KOCHI: Coinciding with the 63rd birthday celebrations of spiritual leader and humanitarian Mata Amritanandamayi Devi (Amma), the 2016 Amritakeerti Puraskar will be bestowed upon Malayalam writer Ambalapuzha Gopakumar for his contributions to spiritual, philosophical and cultural literature.
The Amritakeerti Puraskar, which is being awarded annually since 2001 to individuals making outstanding contributions in the fields of spirituality, philosophy, science and literature, comes with a cash prize of `1,23,456, a statuette of Saraswati Devi created by sculptor Namboodiri, and a citation from the Mata Amritanandamayi Math.
Ambalapuzha Gopakumar will be presented with his award on September 27, at Amritapuri, as part of Amma’s 63rd birthday celebrations, a release said here.
He currently serves as president of the Ambalapuzha Kshethra Vikasana Trust and as a director board member of the Samastha Kerala Sahithya Parishat, Kochi. He is also the chief editor of ‘Sreevatsam,’ a spiritual and cultural magazine. He has received numerous awards, including: the Prof Kozhissreri Balaraman Award for Literature, 2011, the Narayeeyam Puraskaram for Spiritual Contribution, 2012, among others.
Previous winners
The previous winners of the Amritakeerti Puraskar include Acharya Narendra Bhushan, P Parameswaran, M H Shastrikal, P Narayana Kurup, Prof Vasudevan Potti, Prof K V Dev, Paravoor Sreedharan Tantrikal, Dr N P Unni, M P Veerendrakumar, C Radhakrishnan and Prof Viswambharan.
P Parameswaran, director of Bharatheeya Vichara Kendram, Dr N P Unni, former Vice-Chancellor of Kalady Sri Sankara University, poet P Narayana Kurup, Dr Shankar Abhayankar, Pratibha Ray, Swami Amritaswarupananda Puri, vice-chairman of Mata Amritanandamayi Math, and Swami Turiyamritananda Puri of MAM comprised the selection committee.