Akkitham Achuthan Namboothiri

Who is Akkitham Achuthan Namboothiri?

Akkitham Achuthan Namboothiri, popularly known as Akkitham, is a Malayalam language poet. He was born in 1926 at Kumaranallur in Palakkad district of the southern Indian state of Kerala and lives there. He is a well known Malayalam language poet, essayist, editor and a highly decorated literary personality among contemporary Malayalam writers. Fondly known as Akkittam, his literary works began to gain wide attention in the early 1950s.

Among his works so far is a milestone poem that brought him the Sanjayan Award in 1952. Titled Irupatham Noottandinte Ithihasam, this poetic masterpiece of Akkitham is reckoned by many in the literary filed as the one that heralded modernism in Malayalam poetry. In all, some 45 collections of his poems, plays and short stories by him have been published. Another noted and award winning poetic work of Akkitham was Balidarsanam, which fetched him the Kendra Sahitya Akademi Award in 1973. Other noted poetic works of Akkitham included Arangettam, Nimisha Kshetram, Idinju Polinja Lokam, Amritaghatika, Akkithattinte Teranjedutta Kavitakal, and Kalikkottilil. Upanayanam and Samavarttanam are his noted essay works. He also won the Vayalar Award in 2012.