Kerala’s Divine Writer

An Indian author, screenplay writer and film director who weaves words with a string of gold, making each of his works reach legendary statuses. With all his cabinets gleaming with his collection of prestigious awards, Madath Thekkepaattu Vasudevan Nair stands as Kerala’s cult figure in the Malayalam literature arena.

Kerala's Divine Writer, Image Source: OneIndia

On this day in 1933, Kerala was fortunate to receive a baby boy, the fourth youngest child in his family who would soon lead Kerala's name into fame. It is often observed that youngsters who leave their village for a better life elsewhere rarely show off their roots. However, M. T. Vasudevan Nair was built differently than the rest, for he took great inspiration from the village he was born and brought up in which was named Kudallur, on the banks of Nila.

As a kid, MT’s career path wasn’t decided, and chose the field of Science, simply because of the belief that it would provide greater job opportunities. While completing his degree in Chemistry from Victoria College, Palakkad, he was haunted by his inner voice urging him to write, a passion he had discovered when he was young while being surrounded by his brothers who too had a flair for words.

Being naturally gifted, MT went on to publish his works while he was still a student, which led him to win his first-ever literary award in 1954 for winning the World Short Story Competition conducted by The New York Herald Tribune, paving the way for an unprecedented number of awards in his upcoming future.

MT started his career in writing by publishing a number of short stories, for he felt they were the only type of writing which could achieve near perfection. This in reality is a statement that can’t really be applied to every short story ever written, yet MT’s stories surely did not stray away from his belief. It was perhaps his highly relatable characters, metaphors, and language drawn out from local settings which resonated in every Malayalam household, as a piece of their own life was felt being reflected in his words. In Iruttinte Athmavu, MT wrote about a 21-year-old man who was treated as a madman by society, which became one of his most celebrated stories to this day.

According to MT himself, most of his stories are inspired by his personal experiences, anecdotes recited by his mother and elders, and through books which he keeps stumbling upon.

Apart from short stories and articles, MT published a variety of novels as well, with one being Naalukettu (1958) which depicts the decline of a typical joint family from fortunes, now standing as a well-known Malalyam classic. It can still be found on Bestseller lists and got adapted as a Television Film for Doordarshan by MT himself. His later novels revolved around the themes of feminism, irony, socio-economic transformations, and retellings of worldwide famous epics like the Mahabharata, receiving critical acclamation from popular writers and critics.

Yet the written word wasn’t MT’s only passion, as he found himself deeply entranced by the film industry as well. Even though his novels depicted vivid imagery, he went on to create films that were visual delights and created an impact on their viewers which lasted long.

His portrayal of contemporary life in Kerala is immaculate, bagging him with the National Film Award for Best Screenplay for 4 different films, which is the most anyone has ever received in this category.

MT’s legacy currently consists of nine novels, 18 volumes of short stories, two travelogues, five books of literary studies, a play, two books for children, screenplays for 54 films, and direction for 7, making him Kerala's most prestigious writer by a long shot. Although the field of Science was robbed of such a genius, the world surely gained a prolific writer!