Days
after
testing
positive
for
COVID-19,
celebrated
poetess-activist
Sugathakumari
breathed
her
last
today
(December
23,
2020).
The
eminent
personality
was
undergoing
treatment
at
Thiruvananthapuram's
government
medical
hospital.
She
was
86.
Paying
tribute
to
the
renowned
poetess,
politician
and
author
Shashi
Tharoor
tweeted,
"The
tragic
end
has
come.
As
I
bow
my
head
in
tribute
to
the
departed
soul,
I
recall
many
moments
at
her
side,
from
felicitating
her
Saraswati
Samman,
to
addressing
environmentalists
alongside
her."
Reportedly,
Sugathakumari
was
admitted
to
the
hospital's
ICU
(Intensive
Care
Unit)
after
being
diagnosed
with
the
virus
on
December
21,
2020.
The
octogenarian
was
on
ventilator
support
since
then.
The
senior
poetess
has
been
fighting
against
the
discrimination
and
oppression
of
women
in
society
through
her
poems.
The
Padma
Shri
awardee's
best
work
includes
Mutthuchippi
(1961),
Pavam
Pavam
Manava
Hrudayam
(1968),
Pranamam
(1969),
Irul
Chirakukal
(1969),
Pathirappookkal
(1967)
and
Devadasi
(1998)
among
many
others.
Notable
awards
from
her
innumerable
ones
include
Kerala
Sahithya
Akademi
Award
for
Poetry
(1968),
Sahithya
Akademi
Award
(1978),
Vayalar
Award
(1984),
Asan
Prize
(1991),
Vallathol
Award
(2003),
and
ONV
Literary
Award
(2017)
Sugathakumari,
born
in
Pathanamthitta's
Aranmula
on
January
22,
1934,
was
married
to
educationalist
and
writer
Dr.
K
Velayudhan
Nair.
The
renowned
poetess
is
survived
by
her
daughter
Lakshmi.