Ramya Antony remembered

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: On the second anniversary of her death, friends of Ramya Antony, the young poetess who succumbed to cancer after putting up a brave fight, reiterated their commitment to fulfill her dream.At a get-together held here to mark the anniversary, they announced that ‘Sparsham,’ a second volume of poems by Ramya, will be published by the Centre for Film, Gender and Cultural Studies.They have also begun a collection of memoirs which will be published along with the poems. The get-together on Sunday also decided to institute the Ramya Antony Endowment for a polio-afflicted girl student from a poor family each year. The get-together was organised on the Museum Grounds.The speakers remembered Ramya as a poet whose writings reflected the very essence of life.During her last days, it was surprising how hundreds of people came together offering solidarity with this young girl as she battled for her life. Many of her friendships were born on the social networking sites and through her poems published on blogs.Friends of Ramya had embarked upon a mission to collect funds for her treatment, and published a volume of her poetry.The students of the College of Fine Arts, Thiruvananthapuram, offering their support to the ailing poet, had given visual rendition to her verses.Poet D Vinayachandran inaugurated the meeting, which was presided over by friends of Ramya and convener K G Sooraj. Ramya’s parents, Sister Anila, who cared for her at the Regional Cancer Centre, and several of her friends shared their memories. For details, contact K G Sooraj: 94470 25877.