Malayalam poet Vinayachandran dies

Thiruvananthapuram: Popular Malayalam poet D Vinayachandran died at a private hospital here on Monday at the age of 67. He had been admitted to hospital with heart and liver-related complaints a few days ago.

The bachelor poet had been staying alone at his house in Thiruvananthapuram. Vinayachandran broke into the world of poetry, captivated by the sights of coastal Kollam, his native town. After gaining a post-graduate first rank in Malayalam literature Vinayachandran guest lectured at various educational institutions.

Nature was very much the central theme of his poems. Vinayachandran had an enduring love of forests, lakes and nature in general. One of his better known works was Narakam oru premakathayezhuthunnu (A love story titled hell.)

After retirement he turned to full-time literary activities and was the winner of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi award and the Asan Prize among other awards. He is also considered by many as a poet who stood out in Malayalam poetry after the era of Kadammanitta Ramakrishnan.