Ezhuthachan award for K. Satchidanandan

Thiruvananthapuram: Eminent writer and poet K. Satchidanandan has been selected for this year’s Ezhuthachan Puraskaram.

Satchidanandan was chosen for the award, the highest literary honour given by the Kerala Sahitya Akademi, considering his contributions to the language of Malayalam and its literature.

The prize comprises a citation and Rs. 5 lakh in cash.

Born in 1946 in Pulloot, a village in Kodungallur in Thrissur, Satchidanandan has been living in Delhi since 1992, visiting Kerala often. He completed a Masters in English at the University of Kerala and his doctorate in post-structuralist literary theory at the University of Calicut. He then worked as a university teacher until he joined Sahitya Akademi (The National Academy of Letters, India) as the editor of the literary journal Indian Literature. From 1996 until 2006, he was Secretary of the Akademi. He then returned to teaching, retiring as Director and Professor of the School of Translation Studies and Training at the Indira Gandhi National Open University in New Delhi in 2011.

Satchidanandan has been writing poetry in Malayalam for 50 years now. Critics have hailed him as one of the pioneers of modern poetry in Malayalam, particularly because he continues to experiment with form and language and renews himself constantly.

He is the recipient of Kerala Sahitya Akademi award five times apart from many prestigious awards. He won it for the works - Kavitayum Janatayum, Ivanekkoodi, Gandhi, Pala Lokam Pala Kaalam, Padinjaran Kavithakal. He received Kendra Sahitya Akademi Award for Marannu Vecha Vasthukkal.

The panel that selected the poet for the award included writers Vaishakan, M K Sanu, M Leelavathi, C Radhakrishnan, and Culture Secretary Rani George.