Senior Pracharak & Balagokulam Founder M.A Krishnan has passed awayKochi, Keralam.M.A. Krishnan, popularly known as M.A. Sir – a senior RSS Pracharak who gifted the image of Unnikannan (Bhagwan Krishna) as an ideal role model to Malayalam childhood – has passed away. He was 97 years old. He breathed his last at Amrita Hospital, Ernakulam, while undergoing treatment. Having introduced Shri Krishna as a playmate to young boys and girls, he now rests at the feet of Krishna.He was the founder and guiding light of organizations such as Tapasya Kala Sahithya Vedi and Balagokulam. He conceptualized several movements including Amrutabharathi, Balasamskara Kendra, Balasahithi Prakashan, the International Shri Krishna Centre, and Sourakshika – a child rights protection movement. He also served for a long time in key roles such as RSS Prant Bauddhik Pramukh, Prachar Pramukh, and as the editor of Kesari. He spent his final years at Madhavanivas, the RSS Dakshin Keralam Prant Karyalaya in Elamakkara, Ernakulam.Born on January 17, 1929, in Aivarkala, Kollam district, he was the son of Lakshmikutty Amma of Karimpinpuzha Maruvathottathil and Padmanabhan of Mangalathu, Aivarkala. He passed the Shastri examination from Kuzhickal Edavaka G.V.S.H.S. and earned the title of Mahopadhyaya in logic (Tharkashastra) from Maharaja’s Sanskrit College, Thiruvananthapuram. After working as a teacher for a year at Vazhoor High School in Kottayam, he resigned to become an RSS Pracharak in 1954. He served as a Pracharak in Kottayam, Ernakulam, Alappuzha, and Kollam districts.In 1964, he became the editor of Kesari. Through a series of articles on the temples destroyed during Tipu’s invasion of Malabar and the forced conversions, he awakened the public. Decades ago, he raised his voice for the survival of the Bharathappuzha river through a special edition titled Nilayude Ithihasam (The Epic of Nila). In 2008, he was honoured with the Vivekananda Seva Samman by the Badabazar Library in Kolkata. Numerous other honors, including the Veerasree Veluthampi Memorial Seva Samman, also came his way.From the Janmashtami Shobhayatras that have transformed into Kerala’s children’s day festival and Balagokulam’s Jnana Yagnas, to the cultural pilgrimage led by Mahakavi Akkitham from Kanyakumari to Gokarna under the auspices of Tapasya, and grandchildren’s conferences – there are numerous movements in which M.A. Sir quietly stood as a towering presence. Drawn by the silent aura created by M.A. Sir in the realm of cultural organization, luminaries of Kerala’s art and literary world – including Mahakavi Akkitham, Thikkodiyan, Kakkanadan, O.N.V. Kurup, Sukumar Azheekode, and Mani Madhava Chakyar – walked the path of national ideals.
