O. N. V. KURUP

O. N. V. Kurup (1931–2016) was born on May 27, 1931, in Chavara, Kollam district. He served as a teacher for 25 years at University College, Thiruvananthapuram, and for five more years in other government colleges. A renowned poet and lyricist, his major works include Mayilpeeli, Agnishalabhangal, Aksharam, Uppu, Bhoomikku Oru Charamageetham, Mrigaya, Ujjayini, Swayamvaram, Aparahnam, Veruthe, Kshanikam–Paksha, Snehichutheeraathavar, Ee Purathana Kinnaram, and Dinantham. He received both the Kerala and Central Sahitya Akademi Awards, the Vayalar Award, the Bharatiya Bhasha Parishad Award (Kolkata), the Soviet Land Nehru Award, and the Khurram Joshi National Poetry Award (Hyderabad). O.N.V. wrote lyrics for over 200 films and numerous plays, winning the Kerala State Film Award for Best Lyricist 13 times and the National Award in 1989 for the film Vaishali. He was honored with the Padma Shri in 1998 and the Padma Vibhushan in 2011. In 1999, he was awarded the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Fellowship, and in 1987, he represented Indian poetry at the Struga International Poetry Festival in Macedonia. The University of Kerala conferred upon him an honorary D.Litt. He received the prestigious Jnanpith Award in 2007. O. N. V. Kurup passed away on February 13, 2016.