V. M. Girija (born 27 July 1961) is an Indian poet and essayist, writing in

Malayalam language Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam was des ...

. She has published a number of books, which include ''Prem - Ek Album'', the Hindi translation of her poetry anthology in Malayalam, ''Pranayam Oralbum''.

Kerala Sahithya Akademi Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South Cana ...

awarded her their 2018 annual award for poetry and she is a recipient of 'Changmpuzha Award for literature' and the 'Basheer Amma Malayalam Puraskaram'.

Biography

V. M. Girija was born on July 27, 1961, to Vadakkeppattu Vasudevan Bhattathirippad and Gauri, at Paruthipra, a village near

Shornur Shornur is a town and a municipality located in the Palakkad district, in the Indian state of Kerala, located on the banks of the Bharathapuzha River. The town covers an area of 32.28 km2. Geography Shornur is located at . It has an ave ...

Palakkad district Palakkad District () is one of the 14 districts in the Indian state of Kerala. It was carved out from the southeastern region of the former Malabar District on 1 January 1957. It is located at the centre of Kerala. It is the largest district i ...

in the south Indian state of

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

. Her college education was at the Sanskrit College, Pattambi from where she earned a master's degree in Malayalam, standing first in the examination. She started writing at an early age and her early poems were published in ''Balapankthi'' of

Mathrubhumi ''Mathrubhumi'' is a Malayalam newspaper that is published from Kerala, India. It was founded by K. P. Kesava Menon, an active volunteer in the Indian independence movement, Indian freedom struggle against the British Raj, British. The word "M ...

. She started her career in 1983 by joining

All India Radio All or ALL may refer to: Language * All, an indefinite pronoun in English * All, one of the English determiners * Allar language (ISO 639-3 code) * Allative case (abbreviated ALL) Music * All (band), an American punk rock band * ''All'' (All a ...

as an announcer and moved to Kochi FM Station when it was started in 1989.http://www.universityofcalicut.info/syl/Malayalam_Sylla_16.pdf page 59 She retired from Kochi FM in 2021 after 38 years of service. Girija has published ten books of which ''Pranayam Oralbum'' has been translated into Hindi by A. Aravindakshan, under the title, ''Prem-Ek Album''. The other books are ''Jeevajalam'' ( Current Books, 2004), ''Paavayunu'' (Sign Books, 2007), ''Pennugal Kanatha Pathira Neragal'' (

Mathrubhumi Books ''Mathrubhumi'' is a Malayalam newspaper that is published from Kerala, India. It was founded by K. P. Kesava Menon, an active volunteer in the Indian freedom struggle against the British. The word "Mathrubhumi" translates to 'mother land'. I ...

, 2011), ''Oridathoridathoridathu'' (Current Books, 2012), ''Poochayurakkam'' (KSCIL, 2014), ''Kadaloraveedu'' (Logos Books, 2015), ''Paavayoonu'' (Illustrated Version-

Kerala Sasthra Sahithya Parishad Kerala Sastra Sahitya Parishad (KSSP) (meaning: ''Kerala Science Literature Movement'') is a progressive outfit in the state of Kerala, India. It was conceived as a people's science movement. At the time of its founding in 1962 it was a 40-membe ...

, 2015), ''Irupakshampeduminduvalla Njan'', ''Moonu Deerkha Kavithakal''(

DC Books DC Books is a publisher in Kerala publisher of books in Malayalam, and one of the publishers in India . It also operates one of the largest book store chains in India, with a network of over 45 bookshops under the DC Books and Current Books b ...

, 2017) and ''The Black Stone'', a translation of her poems into English by P. P. Raveendran. She has also edited book, ''Ellaarudeyum bhoomi'', a compilation of poems of Savithri Antharjanam. She has received the Changampuzha Award for literature and one of her books is a prescribed academic text for graduate course in Malayalam at the

University of Calicut The University of Calicut, also known as Calicut University, is a State ownership, state-run public university headquartered at Tenhipalam in Malappuram district of the state of Kerala, India. Established in 1968, it is the first university to ...

. Girija is married to C. R. Neelakandan, a noted environmental activist. The couple has two daughters, Aardra and Aarcha and the family lives in

Kakkanadu Kakkanad is a major industrial and residential region in the city of Kochi in Kerala, India. It is situated in the eastern part of the city and houses the Cochin Special Economic Zone, Infopark, Smart City and KINFRA Export Promotion Industrial ...

Kochi Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) ( the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of K ...

Awards and honours

Girija received the 2018

Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Poetry The Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Poetry is an award given every year by the Kerala Sahitya Akademi (Kerala Literary Academy) to Malayalam writers for writing poetry of literary merit. It is one of the twelve categories of the Kerala Sahitya A ...

for her anthology, ''Budha Purnima''. She has also received the 'Changmpuzha Award for literature' and the 'Basheer Amma Malayalam Puraskaram'.

Bibliography

* ''Pranayam Oralbum'' (1997) * ''Prem-Ek Album'' (1999) * ''Jeevajalam'' (2004) * ''Paavayunu'' (2007) * ''Pennugal Kanatha Pathira Neragal'' (2011) * ''Oridathoridathoridathu'' (2012) * ''Poochayurakkam'' (2014) * ''Kadaloraveedu'' (2015) * ''Paavayoonu'' (Illustrated Version, 2015) * ''Irupakshampeduminduvalla Njan'' (2015) * ''Moonu Deerkha Kavithakal''(2017)

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Girija, V. M. 1961 births Living people Women writers from Kerala 21st-century Indian women writers 21st-century Indian poets Writers from Palakkad Poets from Kerala 20th-century Indian poets 20th-century Indian women 20th-century Indian people

Biography

Awards and honours

Bibliography

See also

References

External links