Mundanat Leelavathy is a name nobody would be unaware of in the Malayalam literary world. She is a very renowned literary scholar who has written strongly about womanhood and every obstacle they have faced in their lives. Whether it's misogyny or the struggles against a patriarchal society, she doesn't miss when she writes. Apart from her brilliancy in writing, she is also said to be the most awarded literary Malayali scholar as well.

She began teaching right after her M.A. was completed. Leelavathy had grown up seeing her mother struggle a lot when it came to education. Just like her daughter, Nangayyamaandal (name of mother) was an exceptionally talented girl who was denied higher education due to the many hassles that a woman has to face in a patriarchal society. Her mother, therefore, had left a deep impact on her whole life. Leelavathy thus took all her work seriously to accomplish something enough to cover for both her and her mother's life.

As she began teaching in 1949, Leelavathy taught as a lecturer at St. Mary's College, Thrissur. She then worked at Stella Maris College for a brief period of time before she joined Victoria College in 1952 in Palakkad. Leelavathy was quite the multitasking professor one would expect her to be because she was also subsequently teaching at Maharaja's College and Government Brennen College, Thalassery. Years after teaching and studying side by side, Leelavathy had finally received her PhD degree from Kerala University in 1972.

Apart from her exemplary teaching, Leelavathy is considered to be one of the most striking specimens of the second generation of Swatantryavaadinis (earliest of Malayali feminists). Her writings show the harsh reality behind a state that is considered to be the most literate in India. Before it became eligible for that position, a lot of women had to suffer, a lot had to be fought against and only then was the state successful in providing education as an equal opportunity to everyone.

Literary scholars like Leelavathy are an example of women who have helped gain the power and rights women have lost over the years because of insensible and discriminatory laws and rules. Of everything that she studied and wrote about, M. Leelavathy had been given some of the most elite awards of all time.

She won the Odakuzhal Award, Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award, Kendriya Sahitya Akademi Award, Padma Shri award, Ezhuthachan Puraskaram, O.N.V Literary Award and many more.

Leelavathy was also made a visiting professor at Calicut University for a while after which she spent the rest of her active career days teaching in Brennen College. She retired from the same during 1983 and is currently living in the Thrikkakkara region of Ernakulam district. Not only Kerala, but the whole of India is delighted to have such an inspiring woman exist and live at the same time as the rest of us. Keep enlightening people with your vast knowledge and kindness ma'am.