Kadalinu karutha nirmayirunnu. Oru kottaravum mahanagaravum vizhungi kazhinjittum vishappadangathapole theerathu thala thallikondirunnu…
- Opening lines of Randamoozham.
Today the literary world stands, voiceless, before the black ocean of time that has claimed one of the greatest that Kerala’s literary and cultural space has to offer. But at the other end of this darkness is the light of letters, that awaits like a dinghy. You board the little thing and you reach Kudallur and as you traverse the waters, they whisper; how two simple letters, M.T., became the light of a period in Malayalam literature, and a star in the literary nights of generations that followed.
The Chemistry undergraduate from Victoria who wrote stories :
Madath Thekkepaattu Vasudevan Nair, was born the youngest of a lower-middle class agricultural family, into a society grappling with the anxieties of a crumbling matrilineal social structure. The thematic concerns of M.T.’s fiction and films, and the conflicted psyche of his characters (mostly men) often dwell on this social reality, on nostalgia, and yearning for usurped social and cultural worlds.
M. T. Vasudevan Nair (1933-2024) | Best literary works
M. T. initially buoyed into poetry, and very early too, soon taking a detour into fictional prose which retained the lyricism and beautiful imagery of poetic writing.
He has never been anything short of a wonder, when his story Valarthumrigangal (Domestic Beasts) won him his first literary recognition, in the form of a first prize in the Short Story Competition by The New York Herald Tribune, Hindustan Times and Mathrubhumi, in 1954. His first collection of short stories, Raktam Puranda Mantarikal (The Blood-Stained Sand) also appeared during his days at Victoria College. His collections of short stories include Iruttinte Athmavu, Olavum Theeravum, Varikkuzhi, Vanaprastham, Sherlock, Swargam Thurakkunna Samayam, and Dare-e-Salam. If one follows the trajectory of these stories, the shift in stylistics, thematic concerns and narrative features is evident from Iruttinte Athmavu to Sherlock. By his own admission, his favourite genre is short story.
‘Randamoozham’ from the throes of an old feudal order :
The wordsmith soon ventured into the world of novels, creating within it grounded yet complex worlds. In 1957, his debut novel Pathiravum Pakalvelichavum (Midnight and Daylight), was serialized in Mathrubhumi Weekly. The holy trinity born out of the embers of a degenerate social order, marked both the writer’s foray into the high-grounds of Malayalam prose and the birth of classics, without peer and without question. Naalukettu, published in 1958, was M.T.’s first major novel, set against the crumbling matrilineal order. Following Appunni, the protagonist, came Govindankutty, in shades of grey in Asuravithu (1962). Kaalam (1969) cuts across your flesh and Sethu Madhavan’s experiences crawl underneath. M. T. won the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Naalukettu, in 1958, and the Kendra Sahitya Academy Award for Kaalam, in 1970.
His novel, Manju (1964), is the tale of Vimala (arguably his only female protagonist) set against a reflective, sombre canvas, full of lyrical strokes. Randamoozham is M.T’s second-coming after a dark phase in his personal life. Beyond being a reconstruction of Bheemasenan’s story, the tale is fiercely individualised to mirror the sorrows that mar every human soul. His other novels, equally brilliant, include Varanasi, Vilapayathra and Arabi Ponnu (which he co-authored with N. P. Mohammed).
M.T. also authored two texts about the art of writing — Kaathikante Kala and Kaathikante Panippura. M. T. does not simply document the decay of the feudal order. As M Jayamohan puts it, what M. T. wrote about was a profound, regional and cultural existential crisis, far from that of Kafka and Camus.
Making of the Perumthachan of pathos and/in storytelling :
M.T.’s debut directorial feature took the iconoclastic route in Nirmalyam, with the institutional oracle, plagued by extreme poverty spitting on the idol. From this alchemist’s workshop came seven directorial ventures and the screenplays for around fifty-four films. M.T.’s first screenplay was Murappennu (in 1965) and along the road he won the National Film Award for Best Screenplay four times for : Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha (1989), Kadavu (1991), Sadayam (1992) and Parinayam (1994).
M. T. Vasudevan Nair (1933-2024) | A look at his best cinematic creations
His classics like Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha and Perumthachan are not outlets for popular perceptions or readings of the folklore. His interpretations offer a unique mirror into the characters of Chandu and Perumthachan. Other cinematic marvels include Bandhanam, Oppol, Panchagni, Nakhakshathangal, Kadavu, Oru Cheru Punchiri, Aalkkoottathil Thaniye, Anubhandham and so many more; for a simple iteration would never do justice to what awaits the viewer in these films.
Not many know that M.T. is also credited with a documentary titled Mohiniyattam.
Beyond the walls of the ‘Naalukettu’, Nila runs its course :
M.T. Vasudevan Nair joined Mathrubhumi Weekly as subeditor in 1957 after a brief stint in teaching, later serving as the editor of the illustrated weekly for several years. Listing his awards seem frivolous as this man is synonymous with culture and literature, his letters, the greatest gifts to lovers of Malayalam literature. M.T’s list runs as long as Nila itself, including Vayalar Award, Vallathol Award, Ezhuthachan Award, O.N.V. Literary Award, Mathrubhumi Literary Award and the J.C. Daniel Award for lifetime achievement in Malayalam cinema. He was awarded Padma Bhushan, India’s third highest civilian honour, in 2005 and the Kerala Jyoti Award, the highest civilian award given by the Kerala Government, in 2022. Madhavikutty, talked about her dear Vasu, who is like a brother and is “a serious person, who never laughs and only wore shirts with stripes”. She summed up for the 1995 Jnanpith awardee saying, “He has a lot of awards that he won through hard work. He has never been a lazy writer.”
M.T. married Prameela in 1965, and eleven years later the couple got divorced. In 1977 he married Kalamandalam Saraswathy, with whom he has a daughter Aswathy Nair. He also has a daughter from his first marriage, Sithara.
The Nila runs, recourses, and meanders in his worlds against his familiar sylvan milieu. The river runs its course, across generations of readers, flows into your heart and makes a warm, little home there, not a Naalukettu mind you, and it houses the lives of so many men and women you have known and many lives you have lived. Sukumar Azheekode spoke about M.T.’s oeuvre, “that gives the impression of familiarity.” But, he cautioned, once you enter his world, what awaits you are chambers of unseen treasures. That is M. T. Vasudevan Nair, and as Auden wrote, “Earth, receive an honoured guest.”
