Keralam govt.’s Ezhuthachan Award for Methil Radhakrishnan

Methil Radhakrishnan has been chosen for the 34th Ezhuthachan Award, the highest literary honour of the Keralam government. Minister for Cultural Affairs P.C. Vishnunadh announced the award at a press conference here on Sunday (November 1, 2026).

The award consists of a cash prize of ₹5 lakh, a citation and a plaque. The jury, headed by poet K.G. Sankara Pillai, with Kalpatta Narayanan, K. Satchidanandan and Sarah Joseph as members and M.P. Surendran as member secretary, unanimously selected Mr. Radhakrishnan for the award.

The jury assessed Mr. Radhakrishnan as a writer who created a new sensibility in Malayalam literature with his unique sense of aesthetics and unparalleled intellectual ability.

He became a notable presence in post-modern Malayalam literature by integrating science, philosophy and psychology creatively into his writings. While he works in different fields such as novels, short stories, poetry, and scientific articles, a fundamental philosophy that brings them all together is constantly at work in his writings, observed the jury.

Mr. Radhakrishnan’s major works include novels Sooryavamsam, Hitchcockinte Itapetal and Laingikathayekkurichu Oru Upanyasam and short fiction works such as Sangeetham oru Samayakalayanu, Kayarinte Attam, Nayakanmar Shavapedakathil, Sooryamalsyathe Vivarikkal, Melinjavarude Manashasthram and Enganeyoru Pazhutharaye Kollaam. His deep interest in world poetry, philosophy, ecology, music, anthropology, history, and entomology gives immense depth to his essays.

The jury also stated that Mr. Radhakrishnan, who has been creating a new sensibility in the language for decades, is fully deserving of this award, named after the writer who created a new poetic language for Malayalam. It was also assessed that Mr. Radhakrishnan’s works, which encourage readers to constantly renew their tastes, have created a major break in the literary aesthetic of Malayalam.