Sahitya Akademi Award Archives | Page 4 of 6

KAKKANADAN G V

Kakkanadan (1935–2011), whose full name was George Varghese Kakkanadan, was born on April 23, 1935. He earned a B.Sc. degree in 1955 and, after working as a school teacher for two years, joined the Southern Railway in 1957 and later served in the Railway Ministry from 1961 to 1969. A prominent figure in Malayalam literature, he received the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Awards for Ashwathhamavinte Chiri (1980) and Orotha (1984), the Muttathu Varkey Award in 1996 for Ushnamēkhala, the Padmaprabha Award for lifetime achievement in 2001, the Samastha Kerala Sahitya Parishad Award and a second Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award in 2004, and the Central Sahitya Akademi Award in 2005 for Jappana Pukayila. He passed away on October 19, 2011.

PUNATHIL KUNHABDULLA

Punathil Kunhabdulla (1940–2017) was born in 1940 and earned his M.B.B.S. degree from Aligarh Muslim University. A prolific writer, he authored 35 works spanning genres such as novels, short stories, novelettes, memoirs, and travelogues. He received numerous accolades, including the Central and Kerala Sahitya Akademi Awards, the Muttathu Varkey Award, and the Vishwadeepam Award. He passed away on October 27, 2017.

P. K. BALAKRISHNAN

P. K. Balakrishnan (1926–1991) was a historian, journalist, and writer, born in Edavanakkad near Ernakulam. His college education was interrupted due to his imprisonment in connection with the Quit India Movement. He later became active in politics and journalism. He served as the editor of Dinaprabha, was a long-time editorial board member of Kerala Kaumudi, and the Chief Editor of the daily Madhyamam. His studies on literary figures like Kumaran Ashan and Ezhuthachan brought new insights to those fields. He received the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award in 1974 and the Vayalar Award in 1978. He passed away on April 3, 1991.

AKBAR KAKKATTIL

Akbar Kakkattil (1954–2016) was born on July 7, 1954, in Kakkattil, Kozhikode district. His father was P. Abdullah, and his mother was C.K. Kunjamina. He holds degrees in English Literature and Education, and a postgraduate degree in Malayalam Literature. And he received several major honors, including the S.K. Pottekkatt Award, a Government of India Fellowship for Literature, the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award, the State Television Award for Best Story Writer, and the Abu Dhabi Sakthi Award. Over his career, he published 47 works. He served as a member of the Central Sahitya Akademi and the Malayalam Advisory Board of the Kerala Government. From 2013, he was the Vice President of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi.

He was a member of the curriculum steering committee, Kerala Lalitha Kala Akademi, State Television Jury, State Cinema Jury, Ezhuthachan Puraskara Samiti, and Programme Advisory Board of Akashavani, Kozhikkode. Besides, Akbar Kakkattil has worked as an honorary editor of Malayalam Publications and Olive Publications, Kozhikode. Varoo Adoorileykku Pokam is his book on Adoor Gopalakrishnan. It has been translated into Tamil. Mrithyuyogam is his novel and is translated into Kannada (Mrithyuyoga). ‘AKBAR KAKKATTILINTE NOVELLAKAL‘ is his famous novel published by D C Books. He passed away on February 17, 2016.

VINOY THOMAS

Vinoy Thomas is a renowned Malayalam author. Karikkottakkari, which was selected and published from the DC Kizhakemuri Novel Competition, is his debut novel. He is the recipient of the 2019 Kerala Sahitya Academy Award for Story for Ramachi. Received the 2021 Kerala Sahitya Academy Award for Novel for his work Puttu. He is also the recipient of other prestigious accolades such as the Joseph Mundasseri Award and the V P Shivakumar Keli Award, among others.

PRABHA VARMA

Prabha Varma is an acclaimed poet, lyricist and journalist. He writes across various genres such as poetry, novel, travelogs and studies. He is the recipient of such accolades like the Kendra-Kerala Sahitya Academy Awards, the Vayalar Award, the Padmaprabha Award and the Asan-Ulloor-Vallathol Awards. Has also received several notable honors for music composition as well as journalism. His verse novel Syamamadhavam won the Library Council Award for the Best Literary Work of the Decade. Raudra Sathvikam, Ponnikolusu, Kalapasham and Pranayathinte Kavyapusthakam are some of his other most acclaimed works. Ferocious Piety, a novel, is one among his most recent publications.

AJIJESH PACHATTU

Ajijesh Pachat is a renowned author from Malappuram writing in Malayalam. He has written various novels, short stories, and memoirs. Ezhampathippinte Adyaprati, Athirazhisoothram, Kayalkandam Route, Orankutti Vangiya Arthavapoovu are the other works by Ajijesh Pachat. Kisebi, Daivakali, and Koova are his short story collections. His story, Theevrashapam (The extreme curse) was published in the magazine Chandrika. His wide array of awards includes the Anganam E.P. Sushama Endowment Award, the P.N. Panicker Story Award, the Aziz Memorial Story Award, and the Sahitya Academy Geethahiranyan Endowment, among others. His Daivakkali (God’s game), a short story collection, won the Geetha Hiranyan Endowment by Kerala Sahitya Akademi in 2017.

E Santhosh Kumar

E Santhosh Kumar is a well-known novelist and short story writer. He is the recipient of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi award for Short Story Collection as well as Novel. He has published more than 25 books that include novels, story collections, children’s literature, essays and translation. His works, which include Chavukali, Narakangalude Upama, Andhakaranazhi, Njaanabharam and Tapomoyude Achan, have been translated into English, Tamil, Kannada, Bengali, Hindi, Gujarati, German and Arabic.

ETHIRAN KATHIRAVAN

Ethiran Kathiravan is a noted Malayalam author. He writes on the topics of science, arts and films for several leading contemporary publications. He completed his Ph.D in Cell Biology from the Jawaharlal Nehru University and continued his research in Molecular Biology and Genetics from the John Hopkins University and the University of Chicago. Malayaliyude Janithakam; Cinemayude Samoohikavelipadukal; Mathishkam – Vikaram, Vedana, Viswasam and Ethiran Chinthakal are a few of his acclaimed publications. He is the recipient of several prestigious accolades such as the Kerala Sahitya Academy Award, the FOKANA Award and the Film Critics Award.

S Hareesh

An esteemed author and screenwriter, S. Hareesh is one of the leading voices in contemporary Malayalam literature. He received the Geetha Hiranyan Endowment Award of the Kerala Sahitya Academy for his first story collection Rasavidyayude Charithram. His critically acclaimed novel Meesha won the Kerala Sahitya Academy Award, and its English translation won the 2020 JCB Award. He is also the recipient of other prestigious accolades like the Thomas Mundassery Story Award and the V P Shivakumar Memorial Award. S. Hareesh has penned the screenplay for several widely acclaimed films like Aeden, Jallikattu, Churuli and Nanpakal Nerathu Mayakkam. His recent book, Pattunoolpuzhu was released last year.