O N V Kurup  born on May 27, 1931 at  Chavara , a coastal village in Kerala is   one of  the  greatest  poets  Kerala  has  seen.  He  spent his childhood in an   environment where  a peaceful agrarian culture was in constant  confrontation   with industrialisation.

 Poetry, according to O N V, was a drop of light  that  came to him in the dark   solitude  of his   childhood. His  first published poem was  'Munnottu' (Forward)   which  appeared  in  a  local  weekly  in  1946. It was only an outburst  of his   exuberant  patriotic  sentiments, but it  marked the beginning of a long poetic   career.

  In  every  poem, the poet assumes  the role  of the spokesman of millions   who are   languishing in darkness and poses questions to the reader. He is not   bothered  about 'isms' in literature, but he writes  poetry as it comes to him.   His  poems  purveys  the  message to fight the battle of life against tyranny,   desecration and destruction.