Padmaprabha award for Vijayalakshmi

KALPETTA: Noted Malayalam poet Vijayalakshmi has been chosen for this year's prestigious Padmaprabha literary prize instituted by the Padmaprabha Memorial Trust.

The award, carrying a cash prize of Rs 75,000 and a citation, would be presented to the poet by Bharatiya Jnanpith Director Ravindra Kalia at a function here on October 4, Trust chairman M P Veerendrakumar said in a release.

Malayalam University vice chancellor K Jayakumar would deliver the Padmaprabha memorial address.

Vijayalakshmi was selected for the award by a jury chaired by novelist C V Balakrishnan, writer and actor V K Sreeraman and poet-lyricist Rafeeq Ahmed.

The jury observed that Vijaylakshmi had a key role in taking Malayalam poetry forward through her works marked by transcendental spirituality, secular values and a deep commitment towards the cause of women.

Vijayalakshmi had charted a different course in Malayalam poetry through her simple and condensed style of writing. Her writings which combined myths, legends and modern social life were soul-searching and socially relevant at the same time, the Jury noted.

'Mrigasikshakan,' 'Thachante Makal,' 'Himasamadhi,' 'Andha Kanyaka,' and 'Mazhakkappuram' are the major collection poems by Vijayalakshmi.