G.Sankara Kurup

Born: 3 June 1901

Died: 2 February 1978

He better known as Mahakavi G (The Great Poet G), was an Indian poet, essayist and literary critic of Malayalam literature.
Known as one of the greats of Malayalam poetry, he was the first recipient of the Jnanpith Award, the highest Indian literary honor.
He served as a nominated member of the Rajya Sabha from 1968 to 1972 and received the Padma Bhushan, the third highest Indian civilian award, in 1967.
He was also a recipient of Sahitya Akademi Award, Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award and Soviet Land Nehru Award.
He received the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Poetry in 1961 for his anthology, Viswadarshanam.
The Central Sahitya Akademi honored him with their annual award for poetry in 1963.
He was the first winner of the Jnanpith Award, India’s highest literary award, when the award was instituted in 1965.
He received the prize for his anthology, Odakkuzhal (The Bamboo Flute) which was published in 1950;
He set apart a part of the prize money to establish Odakkuzhal Award in 1968 and the work was later translated into Hindi, titled, Bansuri.
In 1967, he received the Soviet Land Nehru Award and a year later, the Government of India awarded him he third highest civilian honor of the Padma Bhushan.