Mathrubhumi Literary Award presented to writer Zacharia
Kozhikode: The Mathrubhumi Literary Award 2023 was presented to writer Zacharia. Writer M Mukundan presented the award in a function held at KP Kesava Menon Hall on Thursday evening. Mathrubhumi Literary Award was started 24 years ago to honour the literary talents of Malayalam.
Mathrubhumi's Chairman and Managing Editor P V Chandran delivered the inaugural address at the event and Mathrubhumi's Managing Director M V Shreyams Kumar presided over the function. "The jury took a unanimous decision to give the award to Zacharia, a well-known writer and travel lover", said Shreyams Kumar.
“He is a genius who gave the best travelogues to Malayalam. He wrote in an unconventional way, tearing down many walls. He started writing at the age of eighteen for the Republic edition of the Mathrubhumi weekly. Zacharia is a writer who was attacked by political parties for his opinion and position. I am very happy to present the Mathrubhumi award to the writer who gave a different reading experience to the Malayali people”, he added.
“Mathrubhumi is the mother of millions of Malayalees. She is my mother too. I have now passed on to Zacharia the gift that this mother gave me. My relationship with Zacharia started in 1972”. M Mukundan said that he enjoyed close camaraderie with two writers in Malayalam with whom he could freely indulge in intimate talks, Punathil and Zacharia.
“Zacharia is an active writer who never stands still. We belong to the generation of modernism. Zacharia proved that a writer can only be strong when he walks alone. Zacharia did not write political or ideological stories. But his strong positions are justified through his speeches and life. Mostly, a writer reaches out to the people through writings rooted in romanticism. Zacharia is a writer who has declared that he is not a romantic and writes for the people, without delivering intoxicating books filled with exceptional romanticism. It is not enough to give him one award, he should be given multiple awards. An award should be given to Zacharia, the short story writer, an award to the novelist, an award to the traveler, an award to the critic and so on. We must constantly reward Zacharia so that his voice could be heard among us ”, M. Mukundan said.
Writers Mini P C, Subash Chandran, and journalist Sasikumar participated in the event.
The award consists of Rs 3 lakh, a certificate and a sculpture. The awardee was selected by a judging panel headed by Prof M K Sanu and members C Radhakrishnan and Sarah Joseph.
The award committee observed that it is proud to present this year's Mathrubhumi Literary Award to this great writer who took his words beyond the paper to see the dawn of a secular and democratic world.