Renowned Malayalam poet and lyricist ONV Kurup passed away at a private hospital at the age of 84. Kurup was suffering from age-related ailments and leaves behind his wife, a son and a daughter.

A professor of repute who served in many colleges, ONV – as he was popularly known – was the face of the Malayalam cultural world through his works which fetched him the country’s highest literary honour, the Jnanpith Award, in 2007.

A recipient of the Padma Shri and the Padma Vibhushan, besides numerous other literary awards, O N V also has national film awards and 13 state film awards to his credit for his lyrics.

O.N.V. Kurup was born to O.N. Krishna Kurup and K. Lakshmikutty Amma in Chavara, Kollam on 27 May 1931. ONV had earned a bachelor’s degree in Economics from S.N. College in Kollam and did his Master of Arts in Malayalam literature at Travancore University (current Kerala University).

Known for his Leftist leanings, O N V was fielded as a candidate of the Left Democratic Front in 1989 in the Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha elections, but lost to Congress candidate A Charles.

Noted lyrics penned by ONV are ‘Arayaum Bhava Gayakannakum’, ‘Manjal Prasadavum’ and ‘Arikil Nee Undayrunekal’.  ONV was always the first person to be reached by the authorities when it came to naming places. The state government has decided to accord him a state funeral as and when the family decides the date.