Madath Thekkeppat Vasudevan Nair (M.T.) was born in Koodallur, a village in the erstwhile Ponnani taluk in the Malabar district, which was part of the British Madras Presidency, on July 15, 1933. His father, T. Narayanan Nair, worked with a tea plantation company in the then Ceylon, and mother, Ammaluamma, was a home-maker. M.T. was their youngest child.
He spent most of his childhood in Koodallur and Punnayurkkulam, his father’s village. M.T. had his schooling at the Malamakkavu Elementary School and later at the Kumaranallur High School, and completed his bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from Government Victoria College, Palakkad, in 1953.
He worked as a temporary teacher in schools run by the then Malabar District Education Board in Pattambi and Chavakkad, and also at M.B. Tutorials, Palakkad, before joining the Mathrubhumi weekly as a sub-editor at Kozhikode in 1956. He later worked as its editor, nurturing a number of future writers in Malayalam such as Punathil Kunjabdulla and N.S. Madhavan.
M.T.’s first break in literature came when Valarthumrigangal, one of his short stories set against the backdrop of a circus written during college days, won the first prize in a competition conducted by the New York Herald Tribune, Mathrubhumi, and Hindustan Times. Nalukettu, his first major work published in 1958 that dealt with the decaying ancestral Nair feudal family system, won the Kerala Sahitya Akademi award for best novel. In 1970, Kalam won the Sahitya Akademi award for the best novel. Gopuranadayil won the Kerala Sahitya Akademi award for drama in 1982, and Swargam Thurakkunna Samayam, for the best short story in 1986. Randamoozham, the mythological novel revolving around Bhima, won the Vayalar Award in 1985. Some of his other major works include Manju, a novella, and Asuravithu, and Arabipponnu, written along with N.P. Mohammed and notable short stories such as Kuttiyedathi, Varikkuzhi, Pathanam, Ninte Ormakku, Vanaprastham, and Sherlock.
M.T.’s foray into films happened when he wrote the screenplay for Murappennu (1965), based on one of his short stories. This was followed by a string of critically acclaimed and popular movies such as Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha, Sadayam, Parinayam, Olavum Theeravum, Oppol, and Perumthachan, which bagged State and national awards in the best screenplay and best film categories. His directorial ventures are the national award-winning Nirmalyam (1973), Bandhanam (1978), Vaarikuzhi (1982), Manju (1983), Kadavu (1991), and Oru Cherupunchiri (2000).
M.T. Vasudevan Nair, a colossus of screenwriting
M.T.’s collection of essays feature in Kathikante Kala, Hemingway: Oru Mukhavura, Kathikante Panippura, and Kannanthalippookalude Kalam. His travelogue is titled Alkkoottathil Thaniye. Manikyakkallu, Thanthrakkari and Daya Enna Penkutty are his novels written for children.
M.T. was honoured with the Jnanpith Award in 1995, the Kerala government’s Ezhuthachan Award in 2011, and the Padma Bhushan in 2005. The University of Calicut and the Mahatma Gandhi University have conferred upon him Doctor of Letters degrees.
M.T. first married writer and translator Prameela Nair, with whom he has a daughter, Sithara, a business professional in the United States. They separated later. He married artiste Kalamandalam Saraswathi thereafter. His second daughter Aswathi is a dancer. M.T. lived in Kozhikode ever since he joined Mathrubhumi as a journalist.
Published – December 25, 2024 11:29 pm IST
Kerala
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authors and poets
