At 6:45 pm, stage art titan Soorya Krishnamoorthy laid to rest with state honours

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Hundreds paid their last respects to Soorya Krishnamoorthy, the pioneer who introduced a new dimension to cultural events in Kerala. Krishnamoorthy’s son-in-law, Chandan Kumar, lit the funeral pyre during the last rites held at the Thycaud Shanthikavadam at 6:45 PM on Thursday. The funeral was conducted with full state honours.

Prominent figures from the social and political spheres paid homage to his mortal remains, which had been kept for public viewing since 7:00 AM yesterday at Soorya Ganesham's—a landmark associated with his artistic journey.

Ministers Ramesh Chennithala, C.P. John, and Sunny Joseph; Opposition Leader Pinarayi Vijayan; Speaker Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan; MPs A.A. Rahim, Adoor Prakash, and Shafi Parambil; MLAs G.R. Anil, M. Vincent, V. Muraleedharan, K.N. Balagopal, and V. Joy; Mayor V.V. Rajesh; CPI State Secretary Binoy Viswam; filmmaker Adoor Gopalakrishnan; Prabha Varma, Murukan Kattakada, George Onakkoor, T.K.A. Nair, former Bishop Soosa Pakiam, and Nambi Narayanan; actresses Navya Nair, Lakshmi Gopalaswamy, Asha Sarath, Rachana Narayanankutty, Jalaja, Karthika, and Chippy; actors Nandu, Maniyanpilla Raju, Alencier, and Madhupal; Congress leaders Palode Ravi, Cherian Philip, K.S. Sabarinathan, Pandalam Sudhakaran, M. Vijayakumar, V. Sivankutty, Mullakkara Ratnakaran, and V.S. Sivakumar; filmmakers Jayaraj and Rajasenan; producer Suresh Kumar; artists Kattoor Narayana Pillai, Karakka-mandapam Vijayakumar, and S.N. Raghuchandran Nair; former Collector Sreenivasan, Divya S. Iyer, K. Vasuki, K. Omanakutty, and G. Venu were among those who paid their last respects.

Associate Editor V.S. Rajesh, Deputy Editor A.C. Reji, and Unit Chief R. Chandradath laid a floral wreath on behalf of Kerala Kaumudi.

The time of 6:45 PM—when the flames of the funeral pyre finally claimed Soorya Krishnamoorthy’s mortal remains—bears a significant connection to his artistic life. Krishnamoorthy insisted that the 'Soorya' dance and music festival, which spans 111 days, must commence precisely at 6:45 PM. Regardless of the size of the audience, the 'Soorya' program would always begin at that exact time. It is a striking coincidence that Soorya Krishnamoorthy bade farewell to this world at that very same hour on Wednesday.