Renowned poet Gnanakoothan passes away

The final rites were performed at Triplicane crematorim. Gnanakoothan was undergoing treatment for the past few days. His end came late on Wednesday night, family sources said.  As soon as the news of his death spread, condolences started pouring in from the community of poets. 

Manushyaputhiran, a poet, posted in Tamil on his social media “Just heard the news about the demise of Gnanakoothan; my grief cannot be expressed in words. It is not easy to bear the death of a teacher.” 

Born as R Ranganathan on October 7, 1938, he later made Gnanakoothan as his pen name. He was author of poetry compilations, Anru veru kizha mai, Suriyanukku Pinpakkam, Kadarkaraiyil Sila Marankal, Meendum Avarkal, Collected Po ems and Pencil Padangal. He was one of the modern Tamil poets in Tamil literature and a regular contributor to Tamil periodicals such as Kalki. 

His works are known for its social satire. He entered the field of poetry through the poem Prachanai (Problem). He was one of the Tamil writers involved in the making of Kamal Haasan’s film Marudhanayagam alongside Tamil writers Puviarasu and Sujatha. In 1998, a collection of poems Gnankkoothan kavithaigal was published. He was a recipient of SARAL Award for poetry in 2010 and Vishnupuram Award in 2014, instituted by Vishnupuram  Ilakkiya Vattam, in recognition of contributions to literature.