M. T. Vasudevan Nair

Early life and education

Madath Thekkepaattu Vasudevan Narayanan Nair was born on 15 July 1933 in the village of Kudallur, then in Ponnani Taluk (now in Pattambi Taluk, Palakkad District). His birthplace fell under Malabar District in erstwhile Madras Presidency of the British Raj. He was the youngest of four children born to T. Narayanan Nair and Ammalu Amma. His father was in Ceylon, and he spent his early days in Kudallur and in his father's house in Punnayurkulam, a village in the present-day Thrissur district. Although his family did not nurture an interest in reading, Nair started writing at an early age and had his work published in magazines.

MT attended Malamakkavu Elementary School and then Kumaranelloor High School. He had to break education after high school, and when he joined college in 1949, he was advised to opt for the science stream as it was felt that a degree in science secured a job faster than any other degree. He obtained a degree in chemistry from Victoria College, Palakkad in 1953.

MT taught mathematics in Pattambi Board High School and Chavakkad Board High School for over a year and worked in M.B. Tutorial College, Palakkad during 1955–56. He also worked as a gramasevakan at a block development office in Taliparamba, Kannur for a few weeks before joining Mathrubhumi Weekly as subeditor in 1957.

Literary career

Short stories

MT began writing at a very young age, inspired by his elder brothers who wrote time and again in several literary journals and poet Akkitham Achuthan Namboothiri who was his senior at high school. His first book, Raktham Puranda Manaltharikal was published in 1952.

MT's first literary prize came to him while he was a student at Victoria College, Palakkad – his short story "Valarthumrigangal" (Pet Animals) won first prize in the World Short Story Competition conducted by The New York Herald Tribune, Hindustan Times, and Mathrubhumi in 1954. It was a short story delineating the pathetic plight of circus artistes. The numerous stories that followed dealt with themes culled from widely different milieus and contexts but were uniformly successful and popular.

The noted collections of his stories are Iruttinte Athmavu, Olavum Theeravum, Bandhanam, Varikkuzhi, Dare-e-Salam, Swargam Thurakkunna Samayam, Vaanaprastham and Sherlock. "Iruttinte Athmavu" ("Soul of Darkness"), one of the most celebrated among his short stories, is the heart wrenching story of a 21-year-old man, regarded as a lunatic by everyone and treated abominably. The story reveals the insanity behind the civilised and supposedly sane world. The story "Sherlock" moves between the rural milieu familiar to MT's readers and the sophisticated world of Indian immigrants in the US, highlighting the contrast between them with subtle irony. Nair wrote passionately of the cruelty hidden at the heart of a seemingly idyllic rural life ("Kurukkante Kalyanam" or "The Jackal's Wedding" and "Shilalikhithangal" or "Stone Inscriptions") and of the privations endured by those dependent on the agricultural cycle ("Karkitakom" and "Pallivalum Kalchilambum" or "Sacred Sword and Anklets"). In the story "Vanaprastham", he studies the delicately balanced relationship between a teacher and a student that has miraculously survived the years.

MT was of the opinion that short story is a genre in which a writer can achieve near perfection. He, along with T. Padmanabhan, served as bridges between the early modern short story writers in Malayalam, of the so-called renaissance, and the new short story of the late fifties and sixties.

''Naalukettu'' and ''Asuravithu''

Main article: Naalukettu (novel), Asuravithu (novel)

MT's debut novel Pathiravum Pakalvelichavum (Midnight and Daylight) was serialised in Mathrubhumi Weekly in 1957. It was given the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award in 1959. It has had 23 reprints and was translated into 14 languages and had a record sale of a half a million copies (as of 2008) and still features in the best-seller lists. MT himself adapted the novel into a television film for Doordarshan in 1995. It won the Kerala State Television Award for the year 1996.

Asuravithu (The Demon Seed; 1972) which is set in a fictional Valluvanadan village named Kizhakkemuri can be considered almost as a sequel to Naalukettu. It has the same geophysical and socio-cultural setting. The novel describes the plight of the protagonist Govindankutty, the youngest son of a proud Nair tharavadu, as he is trapped between the social scenario, social injustice and his own inner consciousness. In Asuravithu there are clear indications of the damaging impact of an alien culture in the pollution of the indigenous culture and the disintegration of the family and the community. These two early novels—Naalukettu and Asuravithu—depict a phase in which the economic and cultural scenario of Kerala manifested symptoms which were to develop into dangerous ecocidal tendencies at a later stage.

''Manju'' and ''Kaalam''

Main article: Manju (novel), Kaalam (novel)

His later novels, such as Manju (Mist; 1964) and Kaalam (Time; 1969), are characterised by profuse lyricism which cannot be found in Naalukettu or Asuravithu. The eco-feminist theme of patriarchal domination and exploitation gained more prominence in Manju, MT's only novel with a female protagonist (Vimala). Set in the splendid landscape of Nainital, it stands apart as set in a milieu different from the usual one, the Valluvanadan village. The plot of the novel is allegedly similar to a Hindi story Parinde (Birds, 1956), by Nirmal Verma. However, both MT and Verma had rejected these claims.

In the novel Kaalam, MT returned to his favourite milieu, the dilapidated joint-family Nair tarwad set against the wider backdrop of the Valluvanadan village in the backdrop of the crumbling matrilineal order of Kerala in a newly independent India. Sethu, the protagonist, is toppled over by the eddies of social, cultural and economic transformation. Kaalam, though not strictly autobiographical, has a strong autobiographical element in it. Manju had a film adaptation in 1983, written and directed by MT himself. The novel also had a Hindi-language film adaptation titled Sharad Sandhya.

''Randamoozham''

Main article: Randamoozham

Randamoozham (The Second Turn; 1984), retells the story of the Mahabharatha from the point of view of Bhimasena, supposed to be the son of Vayu; this is demystified or demythified in the novel. In this novel, Bhima gains, through the author's ironic undertones, a new psychological depth. "I have not changed the framework of the story by the first Vyasa, Krishna-Dwaipayana. I have read between his lines and expanded on his pregnant silences," says the author.

''Varanasi''

MT's novel Varanasi (2002) is based around a journey to Varanasi, a pilgrim centre in North India. With no intricate plot, the novel is an experiment. It was well received in the literary circles but received criticism from critic and painter M. V. Devan.

Other works

MT wrote the novel Arabi Ponnu (The Gold of Arabia) along with N. P. Mohammed. Nair and Mohamed stayed in a rented house in Karuvarakkundu village, Malappuram for a period of two weeks to complete this work.

MT authored two books on the craft of writing—Kaathikante Panippura and Kaathikante Kala—and his anecdotal columns articles on various topics and speeches on different occasions have been compiled under the titles Kilivaathililude, Kannanthalippookkalude Kaalam, Vakkukalude Vismayam and Eekakikalude Sabdam. Manushyar Nizhalukal and Aalkkoottathil Thaniye are his travelogues.

Other activities

MT occupied many important positions in various literary bodies, including the presidency of Kerala Sahitya Akademi and the chairmanship of Tunchan Memorial Trust.

MT joined the Mathrubhumi Group of Publications in 1956. He served as editor of periodicals and chief editor of Mathrubhumi Illustrated Weekly.

He espoused and promoted secularism through his literature, cinema, and public life. Nair created secular intellectual movement in Kerala in the 1990s for peace with many intellectuals.

Film career

MT is one of the most distinguished and well accepted script writers and directors in Malayalam cinema. He has directed seven films and written the screenplay for around 54 films. He won the National Film Award for Best Screenplay four times for: Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha (1989), Kadavu (1991), Sadayam (1992), and Parinayam (1994), which is the most by anyone in the screenplay category.

MT wrote his first screenplay in 1965 for Murappennu, at the behest of producer Shobhana Parameswaran Nair. The film was an adaptation of his story "Snehathinte Mukhangal". The Hindu described it as "a well-made film with a compelling plot" and as "one of the most significant films in the history of Malayalam cinema".

MT was the first and foremost script writer in Malayalam who wrote screenplays after having learnt cinema as a distinctive visual art which has its own language, grammar and structure. It was only after he began writing screenplays the Malayali viewers began to consider film script as a distinctive genre which has its own genuine features. Also, it was M.T who elevated this medium of writing as a literary form.

MT's screenplays have won social attention for the portrayal of the social and cultural crisis in the contemporary life of Kerala. The disintegration of human values and relationship which creates identity crisis, sense of loss, dehumanisation, alienation from one's own surroundings, etc. have been presented in its depth by Nair more than any other writers. The best examples are Kanyakumari, Varikkuzhi, Vilkkanundu Swapnangal, Sadayam, Asuravithu, Edavazhiyile Poocha Mindappoocha, Akshrangal, Aalkkoottathil Thaniye, Aaroodam etc. According to the folklore Vadakkanpattu (Northern Ballads), Chandu is said to have betrayed his cousin because he was jealous of Aaromal's popularity and abilities. But Nair's Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha, set in 16th-century Kerala, presents an alternative version of the same legend, as it presents the incident from Chandu's perspective, suggesting that grave injustice has been done to Chandu by wrongly accusing him of replacing the rivets.

In 1973, MT made his directorial debut with Nirmalyam which won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film. The film is about a village oracle whose services are no longer needed by the community and whose family begins to fall apart. Nair scripted and directed many more films including the award-winning Bandhanam, Kadavu and Oru Cheru Punchiri. Kadavu won awards at the Singapore International Film Festival and Tokyo International Film Festival. His cinema work also includes three documentaries and one TV series. He has written songs for the 1981 film Valarthumrugangal which were set to tune by M. B. Sreenivasan.

MT was the chairman of Indian Panorama of the 46th National Film Awards (1998). He has also been a member of Film Finance Corporation, National Film Development Corporation and Film Censoring Committee. He has also served as a faculty in the Film and Television Institute, Pune.

Literary style and themes

MT was born and brought up in a sylvan village on the banks of Nila. The writer has so often acknowledged his indebtedness to the ethos of his village and to Nila which has ever been the mainspring of his creative inspiration. Nila occurs and re-occurs in Nair's fiction, as a presence and as a symbol, endorsing this view. The staple locale of his fiction is the Valluvanadan village. The landscape and ethos of the Valluvanad region and the transformations undergone by them in the course of the century, involving relics of the tarawad and the communal tensions provide a challenging theme for the highly evocative style of Vasudevan MT's narrative art. The temporal milieu of MT's fiction stretches over the second half of the twentieth century, a period of tremendous social, cultural and economic changes.{{Cite book | author-link=K. Ayyappa Panicker

It was in the sixties that MT rose to prominence as a writer. The phase of social realism had come to an end. In his opinion, class-war the ideal which had inspired the writers belonging to the preceding generation had almost lost its relevance by the time he entered the literary career. The prominent Malayalam writers of the pre-independence phase—Thakazhi, Vallathol and Kesavadev—were all stimulated by the progressive leftist ideals. They focussed their attention on social conflict as the theme for their writings—Conflict between capital and labour, between the landlord and the tenant, between the oppressor and the oppressed. MT felt that this theme of conflict was an outdated phenomenon in the context of present Kerala. The protagonists of MT are men out of society and at war with themselves, a sharp contrast to the heroes of Kesavadev or Thakazhi who fight a losing war against the hostile forces in the society. MT, in spite of his broad and deep sympathy for the marginalised, doesn't identify himself with any particular political ideology or movement.

Personal life and death

MT married twice. He first married writer and translator Prameela in 1961. They separated after 15 years of marriage.{{cite news |trans-title=Life sketch: M.T. Vasudevan Nair |access-date=15 July 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150721073119/http://www.mathrubhumi.com/books/special/index.php?id=228385&cat=824 |archive-date=21 July 2015 }} He had a daughter from this marriage, Sithara, who works as a business executive in the United States.

In 1977 he married dance artist Kalamandalam Saraswathi, with whom he had a daughter, dancer Aswathy Nair.

MT resided in Sithara, Kottaram Road, Kozhikode, named after his eldest daughter.

He died on 25 December 2024, at the age of 91. He had been admitted to Baby Memorial Hospital in Kozhikode on 15 December due to breathing difficulties. Despite medical intervention, his condition worsened, and he suffered a cardiac arrest, leading to his death.

Recognition, awards, and honours

Nair is regarded as one of the masters of post-Independence Indian literature.

He was bestowed with honorary D.Litt. degree by the Calicut University and Mahatma Gandhi University.

As of 2016 the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., United States, had a collection of 62 books authored by Nair (including some English translations) or about him.

Honours

• 1996: Honorary doctorate (D.Litt.) from University of Calicut
• 1996: Honorary doctorate from Mahatma Gandhi University
• 2005: Padma Bhushan, India's third highest civilian award
• 2008: Honorary doctorate from Netaji Subhas Open University
• 2022: Kerala Awards, instituted by the Government of Kerala
• 2025: Padma Vibhushan (posthumously), India's second-highest civilian award

Literary awards

• 1958: Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Novel – Naalukettu
• 1970: Kendra Sahitya Academy Award – Kaalam
• 1982: Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Drama – Gopura Nadayil
• 1985: Vayalar Award for Randamoozham
• 1986: Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Story – Swargam Thurakkunna Samayam
• 1993: Odakkuzhal Award – Vanaprastham
• 1994: Muttathu Varkey Award
• 1995: Jnanpith Award for his contributions to Malayalam literature
• 1998: Padmarajan Award – Kaazhcha
• 2001: Bahrain Keraleeya Samajam Sahithya Award
• 2003: Lalithambika Antharjanam Smaraka Sahitya Award
• 2005: Kerala Sahitya Akademi Fellowship
• 2005: Vallathol Award
• 2005: Mathrubhumi Literary Award
• 2011: Ezhuthachan Award
• 2011: T. K. Puraskaram
• 2011: Suvarnamudra Award
• 2011: Mayilpeeli Award
• 2013: Sahitya Akademi Fellowship
• 2013: Sree Chithira Thirunal Award
• 2013: K. P. S. Menon Award
• 2014: Nalappadan Award 2014 for his Holistic Contributions to Malayalam Literature (Nalappadan Memorial Cultural Society-NMCS)
• 2014: Suvarnamudra Award by Guruvayur Naadha Brahmolsavam
• 2014: A. R. Raja Raja Varma Award
• 2014: Kakkanadan Award
• 2014: Balamani Amma Award
• 2014: Tata-Landmark Literature Live! Lifetime Achievement Award
• 2015: O.M.C. Narayanan Namboodiripad Memorial Devi Prasadam Trust's Award for Literature
• 2015: Thakazhi Award
• 2016: Deshabhimani Award
• 2018: O. N. V. Literary Award
• 2024: Amar Ujala Aakashdeep Award

Film awards

National Film Awards

Nair won the following National Film Awards:

• 1973: Best Film – Nirmalyam
• 1989: Best Screenplay – Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha
• 1991: Best Screenplay – Kadavu
• 1991: Best Feature Film in Malayalam – Kadavu
• 1992: Best Screenplay – Sadayam
• 1994: Best Screenplay – Parinayam
• 2000: Best Film on Environment Conservation/Preservation – Oru Cheru Punchiri

Kerala State Film Awards

He won the following Kerala State Film Awards:

• 1970: Best Screenplay – Olavum Theeravum
• 1973: Best Film – Nirmalayam
• 1973: Best Director – Nirmalayam
• 1973: Best Screenplay – Nirmalayam
• 1978: Best Film – Bandhanam
• 1980: Best Story – Oppol
• 1981: Best Screenplay – Thrishna, Valarthu Mrigangal
• 1983: Best Story – Aaroodam
• 1985: Best Story – Anubandham
• 1986: Best Screenplay – Panchagni, Nakhakshathangal
• 1987: Best Screenplay – Amrutham Gamaya
• 1989: Best Screenplay – Oru Vadakkan Veeragadha
• 1990: Best Screenplay – Perumthachan
• 1991: Best Film – Kadavu
• 1991: Best Director – Kadavu
• 1991: Best Screenplay – Kadavu
• 1994: Best Story – Sukrutham
• 1994: Best Screenplay – Parinayam
• 1998: Best Screenplay – Daya
• 2000: Best Director – Oru Cheru Punchiri
• 2009: Best Screenplay – Pazhassi Raja

Kerala Film Critics Association Awards

He also won Kerala Film Critics Association Awards:

• 1978: Best Screenplay – Bandhanam
• 1980: Best Screenplay – Vilkkanundu Swapnangal
• 1981: Best Story – Valarthumrugangal
• 1982: Best Story – Vaarikuzhi
• 1984: Best Screenplay – Aalkkoottathil Thaniye
• 1985: Best Screenplay – Anubandham
• 1985: Best Story – Anubandham
• 1994: Best Screenplay – Sukrutham
• 1997: Best Screenplay – Ennu Swantham Janakikutty

Other film awards

Other film awards won by Nair include:

• 1991: Filmfare Special Award – South
• 1992: Singapore International Film Festival – Special Jury Award – Kadavu
• 1992: Tokyo International Film Festival – Asia Future Prize – Kadavu
• 1996: Kerala State Television Award – Naalukettu
• 2003: Asianet Film Awards – Lifetime Achievement Award
• 2016: Asianet Film Awards – Lifetime Achievement Award
• 2013: J. C. Daniel Award by the Government of Kerala

Bibliography

Novels

Short story collections

• (Collection of 5 stories)
• (Collection of 6 stories)
• (Collection of 6 stories)
• (Collection of 5 stories)
• (Collection of 5 stories)
• (Collection of 5 stories)
• (Collection of 5 stories)
• (Collection of 4 stories)
• (Collection of 5 stories)
• (Collection of 34 stories)
• (Collection of 5 stories)
• (Collection of four stories)
• (Collection of 3 stories)
• (Collection of 4 stories)
• (Collection of 4 stories)

Children's literature

• With illustrations by N. P. Hafiz Mohamad
• With illustrations by Madanan

Essays

• (Collection of essays)
• (Collection of essays and an interview with Toni Morrison)
• (Collection of 34 essays in five parts)

Memoirs

• (Collection of 27 essays)
• (Collection of memoirs about 19 persons and the screenplay for the documentary Thakazhi)

Plays

Speeches

• (Collection of 32 speeches)
• (Collection of speeches)

Studies

• (Collection of 7 essays)

Translations

• (New edition of Jeevithathinte Granthathil Ezhuthiyath. Also includes conversations between N. P. Mohammed and M. T. Vasudevan Nair)

Travelogues

• (Travelogue about the journeys through Eastern Europe)
• (Travelogue about the journeys through China)

Screenplays

Most of Nair's screenplays are published as books. Some of the published works include:

• (Screenplays for the films Oppol, Vaarikuzhi, Aaroodam, Neelathamara and Idavazhiyile Poocha Minda Poocha)
• (Screenplays for the films Kadavu, Sadayam and Parinayam)

Filmography

References

References

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