Author Award: Sahitya Akademi Award

V. T. Bhattathiripad (1896–1982) was born on March 26, 1896, in Vellithiruthithazhe Illam, Merathur village in the former Ponnani taluk. While still in school, he published a student magazine titled Vidyarthi, printed using a stone lithograph under his own editorship. Even before appearing for his Fifth Form examination, he actively engaged in India’s national freedom movement and later in social reform activities, particularly aimed at reviving and transforming his own community. At the 22nd annual session of the Yogakshema Sabha, he staged the pioneering social reform play Adukkalayilninnu Arangaththakku (“From the Kitchen to the Stage”), which marked a revolutionary step in community reform. He was a bold leader in initiating progressive changes within the Brahmin community.

His autobiography Kanneerum Kinavum won the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award in 1972, and he was honoured with the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Fellowship in 1976. V. T. Bhattathiripad passed away on February 12, 1982. His notable works include Rajaneerangam (short stories), Pomvazhi (short stories), Karinchanda (unpublished play), Sathyamennathu Ivide Manushyanaakunnu, Vedivattam, Kaalathinte Saakshi, Ente Mannu (all essays), Kanneerum Kinavum, Dakshinaayanam (autobiographies), Karmavipakam (collection of autobiographical sketches), V. T. yude Theranjedutha Kathakal (Selected Stories), and V. T. yude Sampoorna Krithikal (Complete Works).

Uroob (P. C. Kuttikrishnan) (1915–1979) was born on June 8, 1915, in Paruthulli Chalappuram House in Pallippuram village near Ponnani. After completing his high school education, he wandered across various parts of South India without a clear direction, taking on diverse jobs such as compounder, teacher, clerk, supervisor in a banyan company, reader at K. R. Brothers, and editorial board member of Mangalamodayam magazine. From 1950 to 1975, he worked at All India Radio, Kozhikode, as a staff artist and producer. Later, he served as the editor of Kumkumam weekly and then the Malayala Manorama weekly magazine. His novel Sundarikalum Sundaranmarum received the Sahitya Akademi Award. Uroob authored around forty works, spanning novels, short stories, poems, plays, children’s literature, and essays. He also wrote the story and screenplay for Neelakkuyil, the first Malayalam film to win a national award. Uroob passed away on July 10, 1979, while serving as the editor of the Malayala Manorama weekly.

T. V. Kochubava (1955–1999) was born in 1955 in Kattur, Thrissur district. A prolific writer, he authored 23 works across genres such as novels, short story collections, and translations. Some of his notable works include Onnangane Onningane, Veetippol Nishabdhamanu, Bhoomishastram, Prachchannam, Avatharika Bhoopadangalekku, Villanmar Samsarikkumbol, Prarthanakalode Nilkkunnu, Kathayum Jeevithavum Onnaytheerunnathineppatti, Vriddhasadanam, Perungaliyattam, and Virunnumeshayilekku Nilavilikalode. His acclaimed work Vriddhasadanam received the Cherukad Award in 1995 and the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award in 1996. He passed away on November 25, 1999.

P. Padmarajan (1945–1991) was born on May 23, 1945, at Njavarakkal House in Muthukulam, Alappuzha district, to Anantha Padmanabha Pillai and Devakiyamma. He studied at Muthukulam Boys High School and M.G. College, Thiruvananthapuram, earning a degree in Chemistry in 1963. He then spent two years studying Sanskrit under the great scholar Cheppad Achyutha Varrier. In April 1965, he joined All India Radio, Thrissur, as a program announcer and continued there until 1986. His first published work was the short story Lola Milford, the American Girl, which appeared in Koumudi in 1965. He went on to write around fifteen novels and over a hundred short stories. His debut novel Nakshathrangale Kaaval won the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award in 1972. In 1974, he entered the world of cinema through the film Prayaanam, marking the beginning of his work as a screenwriter and director. Padmarajan wrote 36 screenplays, including those for films he directed himself, and earned numerous national and international accolades as a filmmaker. He passed away on January 23, 1991, in Kozhikode.

Karoor Neelakanta Pillai (1898–1975) was born on February 22, 1898, in Ettumanoor near Kottayam. He began his professional life as a government school teacher and entered the literary world in 1932. His first short story, Bhrityavatsalyam, was published in the Mathrubhumi weekly. Over his career, he authored more than 200 short stories, the novels Gowri, Hari, and Panjiyum Thuniyum, ten children’s books, and the short play Appuppan. He received the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Aanakaran (children’s literature) in 1959 and for the short story collection Mothiram in 1968. He played a key role in founding the Sahitya Pravarthaka Co-operative Society in 1945 and served as its secretary from its inception until 1965. Karoor Neelakanta Pillai passed away on September 30, 1975.