Vairamuthu wins Jnanpith Award, third Tamil writer to receive honour

Tamil lyricist and author R. Vairamuthu has been selected for the Jnanpith Award, the nation’s highest literary honour. He is the third Tamil literary figure to receive the award, after a gap of 24 years. Earlier recipients include the late writers Akilan and Jayakanthan.

Mr. Vairamuthu won the Sahitya Akademi Award in 2003 for Kallikattu Ithikasam.

Chief Minister M.K. Stalin congratulated Mr. Vairamuthu on Saturday (March 14, 2026), saying that the award had so far been won only by Akilan and Jayakanthan, and that Vairamuthu, who has excelled in both classical and modern verse, has now joined them. “It makes us happy,” Mr. Stalin said in a social media message.

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The Chief Minister said he met Mr. Vairamuthu on Saturday morning (March 14, 2026) and was conversing with him before the news arrived. “Moments later, this sweet news arrived, doubling the delight of that meeting,” he said.

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Now, Tamil poetry receives Jnanpith: Vairamuthu

Mr. Vairamuthu said the Jnanpith was greater than the greatest in literature; for Tamil, it was rarer than the rarest.

“I am deeply pleased to receive the Jnanpith Award, which the world of letters regards as the Nobel Prize of Indian literature. Until now, the two awards received by Tamil were conferred upon prose writers. Only now has the Jnanpith been bestowed upon Tamil poetry. The long-standing remark that Tamil poetry had never received the Jnanpith ends with me,” he said.

He said he would remember with gratitude the Tamil society that nurtured and raised him. “I dedicate this award to the soil and to the people. This honour has made me feel younger. From here onward, my journey will continue with renewed vigour and a fresh leap forward,” he said.