KOCHI: Literary critic M Leelavathi was conferred with the fourth ONV literary award at her home in Kalamassery here on Sunday.
Filmmaker Adoor Gopalakrishnan, who is the president of the ONV Cultural Academy, handed over the award to Leelavathi at a function that was inaugurated by Chief Minister
Pinarayi Vijayan through videoconferencing.
The award carries a purse of `3 lakh, a statue and a citation.“Leelavathi teacher is one of the giants in the literary criticism field. There are not many woman literary critics. Some that come up often fade away into obscurity,” he said.
“However, Leelavathi teacher has been shining bright in this field for seven decades. She isn’t being honoured just because of any special consideration. It is because she put up a good competition and trounced her male contemporaries. She created a space for herself among them on her own, through talent and her ability to delve deep into any topic,” he said. Leelavathi said the award was a solace in her old age.