43rd Jnanpith Award | O N V Kurup: Poet Who Won 43rd Jnanpith Award

43rd Jnanpith Award | O N V Kurup: Poet Who Won 43rd Jnanpith Award:

The writings of O N V Kurup, the celebrated Malayalam poet who won the 43rd Jnanpith award, have captivated his readers for long with its lucidity, sweetness and charm. All his poems dealt with the little pleasures and pains of human beings in the backdrop of a beautiful nature he revered in right earnest. Perhaps, no other poet in Malayalam had painted pictures of landscapes through words like O N V, as he is fondly called by admirers.

Love was the central theme of his poems and the several lyrics he wrote for films. While remaining a humanist poet, he never disassociated from the Leftist ideals in which he had deep faith. Entering the poetic world through the pro-Communist theatre movement,O N V had written scores of songs for dramas, especially for the Kerala Peoples’ Arts Centre (KPAC), which are still on the tongues of the Malayalis. Along with distinguished lyricists like Vayalar Ramavarma and P Bhaskaran, O N V was one of the leading poets who could inspire a generation to lean to the Left through revolutionary songs with a romantic tinge.

O N V’s portrayal of nature has an extraordinary charm with which he lured readers into the core of his work. And when nature faced threats, he came out with a dirge for earth `Bhoomikoru Charamageetham’ (Lament for the Earth). O N V is the fifth recipient of the country’s highest literary honour for Malayalam language, after G Sankara Kurup, S K Pottekkat, Thakazhi Shivashankara Pillai and M T Vasudevan Nair. He is the second among Malayalam poet to receive the honour after the first-ever Jnanpith was awarded to the late G Sankara Kurup.

“I consider this as an honour for Malayalam poetry. I truly believe that Malayalam poetry does not lag behind poetry in any other language and I accept this honour recalling the invaluable contributions from the illustrious pioneers of Malayalam literature,” O N V, who is on a tour of the Gulf, said on hearing the news. Sharing the elation of the literary fraternity, Jnanpith laureate M T Vasudevan Nair said this was a moment of great joy for entire Kerala. 

“O N V has been writing poetry for over six decades. He still retains the poetic flair in his mind without losing its vibrancy,” Nair said. State Culture Minister M A Baby said he considered this as an honour for entire Keralites as O N V continues to be the `beloved poet’ of Malayalees.

Born on May 27, 1931, to o n krishna kurup and lakshmikutty Amma at Chavara in Kollam district, O N Velu Kurup took to writing at an early age. He shot to fame penning songs for the progressive theatre movement KPAC for its plays like `Ningalenne Communistakki’ (You made me a Communist), which helped the movement to strike roots in Kerala. 

His theatre songs stood out for its romantic and folk touch bringing to fore the images of men and nature, giving a heroic aura to the endless struggles of toiling masses and their dreams of the “promised land” devoid of injustices, inequalities and misdemeanors of the feudalist and capitalist classes. O N V, who taught literature for long in colleges across the state, brought out several works in his later phases of literary career, all of them winning applause from readers as well as critics.

Since 1960s, he has been a top-notch lyricist in Malayalam cinema and won as many as 12 state film awards. O N V had produced hundreds of poems collected in several volumes. His work `Ujjayini,’ a poetic exploration of the genius of the great Indian poet and playwright Kalidasa, has been hailed as a masterpiece in modern Indian literature.

O N V had unsuccessfully contested the Lok Sabha election on CPI ticket in 1991 from Thiruvananthapuram. He was honoured with Padmasree in 1998 and was bestowed with several prestigious literary honours including the `Ezhuthachan Puraskaram’ of Kerala government.

Tagged with:43rd Jnanpith Award, Admirers, Bhoomikoru Charamageetham, Ezhuthachan Puraskaram, Honour For Malayalam Poetry, Jnanpith Award, Malayalam poet, O N V Kurup