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KOZHIKODE: MT Vasudevan Nair , one of the greatest writers in Malayalam with an oeuvre of novels, short stories and screenplays that captured a changing milieu and transcended time and place, passed away around 10pm on Christmas Day after spending nine days in a Kozhikode hospital. He was 91. As an accomplished chronicler of Nair tharavadus (traditional upper caste households) in terminal decline, Nair - aka MT - wove in lived experiences into seminal novels, starting from Nalukettu, his first.
He won the Kerala Sahitya Akademi award at 25 for it. Asuravithu (The Demon Seed, 1962), Manju (Mist, 1964) and Kaalam (Time, 1969) trod the same path, as did Arabiponnu, which he co-authored with NP Mohammed. Randamoozham, which explored Mahabharata from the perspective of Bhim, was as radical as it was riveting.
Varanasi, written in the late 1990s, was MT's last novel. At his peak, MT had a huge influence on Malayalam cinema too, where his themes reflected broad and diverse realities. His women characters, unlike those in his novels, were often liberated and lived on their terms.
He wrote screenplays for 54 films and won national awards for Best Screenplay four times - for Vadakkan Veeragatha, Kadavu, Sadayam and Parinayam. Born on July 15, 1933, in Kudallur as the youngest of the four sons of T Narayanan Nair and Ammalu Amma, MT's literary journey began early. He quickly became known for his storytelling prowess, as well as his poignant and touching portrayal of the human condition, through stories and characters strongly rooted in his village of Kudallur.
MT graduated from Government Victoria College, Palakkad, in chemistry in 1953 and taught for a while at MB Tutorial College in Palakkad. The proprietors of the college published a magazine called Malayali, to which MT often contributed. His first short story, Raktam Puranda Mantharikal, was published while he was studying at Victoria College.
At 20, he won the first prize in the World Short Story Competition by New York Herald Tribune. In 1956, MT joined Malayalam weekly Mathrubhumi as a sub-editor and later became its editor in 1968. MT ventured into the film industry in the mid-1960s, when Malayalam cinema was evolving and seeking to find a unique narrative style and visual language.
His first screenplay, Murappennu (1965) was followed by a succession of films that solidified his reputation. MT quickly became the most acclaimed and in-demand screenwriter in Malayalam cinema, penning some of the greatest hits like Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha. MT also directed six films, including Nirmalyam (1973) which won National Award.
As literary editor, MT made seminal contributions to Malayalam literature by finding out and fostering a generation of writers. He won the Jnanpith Award in 2005 and was honoured with the Padma Bhushan in 2005. MT married writer- translator Prameela in 1965, from whom he separated after 11 years.
He later married dancer Kalamandalam Sarawathi. They have two daughters - Sithara and Ashwathi. Stay updated with the latest news on Times of India .
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