Vaali, the creator of a thousand melodious songs in Tamil has been honored with the prestigious Padmashree award this year. The seventy-year-old lyricist has penned over 1,500 lyrics for Tamil feature films, second only to the late poet Kannadasan.

A native of Srirangam, Vaali is not only a lyricist but also a renowned literary figure and has written more than 100 collections of poems, besides some novels. Vaali has written lyrics for a wide range of Tamil heroes from MGR to the latest.

Though he is seventy, his lyrics are nowhere near his age; they are still young and hip. A multi-faceted personality, Vaali has also acted in a few Tamil movies. The poet has won the national award for best lyricist, besides many state awards.