Thousands pay tributes to poet Ayyappa Panicker

Alappuzha, Aug 24 (UNI) Celebrated Malayalam poet K Ayyappa Panicker's body was cremated at his native village Kavalam in this district with full state honours today.

The body was brought here from Thiruvananthapuram in the afternoon and was cremated at his ancestral home.

Mr K C Venugopal, MLA, and Poet Kadammanitta Ramakrishnan were among who who paid their last respects.

Panicker passed away yesterday at a private hospital in Thiruvananthapuram after a prolonged illness. He is survived by wife and two daughters.

A Pioneer of modernism in Kerala, he was conferred Padmashree and had also won several awards including the Kerala and the Kendra Sahitya Akademi Awards, Kabir Samman, Asan Prize, Vayalar Award, Vallathol Award and Saraswati Samman.

He was born on September 12, 1930 at Kavalam in Alappuzha.

UNI XR PN1815