O. N. V. Kurup

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O N V Kurup was born on May 27, 1931 as the son of O N Krishna Kurup and K Lakshmikutty Amma at Chavara, a coastal village in Kerala is one of the greatest poets Kerala has seen.He spent his childhood in an environment where a peaceful agrarian culture was in constant confrontation with industrialisation. He had his schooling at Chavara. Took his bachelor's degree in Economics, from S N College, Kollam and later on M A in Malayalam Literature from Trivandrum University College. His first published poem was 'Munnottu' (Forward) in 1946 and his poetic career can be traced back to his school days.

When he was only eight, he lost his father who was also his first guru both in Malayalam and Sanskrit. His first poetry collection was 'Porutunna Soundaryam' in 1949.

After his college education he joined the Maharaja's College, Kochi as Lecturer in 1957. He served as Lecturer in Universty College, Trivandrum, Arts and Science College, Kozhikode, Government Brennun College, Thalasseri and was Head of the Department of the Government Women's College, Trivandrum. He was visiting Professor of Calicut University for one year and retired on May 21, 1986.

In addition to this, O N V had composed and is still composing songs for Malayalam films and received state awards for best lyricist 12 times, but later on withdrew from the competition.

Poetry, according to O N V, was a drop of light that came to him in the dark solitude of his childhood. His first published poem was 'Munnottu' (Forward) which appeared in a local weekly in 1946. It was only an outburst of his exuberant patriotic sentiments, but it marked the beginning of a long poetic career.

In every poem, the poet assumes the role of the spokesman of millions who are languishing in darkness and poses questions to the reader. He is not bothered about 'isms' in literature, but he writes poetry as it comes to him. His poems purveys the message to fight the battle of life against tyranny, desecration and destruction.

Works:

O N V published his first poem 'Munnottu' in 1946. His first poetry collection was 'Porutunna Soundaryam' in 1949. His early poems (1946- 56) have been compiled in the book 'Dahikunna Panapatram' (The Thirsty Chalice) which represent what could be called the 'pink period' in Malayalam poetry. Each of his poem creates its own music. He is an ardent lover of music though not wedded to its practice.

Positions Held:

1. Visited USSR as member of an Indian Writers Delegation to participate in the 150th birth anniversary of Tolstoy.
2. Member,  Executive  Board  of  the  Sahitya  Akademi,  New  Delhi  from 1982-86.
3. Represented India in the Struga Poetry Festival, Yugoslavia (1987).
4. Attended CISAC Asian Conference in Singapore(1990).
5. Visited USA to participate in FOKANA Conference(1993).
6. Visited USA to inaugurate literary seminar in Kerala Centre, New York(1995).
7. Presented poems on Beethoven and Mozart in the Department of German, Bonn University.
8. Chairman, Kerala Kalamandalam - the State Akademi of Classical performing Arts(1996).
9. Indian delegate to the CISAC World Conference held in Berlin (1998).
10. Fellow of the Kerala Sahitya Academy in 1999.

Contacts:

O N V Kurup now resides at Vazhuthacaud, Thiruvanathapuram with his wife Sarojini, son Venugopal and daughter Mayadevi. Having survived the onslaught of changing fashions and tastes, O N V's poetry is still committed to a fruitful fusion of tradition and modernity.

ADDRESS:

O.N.V.Kurup Indeevaram Vazhuthacaud Thiruvananthapuram PH: 0471 2322579

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