THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Famous Tamil poet and lyricist Vairamuthu has bagged the fifth ONV Sahithya Puraskaram instituted by the ONV Cultural Academy. M Leelavathi bagged the award in 2020 given to poets from Malayalam and other Indian languages.

The award carries a cash prize of Rs 300000, a citation and a plaque. The winner was selected by a jury comprising of Malayalam University Vice Chancellor Dr Anil Vallathol and poets Alankode Leelakrishnan and Prabha Varma. Meantime, the winner of the ONV Yuva Sahithya Puraskaram has not been announced due to the prevailing COVID-19 situation. This is because the selection of the works has not been completed. The date of presentation of the award will also be announced later.

Vairamuthu was conferred Padma Shri in 2003 and Padma Bhushan in 2014.