Acclaimed Tamil poet and lyricist Vairamuthu conferred Jnanpith Award

Noted Tamil poet and acclaimed film lyricist Vairamuthu has been conferred the Jnanpith Award, the pinnacle of honour in Indian literature.

The 72-year-old author of nearly 40 books, including Kavirajan Kathai, a poetic work on freedom fighter and modernist Tamil poet C. Subramania Bharath as well as travelogues and translations, is the third literary personality from Tamil Nadu to receive this honour.

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Earlier, novelists Akilan and Jayakanthan had been conferred the award.

Hailing from Vadugapatti village in Theni district, Vairamuthu was born on July 13, 1953, to Ramasamy and Angammal in an agricultural family. His debut as a film lyricist came with the hugely popular number “Ithu Oru Ponmaalai Pozhuthu” in the movie Nizhalgal, directed by ace filmmaker Bharathiraja with music composed by maestro Ilaiyaraaja. The trio, all hailing from the Theni region, went on to create several memorable songs that remain popular even today.

“I dedicate this great honour to my land and the people. Henceforth, my journey will continue with a fresh flow and new pace,” Vairamuthu said in his reaction. “I am greatly excited at being chosen for the Jnanpith Award, the Indian Nobel for literature,” he added.

A Sahitya Akademi Award recipient who has also been honoured with the Padma Shri and the Padma Bhushan, Vairamuthu has written over 8,000 film songs and is the only lyricist to have received the National Film Award seven times. His body of work includes 12 poetry collections and 10 novels.

Committed to upholding Tamil pride and legacy, he is known to be an adherent of Dravidian ideology. After receiving the Jnanpith Award, he called on Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK president M. K. Stalin at his residence in Chennai.

A long-time loyalist of late DMK patriarch and former Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi and a supporter of the Dravidian movement, Vairamuthu has also been associated with Tarun Vijay, former MP and editor of the RSS mouthpiece Panchjanya.

Vairamuthu once organised a felicitation for Tarun Vijay in Chennai for his efforts to install a statue of Thiruvalluvar, the author of the Sangam-era literary classic Thirukkural. However, the statue was not installed at a prominent location, inviting criticism.

He also faced controversy during India’s Me Too movement when popular playback singer Chinmayi Sripada levelled allegations of sexual harassment against him. She continues to raise the issue on social media.