Who is KG Sankara Pillai, winner of the 2025 Ezhuthachan Puraskaram?
Thiruvananthapuram: Renowned poet and literary critic KG Sankara Pillai has been selected for the 2025 Ezhuthachan Puraskaram, Kerala’s highest literary honour. The announcement was made by Minister of Culture Saji Cherian on Saturday.
Instituted by the Government of Kerala and awarded by the Kerala Sahitya Akademi, the Ezhuthachan Puraskaram is named after Thunchaththu Ezhuthachan, revered as the father of the Malayalam language. The award carries a cash prize of ₹5 lakh and a citation.
Born in 1948, KGS is one of Kerala’s most distinguished contemporary poets. A two-time Sahitya Akademi Award winner, receiving the state honour in 1998 and the national award in 2002, he has published acclaimed poetry collections in Malayalam. His works have been translated into several Indian and international languages, including Chinese, French, German, English and Sinhala, earning him a wide global readership.
Educated in Kerala, Pillai began his teaching career in 1971 as a lecturer in Malayalam and went on to serve in various colleges across the state. He retired in 2002 as Principal of Maharaja’s College, Ernakulam. Over the years, he has also edited several influential literary journals, including Prasakthi, a radical political publication that was confiscated by the police in 1974 and 'Samakaleena Kavitha' (1991–1996), a magazine devoted to poetry. He later edited 'Penvazhikal', an anthology of women’s poetry and feminist criticism in Malayalam.
An accomplished translator, KGS has introduced Malayalam readers to poetry from Africa, Bengal and Karnataka. Beyond literature, he has been closely involved with Kerala’s human rights and civil rights movements. As Chairperson of Jananeethi, a people’s initiative for human rights, he has also edited its monthly journal since 1991 and overseen several publications on legal aid and social justice.
A respected cultural commentator, KGS is known for his incisive writings on art, cinema and contemporary society.
His poetry, celebrated for its breadth, insight and restraint, reflects a deep engagement with both history and the contemporary world. As critic and translator EV Ramakrishnan observes in Poetry International, Pillai’s radicalism “is not a matter of sloganeering but a self-critical attitude that requires a continuous re-evaluation of one’s relation with oneself and the world.”
KGS first gained prominence in the 1970s with his celebrated poem 'Bengal', marking the beginning of a literary journey defined by intellectual rigour, moral clarity and lyrical brilliance.
His major works include 'Kochiyile Vrikshangal', 'KG Sankara Pillayude Kavithakal 1969–1996', 'KGS Kavithakal 1997–2007', and 'Samvidhayaka Sankalpam'.