ONV Kurup (Ottaplavil Neelakandan Velu Kurup)is a Malayalam poet, lyricist, academician, and cultural and social activist. More precisely he is one of the greatest poets of 20th and 21st century India. He received the Padmasree award for his outstanding contribution to the literary as well as cultural field. Changampuzha Krishna Pillai, the great poet, author of the classical work ‘Ramanan’, in the dawn of 20th Century Kerala, brought in fundamental changes in Malayalam poetry and initiated the ‘Romantic cult’.
ONV was inspired by this novel trend. ONV has three distinct phases in his life as a poet. Romanticism blended with revolutionary thoughts is the first phase, a transition to the ethnicity and spontaneity marks the second phase and the third phase featured the period of maturing and refinement. Between the revolutionary visions of the ‘Nashtapeduvan Vilangukal’ (1950), ‘Ente Punnara Arivalu’ (1951) and the narrative and romantic thoughts on Kalidasa of the ‘Ujjaini’ (1995) and the sensitive reflections on the environmental degradation of ‘Bhoomikku Oru Charamageetham’ (A Dirge to the Earth) (1984), ONV inspired thousands by weaving a magnificent web of meaningful words.
He accepted the Kendra Sahitya Academy Award in 1975 for his work ‘Aksharam’ (The Letter) and the Kerala Sahitya Academy Award in 1971 for ‘Agni Shalabhangal’ (Fire Moths). The magical duo of ONV and the great music director Devarajan master enlightened Malayalam film music and unshackled it from the hold of Tamil film music. Their combination endowed uniqueness and individuality to the Malayalam film music.
He won the Kerala State film awards for the Best Lyricist twelve times.
- State Film Award for Best lyricist in 1973 (film - SwapnaNadanam)
- State Film Award for Best lyricist in 1976 (film - Aalinganam)
- State Film Award for Best lyricist in 1977 (film - Madanolsavam)
- State Film Award for Best lyricist in 1979 (film - Ulkkadal)
- State Film Award for Best lyricist in 1980 (film - Yagam, Ammayum Makkalum)
- State Film Award for Best lyricist in 1983 (film - Adaminte Variyellu)
- State Film Award for Best lyricist in 1984 (film - Aksharangal, Ethiripoove Chuvannapoove)
- State Film Award for Best lyricist in 1986 (film - Nagakshathangal)
- State Film Award for Best lyricist in 1987 (film - Manivathoorile Ayiram Sivarathrikal)
- State Film Award for Best lyricist in 1988 (film - Vaishali)
- State Film Award for Best lyricist in 1989 (film - Oru Sayahnathinte Swapnathil, Purappadu)
- State Film Award for Best lyricist in 1990 (film - Radha Madhavam)
A noted poetic work of ONV ‘Uppu’ won the Soviet Land Nehru Award in 1981 and the Vayalar Rama Varma Award in 1982.
The central theme in ONV’s poems are the nostalgic thoughts of his motherland,its folklore,myths, prosperous cultural history and heritage, values in family and social relations and contemporary social life. We need not vacillate between distrust and conviction to hold that no other contemporary poet has won glory in so many walks of life. He is a unique poet, an outstanding social and cultural activist, a trumpet call of revolution, a magnificent speaker on public platforms and a great teacher with a refined heart and language.