Malayalis are now in a state of anguish as to whether all the beacons of Kerala are going out. The news of the demise of Prof. M.K. Sanu Master comes before Malayalis are freed from the void created by the departure of V.S. Achuthanandan, who gave Malayalis the embodiment of struggle politics and pro-people stances. There are only a handful of people whom Malayalis have showered with love and respect with the pronoun Mash. Sanu Mash is the foremost among them. He not only gave literary light to tens of thousands of children, but he is also a prominent figure among those who took all Malayalis by the hand to the eternal values of politics, culture and literature.

Sanu Mash was the name of humanity that spread to everyone without quarreling with anyone, without hurting anyone. A person who witnessed and helped the amazing progress of the 21st century along with the transformations of the 20th century. A man who traveled through the demons of the pre-independence era and faced the hardships of post-independence life through words and writing. A philanthropist who dissolved the absurd trends in literature and culture with his gentle and brilliant eloquence. A great man who, at the age of 98, set up towers of light and hope for the Malayalam people through his writings and speeches.

Sanu Mash is one of the rare talents who has left his mark on all aspects of Malayali social life. He was a teacher, lecturer, writer, critic, novelist, story writer, biographer; he flourished like a royal sculptor in all areas of intellectual life, that too for about eight decades. In the meantime, he also shone in parliamentary life as the Ernakulam MLA for four years. It was Sanu Mash who gave the flavours of literary beauty to our assembly speeches. Except for the few days he was in the hospital, even in his last days he was immersed in the world of writing and speeches.

It is said that only a good teacher can be a good orator. This can be said the other way around too. Sanu Mash has been able to demonstrate unique prowess in both these fields. Sanu Mash's throne and lectures are in the category of Joseph Mundassery, Thakazhi, Basheer, Prof. M.P. Manmathan, K. Balakrishnan, M.P. Paul, G. Sankara Kurupp, Vayalar, Sukumar Azhikode and M. Krishnan Nair, among others, who have stirred the cultural and literary tastes of Malayalis with their lectures. In the 1960s and 1970s, Sanu Mash was at the forefront of organising literary feasts even for temple festivals in the villages. The gentle glow in the lecture was what lit up Mash's classes.

Simplicity, warmth, sincerity and humanity were present in his every word, whether in his teaching or his lectures. He took his listeners to areas such as social justice, personal freedom, philosophies, political philosophy, literary and philosophical thoughts, art criticism, and the development of language history. It was because this passion was also being embraced by the new generation that six months ago, the M.A. Malayalam students of Maharaja's College, Ernakulam, invited Mash to give them a class. The classes and lectures started with a gentle voice and slowly ascended to clarity. Those words were illuminated by the muse of extensive reading and deep thought.

Sanu Mash's contribution as a biographer is also noteworthy. The biographies written by Mash are of the type described in literary history as 'novelised biography'. When the biographies of Sree Narayana Guru, Sahodaran Ayyappan, Kumaranasan, Changampuzha, Vaikom Muhammed Basheer, M. Govindan, C.J. Thomas, rationalist M.C. Joseph, Vailoppilli and Dr. Palpu were written by Sanu Mash, they became readable and enjoyable like novels. That is why Ayyappa Paniker described the biographies written by Sanu Mash as 'Sanu Charitangal'. Dr. M. Leelavathi said that Sanu Mash is the royal architect of novelised biography.

Sanu Mash's pen portraits of almost all the Western and Eastern geniuses who illuminated the literary and cultural life of the 20th century are also an asset in this field. The pen portraits written by Sanu Mash helped a lot in bringing Galileo, Walt Whitman, Netaji, Thakazhi, Pottakad, Vayalar, K. Balakrishnan, C.V. Kunjuraman and Thoppil Bhasi to the common man. He gave a special place to poetry and drama in literary criticism.

Death took Mash away when he was approaching a century of glorious life. Sanu Mash was a member of the Kerala Kaumudi family. He maintained extremely loving friendships with people from C.V. Kunjuraman and editor K. Sukumaran to the present generation. Just as Sanu Mash's demise is a common loss for Malayalis, we too are deeply saddened. We share in the grief of his family members, disciples and literary lovers.