London: Linguist and multilingual Dr. Ronald E. Asher (96) passed away. He died in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Asher, who came to India and studied Dravidian languages like Malayalam and Tamil and conducted research, became famous in Malayalam through translation. Works like Vaikam Muhammad Basheer’s ‘Balyakalasakhi’, ‘Ntupupappakoranandgarnni’, ‘Pathumma’s Goat’ and Thakazhi Sivashankarapilla’s ‘Thoti’s Son’ have been translated into English.
Born on July 23, 1926 in Gringley, near Nottinghamshire, England.
In 1983, Asher was awarded the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Gold Medal for his distinguished services to Malayalam. He has received many awards including Fellowship of Asiatic Society, Pravasipuraskaram 2010 by Pravasi Doha and Distinguished Membership of Kendra Sahitya Akademi.
