Writer N.S. Madhavan has been chosen for the prestigious Padmaprabha Literary Prize.
The award consisting of a cash prize of Rs.55,000 and a citation is in recognition of Mr. Madhavan's literary contributions which had transformed and enriched Malayalam literature with their extraordinary sense of history and social sensitivity, M.P. Veerendrakumar, chairman of Padmaprabha Trust which has instituted the award, announced here on Monday. The award is in memory of Mr. Veerendrakumar's father, the late Padmaprabha, who was a leading planter and a socialist in Wayanad.
Mr. Madhavan, a 1975 batch IAS officer, has been chosen for the coveted award by a committee headed by M. Mukundan, and consisting of Vijayalakshmi and Santhosh Echikkanam.
Mr. Madhavan's writings explore deep undercurrents that move the human mind, and his writing style jells with the intense emotions portrayed, the award-committee said in its assessment of his writings.
Some of his novels have their roots in history – ‘Shurakan' (Barber) is written against the background of the U.S.- occupied Iraq; ‘Sarmishta' and ‘Mumbai' discuss power and sexuality, and ‘Nalam Lokam' (Fourth World) deals with the decline of the Soviet Union) while ‘Vanmaragal veezhumbol,' ‘Thiruthu,' and ‘Nilavili' have the unmistakable flavour of contemporary reality .
Born in 1948 in Kochi, Mr. Madhavan studied economics and joined the IAS in 1975. ‘Choolai Medile Savangal,' ‘Paryaya Kathakal,' ‘Higuetta' and ‘Landhanbatheriyile Luthiniyakal,' are his other major works.
