Literary giant ‘with his no-nonsense insistence on free speech’ – who was M T Vasudevan Nair

But before that, he’d worked towards a degree in chemistry and worked as a mathematics teacher in a school, a vocation that had drawn him for the ample holidays it afforded. A brief stint as a government block development office later, he found his home in literature and cinema — his childhood favourites. His brothers were prolific writers, and MT began his literary stint by editing Mathrubhumi Weekly in 1957. It would be under his leadership that the magazine would go on to launch the careers of literary giants such as OV Vijayan, Sethu, M Mukundan, Paul Zacharia and Sarah Joseph.

“I knew him for six decades, first as a reader and then as a mentor. In 1967, I had been on a visit to some drought-stricken areas in Bihar. For Malayalis, used to lush vegetation and water all around, it was a terrifying experience. I was 24 then and very shaken by the suffering I saw. I wrote something but wasn’t sure if it was a story or an essay. I did not know MT then, but he loomed large in our literary landscape. I sent it off to Mathrubhumi, never expecting to hear back. To my surprise, not only did he get back and help get that story published, he was also instrumental in pushing me to write my first novel,” said Sethu, 82.

He added: “He was the most outstanding literary editor in any Indian language. From Kakkanadan to Padmarajan, he was instrumental in bringing out around 10 important writers during the 1960s. He was my guru in every sense of the word”.

When MT began writing, Vaikom Muhammad Basheer, Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai, Ponkunnam Varkey, Kesavadev, Karur Neelakanta Pillai, SK Pottekkatt, ‘Uroob’ PC Kuttikrishnan and Lalithambika Antharjanam were the reigning stars of Malayalam literature. MT’s writing would mark a rupture with the old order. Zacharia, 79, said: “He turned the table on Malayalam literature with Naalukettu (1958), drawing from the (aristocratic) Nair community he belonged to and which was being driven to the ground due to many economic concerns and frictions. He also wrote Randamoozham (1984) which told the story of Mahabharata from Bhima’s perspective.”

It tells the story of the Pandava brother, stripped of mythology, grounded in realism. “He is the man who brought modernity to Malayalam fiction and, while there were other writers contributing to it, he made it come alive. The popularity that Malalayam-to-English translations are enjoying today is partly due to his major influence,” said Zacharia.

Karthika VK, publisher, Westland Books, who has worked on many of MT’s translations with V Abdulla and later, Gita Krishnankutty (who worked on Randamoozham), said, “His stories… have all been hugely impactful and have influenced the way most Malayalis think about home, family, history, mythologies old and new… There’s so much I’ve long admired about him: his empathy for human frailty, his dry sense of humour, his deep emotional connect with the Malayali mindscape, his no-nonsense insistence on the primacy of free speech and integrity in politics, and also his affection and loyalty to long-time collaborators.”

Though he left his hometown of Kudallur after school, it remained the fount of his work’s intimacy with nature. He once wrote: “I was born into a penurious middle-class agricultural family in a sleepy little village… The villagers believed that if one could read Ezhuthachan’s Adhyatma Ramayanam fluently, without faltering, then one’s education was complete. If you lead the cattle to the nearby river without their being allowed to take a bite from the lush paddy fields on either side of the bunds, grown-ups deemed you fit for farm work”.

Apart from nine novels and 19 short fiction collections, Nair left a mark in screenwriting too, authoring more than 50 screenplays and directing six films. “He brought a modern sensibility to (the form)… Though a Modernist, he stuck to a traditional mode of storytelling because he was comfortable with it,” said Zacharia. MT’s most recent screenwork includes Manorathangal, a 2024 anthology of his stories which he adapted for the screen, featuring some of the biggest names in Malayalam cinema like Mahesh Narayanan, Fahadh Faasil, Priyadarshan and Mohanlal.

“He was my mentor, friend and drinking companion for over 60 years,” said Zacharia. “He was a good man, an easygoing man, concerned and caring for his friends, even though he could appear aloof to people he didn’t know very well.” Karthika said, “MT is undoubtedly one of the greatest writers, ever… There really cannot and will not be (another) like him.”