G Sankara KURUP, (born June 3, 1901, Nayathode, Kerala, India - February 2, 1978, Trivandrum, Kerala), better known as Mahakavi G (The Great Poet G), was the first winner of the Jnanpith Award, the Government of India's highest literary award. He won the prize in 1965 for his collection of poems in Malayalam Odakkuzhal (The bamboo flute, 1950). With part of the prize money he established the literary award Odakkuzhal in 1968. June 3 is the 154th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (155th in leap years), with 211 days remaining. ... 1901 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... List of famous Keralites Districts of Kerala Local Body Election in Kerala Government Websites Government of Kerala Chief Minister of Kerala Kerala Tourism Other Websites Kerala Kerala movies Kerala web directory Business Directory of Kerala Online Newspaper kerala portal Kerala news Kerala photos at Junox. ... February 2 is the 33rd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1978 calendar). ... Indian Coffee House Thiruvananthapuram or Thiruvanathapuram (formerly known as Trivandrum) is the capital (population - 889,191 (2001)) of the state of Kerala, India. ... The Jnanpith Award is Indias most respected literary honour. ... According to its constitution, India is a sovereign socialist secular democratic republic. ... Note: Malayalam is not the Malay language, which is spoken in Malaysia. ... 1950 was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1968 calendar). ...

Apart from 25 collections of poetry, Mahakavi G also wrote verse dramas and collections of literary essays -- in all about 40 works in Malayalam. He also translated into Malayalam the Rubáiyát (1932) of Omar Khayyám, the Sanskrit poem Meghaduta (1944) of Kalidas, and the collection of poems Gitanjali (1959) of Rabindranath Tagore. Indeed, one often speaks of the influence of Tagore and Gandhi on the humanism and nationalism of Mahakavi G. Interestingly, he has also been described as a “bard of science” who explores the role of science in achieving the human potential. The Rubáiyát is a collection of poems (of which there are about a thousand) attributed to the Persian mathematician and astronomer Omar Khayyám (1048-1123). ... Tomb of Omar Khayyám, Neishapur, Iran. ... The Sanskrit language (Skt. ... Kalidas (कालिदास) is considered one of Indias greatest Sanskrit poets and dramatists. ... Rabindranath Tagore Rabindranath Tagore (Bangla: রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর, Robindronath Å¢hakur) (May 7, 1861 – August 7, 1941) (in the Bangla Calendar, 25 Baishakh, 1268 – 22 Srabon, 1348), also called Gurudev, was a Bengali poet, Brahmo philosopher and nationalist who was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature in 1913, becoming the first Asian to win... Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (October 2, 1869–January 30, 1948) (Devanagari: मोहनदास करमचन्द गांधी, Gujarati મોહનદાસ કરમચંદ ગાંધી) was a national icon who led the struggle for Indias independence from British colonial rule, empowered by tens of millions of common Indians. ...

He worked as teacher of Malayalam at various levels, retiring as a professor in 1956. Apart from this, Mahakavi G also had an active public life as a member (1968-72) of Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Indian parliament.

External links

• http://www.shelterbelt.com/KJ/malayalams2.html an excellent overview of the major genres of modern Malayalam literature
• http://www.shelterbelt.com/KJ/malayabibli.html a bibliography of Malayalam literature (in English)
• http://www.lib.washington.edu/Southasia/guides/malayalam.html a bibliography of Malayalam literature in English translation