Eminent Malayalam poet Kadammanitta Ramakrishan died at a private hospital in Pathanamthitta district of Kerala [Images] on Monday, family sources said.

He was 73 and survived by wife and two children.

Kadammanitta, as he is popularly known, had been undergoing treatment for the last few months.

A profound influence in contemporary Malayalam literature, Kadammanitta had played a vital role in reviving interest in poetry by holding thousands of recital sessions in every nook and corner of Kerala in the 1970s and 80s.

His work has been widely appreciated for its force, energy and folk touch and gave a mass appeal and popularity making poetry enjoyable even to common man.

A Left sympathiser, he was elected to Kerala assembly in 1996 from Aranmula segment after his retirement from Postal Audit Department.

He had also served as president of Communist Party of India-Marxist's cultural wing Purogamana Sahitya Sangham.