G. Sankara Kurup, (3 June 1901 – 2 February 1978) also referred to asMahakavi G (The Great Poet G), was an Indian poet, essayist and literary critic ofMalayalam literature. Known as one of the greats of Malayalam poetry, he was the first recipient of theJnanpith Award―the highest Indian literary honor. He served as a nominated member of theRajya Sabha from 1968 to 1972 and received thePadma Bhushan, the third highest Indian civilian award, in 1967. He was also a recipient ofSahitya Akademi Award,Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award and Soviet Land Nehru Award.[citation needed]
Sankara Kurup was born on June 3, 1901, atNayathode, a hamlet in the erstwhileKingdom of Cochin (now inErnakulam district of the south Indian state ofKerala) to Nellikkappilli Variyath Sankara Warrier and Vadakkani Marath Lakshmikutty maarasyar[1] His early education was at the local schools in Nayathode andPerumbavoor after passing his 7th standard examination, he passed the Vernacular Higher Examination from a school inMuvattupuzha.[2] Subsequently, he started his career as the headmaster of Kottamam Convent School when he was only 16 and during his tenure there, continued his studies to pass theMalayalam Pandit andVidwan examinations. In 1927, he moved to Thiruvilluamala High School as the Malayalam Pandit and to Thrissur training school in 1927 as a teacher. In 1931, he joinedMaharaja's College, Ernakulam as a lecturer where he stayed until his retirement from service as a professor in 1956.[2] He also served as a producer at theThiruvananthapuram station of theAll India Radio.[1]
Sankara Kurup servedKerala Sahitya Akademi as its fourth president.[3] n He was also the president of theKerala Sasthra Sahithya Parishad and served as the chief editor of its official magazine; it was during his tenure that the magazine became a tri-monthly.[4] He edited another magazine, too, titledThilakam. In 1968, he was nominated as a member of theRajya Sabha, the upper house of theParliament of India.[4]
Sankara Kurup married Subhadra Amma in 1931 and the couple had two children, a son, Ravindranath and a daughter, Radha.[1][5] Radha was married to M. Achuthan, an academic and a prominent literary critic.[6] He died on February 2, 1979, aged 76, at Thiruvananthapuram Medical college following post surgical complications,
Kurup published his first poem, calledSalutation to Nature in 1918, while still a student[7] and his first poetry anthology,Sahitya Kouthukam, was published in 1923.[8] By the time he publishedSooryakanthi in 1935, he had already established his place among Malayalam poets. Overall, he published over 40 books which included 25 poetry anthologies, short stories, memoirs, play and prose.[9][10] He translated theRubáiyát (1932) ofOmar Khayyám, theSanskritMeghadūta (1944) ofKalidas, and the collection of poemsGitanjali (1959) ofRabindranath Tagore into Malayalam.[2] He also wrote the lyrics for P. J. Cherian'sNirmala, (1948), the first Malayalam film to incorporate music and songs.[11] BesidesNirmala, he wrote the lyrics for such movies asOral Koodi Kallanayi,Abhayam,Aduthaduthu andOlipporu.[12] His poems have been translated into English by A. K. Ramanujan under the title,Selected poems of G. Sankara Kurup.[13] Along with his masterpiece,Odakuzhal,Poojapushpam,Nimisham,Navathidhi,Ithalukal,Pathikante Paattu,Muthukal,Anthardaham,Chenkathirukal,Vishwadarshanam,Madhuram Soumyam Deeptham, andSandhya Ragam are considered as his major works.[2] His autobiography was titledOrmmayude Olangalil, and was published byNational Book Stall.[14]
Sankara Kurup received theKerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Poetry in 1961 for his anthology,Viswadarshanam.[15] TheCentral Sahitya Akademi honored him with their annual award for poetry in 1963.[16] He was the first winner of theJnanpith Award, India's highest literary award, when the award was instituted in 1965.[17][18] He received the prize for his anthology,Odakkuzhal (The Bamboo Flute) which was published in 1950;[16][19] He set apart a part of the prize money to establishOdakkuzhal Award in 1968 and the work was later translated intoHindi, titled,Bansuri.[2] In 1967, he received the Soviet Land Nehru Award and a year later, the Government of India awarded him he third highest civilian honor of thePadma Bhushan.[20][21] TheIndia Post issued a commemorative postal stamp on Kurup in 2003, under the series,Jnanpith Award Winners.[22]
Sankara Kurup, G. (1973)."Malayala Kavya Sangraham".find.uoc.ac.in (in Malayalam). Retrieved28 January 2019.
G, Sankara Kurup."Ratnavali".find.uoc.ac.in (in Malayalam). Retrieved28 January 2019.
G, Sankarakuruppu (1964)."Katte Vaa Kadale Vaa".find.uoc.ac.in (in Malayalam). Retrieved28 January 2019.
G. Sankara Kurup (28 January 2019)."Oalappeeppi".Kerala State Central Library Catalogue. Retrieved28 January 2019.
Sankara Kurup, G., Govindan Nair, Edasserry, Kurup, O. N. V, Krishna Pillai, Changampuzha. (2007)."Kavithaparvam".Kerala State Central Library Catalogue. DC Books. Retrieved28 January 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
G. Sankara Kurup."Ilamchundukal".Kerala State Central Library Catalogue. Retrieved28 January 2019.
G. Sankara Kurup (1975)."Chenkathirukal".Kerala State Central Library Catalogue. Vidyarthimithram. Retrieved28 January 2019.[permanent dead link]
G. Sankara Kurup (1976)."Viswadarsanam".Kerala State Central Library Catalogue. Sahitya Pravarthaka Co-operative Society. Retrieved28 January 2019.
G. Sankara Kurup."Vilasalahari".Kerala State Central Library Catalogue. Retrieved28 January 2019.
G. Sankara Kurup (1945)."Nimisham".Kerala State Central Library Catalogue. Sahitya Pravarthaka Co-operative Society. Retrieved28 January 2019.
G. Sankara Kurup."Meghachaya".Kerala State Central Library Catalogue. Poorna Publications. Retrieved28 January 2019.
Rabindranath Tagore (2010).Gitanjali. Translated by G. Sankara Kurup. DC Books. Archived fromthe original on 28 January 2019. Retrieved28 January 2019.
Sankara Kurup, G (1984).Ormmayude Olangalil (in Malayalam). Kōṭṭayaṃ: Sāhityapr̲avarttaka Sahakaraṇasaṅghaṃ : National Book Stall.ISBN9788126465958.OCLC13822261.
Sankara Kurup, G. (1977)."Haidarali".find.uoc.ac.in (in Malayalam). Retrieved28 January 2019.
G. Sankara Kurup (28 January 2019)."Tippu Sultan".Kerala State Central Library Catalogue. Retrieved28 January 2019.
Sanaka Kurup, G; Krishna Varrier, N. V. (1987).Hr̥udayathint̲e Vātāyanaṅṅaḷ: Mahākavi Ji. Śaṅkarakkur̲uppint̲e 131 kathukaḷ (in Malayalam). Kōṭṭayaṃ: Sāhityapr̲avarttaka Sahakaraṇasaṅghaṃ : National Book Stall.OCLC20823619.
Sankara Kurup, G; Maulavi, Vakkaṃ; Tāha, Muttāna; State Institute of Languages, Kerala (2007).Vakkam Abdul Khaderinu Gyude Kathukal. Thiruvanthapuraṃ: Kēraḷa Bhāṣhā Institute.ISBN9788176385992.OCLC262737709.
Madhusūdanan, G (2014).Pr̲aṇāmaṃ: Mahākavi G. : Vāyana, Punarvāyana, Smaraṇa. Kar̲ant̲ Buks.ISBN9788124019634.OCLC881280508.
University of Delhi; Department of Modern Indian Languages (1966).G. Sankara Kurup. Delhi.OCLC663758102.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
Chandraśekharan Nāir, N (1979).Hindī aur Malayālama ke do simbôlik (pratīkavādī) kavi. Trivandrum.OCLC705602183.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
Jyoti Kalash: A series on Jnanpith Award winners. Chennai, India. 1998.OCLC63585792.Interviews{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
John, Idamaruku (1978).Mahākavi G.: Niroopaṇaṃ (in Malayalam). Kōṭṭayaṃ: National Book Stall.OCLC5834780.
S. Guptan Nair (2001). "G. Sankara Kurup and His Poetry".Indian Literature.45 (6):10–15.JSTOR23345754.
G-yude Kāvyasādhana: Niroopanam (in Malayalam). Kōṭṭayaṃ: Vidyārthimitr̲aṃ Press & Book Depot. 1975.OCLC6864082.
^Sankara Kurup, G; Ramanujan, A. K (1969).Selected poems of G. Sankara Kurup. Dialogue Calcutta; distributors: Stechert-Hafner, New York.OCLC139455.
^Sankara Kurup, G (1984).Ormmayude Olangalil (in Malayalam). Kōṭṭayaṃ: Sāhityapr̲avarttaka Sahakaraṇasaṅghaṃ : National Book Stall.ISBN9788126465958.OCLC13822261.
