Renowned Tamil poet, lyricist and novelist R Vairamuthu has won the 60th Jnanpith Award, India’s highest literary honour, for the year 2025, the Bharatiya Jnanpith announced on Saturday.He has been selected for the prestigious award in recognition of his outstanding contributions to Tamil literature, marked by creative depth and a distinctive poetic voice.The decision was taken at a meeting of the ‘Bharatiya Jnanpith Selection Committee’ chaired by noted writer Pratibha Ray.Eminent litterateurs and scholars, including Madhav Kaushik, Damodar Mauzo, Suranjan Das, A. Krishna Rao, Prafulla Shiledar, Kesubhai Desai, Janaki Prasad Sharma, K Srinivas Rao and Maheshwar, are the members of the Committee.Born on July 13, 1953, in Tamil Nadu, Vairamuthu is regarded as one of the most prominent voices in contemporary Tamil literature. His works are known for their evocative portrayal of human emotions, social concerns and a deep sensitivity towards nature.He has written 37 books which include collections of poetry as well as novels in the Tamil language. Several of them have been translated in English, Hindi, Malayalam, Telugu, Kannada, Russian, and Norwegian. He introduced the work of foreign poets to Tamil readers in his “Ella Nadhiyilum En Odam”. Over 2.6 million copies of his works have been sold. He entered the Tamil film industry in the year 1980, with the film “Nizhalgal”, an Ilaiyaraaja musical, directed by Bharathiraja.During the course of his 40-year film career, he has written over 7,500 songs and poems which have won him seven National Awards, the most for any Indian lyricist.Over a literary career spanning more than four decades, Vairamuthu has made significant contributions across poetry, lyrics and prose. His writings have gained wide readership for their originality, emotional depth and strong cultural grounding.Some of his acclaimed works include Kallikattu Ethikasam, Karuvachi Kaaviyam, Thanni Desam and Moondraam Ullaga Por (The Third World War).He has received several prestigious honours, including the National Film Award for Best Lyrics on seven occasions. He was also awarded the Padma Shri in 2003 and the Padma Bhushan in 2014. He received the Sahitya Akademi Award for his celebrated novel “Kallikattu Ethikasam” the same year. Two Tamil writers – P V. Akilan (1975) and D. Jayakanthan (2002) — had previously received the Jnanpith Award. “The award to Vairamuthu is therefore seen as further recognition of the vibrant tradition of Tamil literature on the national stage,” a member of the selection committee said.The Jnanpith Award carries a cash prize of Rs 11 lakh, a bronze statuette of Vagdevi (Goddess Saraswati), and a citation, presented annually to an author for outstanding contribution to literature in any of the Indian languages.