Renowned Malayalam writer and winner of the Central and State Sahitya Akademi Award passed M Sukumaran away on Friday.

The writer was 76 years old. He passed away at the Sri Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences in Thiruvananthapuram, where he had been admitted on March 14 for heart related ailments, said a report in TNIE.

The writer, whose works focused on the sufferings of the dispossessed, won the prestigious Kerala Sahitya Akademi award for his book Marichittillathavarude Smarakangal in 1976. He later went on to win the award again in 1997 for Janathikam. In 2006, the writer won the Kendra (Central) Sahitya Akademi award for his short story collection Chuvanna Chihnangal.

Another one of his seminal works is Seshakriya, which made into a film, and he won the State Government Film Award for Best Story in 1981. Two of his works Sangha Ganam and Unarthupattu were also made into feature films.

Born to Narayana Manaddiar and Meenakshi Amma at Chittur, Palakkad, in 1943, the writer was noted for his strong pro-Left leanings. Despite having received no formal education beyond high school, Sukumaran carved a place for himself among the literary geniuses of his age. He briefly worked at a sugar factory and as a school teacher.

In 1963, the writer took up a job at the Accountant General's office as a clerk. However, he was fired a year later for his activities in a trade union, said a Manorama report.

The writer is survived by his wife, Meenakshi, and daughter, Rajani. His death is mourned by the state with CM Pinarayi Vijayan expressing his condolences and observing that it has left a deep void in Kerala's literary and cultural fields, the TNIE report said.