Words that were flames

Mahakavi Kumaran Ashan was not just a luminary poet but a vocal representative of the downtrodden and marginalized sections of society. The poetry which he inked turned into cinders against the injustice that was running rampant in the state. Only extremely gifted poets were able to pull off such a thing, that is to turn their words into a lethal weapon that nonplussed people in power.

Kumaran Ashan who grew up hearing the fables of Sree Narayana Guru had no difficulty in imbibing the culture of the renaissance leader. It has been a century since the death of that great poet in river Pallana, but his poems are immortal and his ideas have crossed the barriers of age to remain afresh among newer generations.

Sree Narayana Guru and Mahakavi Kumaran Ashan are pioneers of Kerala who kickstarted renaissance without following violence. Malayalam poetry is mostly categorised as pre-Ashan and post-Ashan times. The grandeur and depth of the Malayalam language reached the world through Mahakavi Kumaran Ashan’s writings.

Kumaran Ashan created new ideals of femininity that had much more than the staple tingling of an angle chain which were the usual materials added in writings of those times when mentioning women. Ashan's poems carved out the ache felt by feminine minds in lucid words. Ashan established that all females had the right to question and he wrote copious works on the matter. It should be remembered that this boldness and bravery of Ashan was at a time when women's writing and women's liberation movements were not even a form of thought.

Sree Narayana guru, who combined wisdom and poetry, was the first one to recognise the hidden talent of Kumaran Ashan. Guru wanted Kumaranashan's eloquence, poetic power and latent organizational skills to be used for the welfare of the world. Thus, apart from being a poet, he was also appointed as the secretary of the great movement called SNDP Yogam, which was formed for social revival.

Despite being busy with multi-faceted activities, Ashan's passion for poetry never waned. Veenapoov, Chandalabhiksukhi, Durvastha, Karuna, Sita Vishtaya, Sri Buddha Charitam, and Balaramayanam add to his lionized repertoire.

‘Mattuvin Chatangale’ (change the rules) was a clarion call written by Ashan which later turned into the official slogan for Renaissance. However time passes and new ideologies will enlighten Malayalam literature, but Ashan’s eloquence and genius will remain unrivalled. His writings are materials preserved for posterity and will keep on influencing generations.