This is an interview report.
Interview with a poet turned politician.

Kadammanitta -- A poet of the mass



It was in December 1996. ‘ISC hosts eminent Kerala Litterateurs’, ‘Kerala MLA to take up body, air fare issues with Indian Embassy’… Times of Oman reported. ‘Thank you Ramakrishnan’…. Few of the ‘Times’ readers commented in the ‘Readers Forum’.

In the midst of these reports, poet Kadammanitta’s fans in Sur were preparing to host a reception to him and to hear few of his poetry. As a result of the efforts made by Madhu (Muscat), Mohandas, Anil, Dr. Pradeep and others, a day after the auspicious occasion of ‘Shabani’ and ‘Christmas’, the reception was held at Sur Beach Resort Hotel on 26th December 1996, night.

The function, presided over by Dr. Mohamed Zahir Uddin, began with brief speeches by Kadammanitta and few others. It was a programme of difference in nature and new in presentation for the gatherings who were familiar with star nights and mimics parades. For a couple of hours it was a poetry fair.

Kadammanitta himself recited his “Kozhi” and “Mazha peyyunnu Madhalam kottunnu”. When his other poems “Shanta” and “Kurathi” were recited by Sadanandan and Suresh, Dr. Parameswaran and Venugopal recited their own poems. Besides, poems of ONV, Dr. Vinayachandran and Kavalam were recited by Nisa Balakrishnan, Rahul Madhu and Gopi and troupe respectively and made the event a success.

‘Times’ reports, my attendance at the poetry fair and the rhythms of his poems had aroused my curiosity to know more about his poetry on the anvil and his views on few other points. Although he was with busy schedule, he gladly talked to me the next day when I called on him at his place of stay in Sur.

When we are passing through the time in which the gulf between poets and fans, legislatures and electorates, haves and have- nots, and privileged and under privileged are widening, the words ‘quick’ and ‘easy’ have taken new turns in human life, Kadammanitta appeared distinct in all respects.

During his one day stay in Sur, I felt, the Malayalam poet who has more than 200 poems in his credit, who is a sitting MLA of Kerala, President of Kerala Grandhasala Sangham and State Vice President of Purogamana Kala Sahitya Sangham, Kadammanitta Ramakrishnan, affectionately called by his fans ‘Kadammanittachettan’ remained one among them and shared in their happy and sorrows.




A peep in to the life of the poet:

M.R. Ramakrishnan Panicker, popularly known as Kadammanitta Ramakrishan, was born on 22.03.1935 in an orthodox family at Kadammanitta in Kerala.

After completing BA from Changanasseri NSS College, in 1958 he set out for a journey to Assam in search of employment. But, on reaching at Calcutta, he joined to learn making matches by hand under an organization called ‘Khadi Prathishtan’. He stayed there for three months. It was during then he got appointed in Postal Audit and Accounts Department. His first posting was as a Lower Division Clerk at Madras on 20.02.1959. He retired from the service on 31.03.1992 as Accounts Officer.

Shanta is his wife. Dr. Gita Devi is daughter and Gita Krishnan is son.

Kadammanitta read extensively. Reading is one of his important daily routines even today. He reads everything he gets. ‘Harinamakirthanam, Erupathinaluvritham, Adhyatma Ramayanam, Bhagavat Gita were some of the important books that he read in his childhood. In the recent past, he read many biographies. Among them are: Kunhikuttan Thamburan, Mannathu Padmanabhan, Mamman Mappila, A.K. Gopalan, Subrahmanian Potti, E.M.S. Nampoodirippad and others. These books have one or the other way influenced his views.

Kadammanitta Ramakrishnan started writing poems at the age of 14. Lodge life in Madras was suitable for him to continue with his poetry. But, it was only from 1962 he started keeping his poems. His first poem “Njan” was published in “Sameekshan” edited by Govindan who had highly encouraged him.

Kadammanitta became familiar to Malayalees only after he shifted to Trivandrum. Slowly, for two decades, in seventies and eighties, he remained as a fully blossomed flower, emitting aroma, in the Malayalam literary circle. But, in the first half of the nineties he was almost in a self made anthill.

Ramakrishnan was a member of the unified Communist party and was known as a revolutionary poet and orator. But, he had left active politics right from the day he left home in search of a job. However, he, a theist and a secularist deeply hurt over the Ayodhya tragedy and ran to the spot without any shield of protection and recited poem condemning extremism and fanatism, is seen associated himself with leftist circles, but he has no membership in any political party. He was elected to the Kerala Assembly as a LDF backed independent.



Forthcoming poems:-

Lay outs for about half a dozen poems were made long before. Among them are a poem about Gulf Malayalees and ‘Ganga”, a poem touching all aspects of India’s socio-cultural-political areas.

For him poetry is the totality. When he felt that totality was obstructed, he could not blow up his poems. “There is no particular time for writing a poem. It comes out naturally from the mind,” he said.


Followed by the heart ailment, he had to undergo a bypass surgery, which further delayed the birth of the poems he conceived.

More has been written about the yet to be named poem on Gulf Malayalees. During his recent trip to the Gulf he could know more about them and is determined to reflect their real life in the forthcoming poem about them.

Poet cautions NRIs:-

In his brief speech at the Sur Beach Resort Hotel he evaluated the pros and cons of the influence of gulf money back at home and advised NRIs to use it in productive areas.

He also stressed the need for primary education for children in mother tongue. He was pleased and appreciated the children Nisa Balakrishnan and Rahul Madhu who recited poems in their mother tongue.

MLA says:-

“Besides body and air fare, NRIs have been complaining about exploitation meted out to them at the hands of customs officials and certain lobbies at airports in India and exorbitant air fares charged by airlines. Being an MLA, will you take up this matter also to the attention of the authorities?” I asked.

“Of course, I will take up all the matters of grievances of NRIs, a cross section of whom I met during this trip to the gulf, to the attention of the authorities. Well, in fact, who is mainly responsible for this so called exploitation at the hands of custom officials? It is the NRIs. With their hard-earned money they buy and lot of things and attempt to get through the customs somehow. From this attempts come the question of exploitation.. here bribery. Buy little things, declare them at customs and avail the allowed concessions. By doing so, customs will not turn to be a nightmare” he advised.

“These days, newspapers are carrying the stories of scandals in which politician are involved. As an MLA how do you view it?”



“Politicians are the creation of the society. Politics is the reflection of the society. And vice versa. Good and bad are everywhere. If the people choose a good politician as their representative, he will do well and that good of him will ultimately spread in all areas of the society like water from a fountain.

People must be cautious and careful when choosing their representatives. Like you people, I too wish for a corruption fee society, a corruption less India. In our existing practice it is not an easy task. There are more to say about it.”

“Being an MLA representing Aranmula, a place renowned for boat race and mirror glass, what are the areas of priorities for the development of your constituency?”

“Good roads, health centres, availability of drinking water are the areas of development in the first phase. Once these are completed, others will follow.”

“Normally, when VIPs like you visit any place, commoners like us do not get a chance to meet or talk. But, you are different from them. Thank you.”

“I am always with the laymen. My poems are largely centred on them. My poems are largely from my experiences in life.”

Yes, Kadammanitta Ramakrishnan, who has all praise for the governments in the gulf countries, is a poet of the mass. He is a representative of the people. People reminiscent of stanzas from his “Kozhi”, “Mazha peyyunnu Madhalam kottunnu” and other poems in folklore style, will agree, friends with me seconded my thought.


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Sur, Oman. 28.12.1996.