late father. Maash was so simple. The only luxury he tasted was seafood,” Sumedhan recalled while speaking to Express.“He may get furious if   persons close to him are criticized by anyone. But the anger will die down soon,” according to him. “Maash fell  ill when 90  percent of  the work on the wooden bust undertaken by  sculptor  Satheeshan Muttathara was over. Later, the photograph of  the completed work was shown to him, which made him curious,”  he said.“He was a synonym of  love and care and eager to understand others, irrespective of  age or other considerations,’’ says Paul Manalil, senior journalist and litterateur, who was close to Azhikode. The Sukumar Azhikode Trust headed by Paul has been given the copyright and royalty of  the titles in the name of  the deceased. As per Azhikode’s registered will, one fourth of  the total value of  the  assets, including a house and small land holding at Eravimangalam in Thrissur, his adopted town after he left his native Kannur in his youth, and a car owned by him, has been bequeathed to Suresh, his driver and conscience-keeper  for nearly 30 years. “Maash had a special knack to crack  jokes, even when he dealt with high literary and social topics tuned to  contemporary realities in his lectures,” points out  V Dethan, who was the zonal organizer of Navabharatha Vedi floated by Sukumar Azhikode. Kerala listened to his words with rapt attention, even when he drew flak  for his controversial comments and stance on a few issues.