Kozhikode:Noted writer and Jnanpith award winner MT Vasudevan Nair, who died here on Wednesday evening, is known for elevating the art of Malayalam storytelling to a profound level through his works. The 91-year-old writer had been hospitalised in critical condition with a diagnosis of heart failure.
He was suffering several health issues including respiratory ailments for a while, according to literary sources. M T Vasudevan Nair, popularly known as M T, is a celebrated writer, screenwriter, and filmmaker, renowned for his profound contributions to Malayalam literature and cinema.
Born in 1933 in Kudallur, a quaint village in Palakkad district, Kerala, M T, through more than seven decades of writing created a literary world that appealed equally to both ordinary people and intellectuals. At the time, Kudallur was part of the Malabar district under the Madras Presidency of British India.
He was the youngest of four children born to T Narayanan Nair and Ammalu Amma. His father worked in Ceylon, while M T spent his early years in Kudallur and at his paternal home in Punnayurkulam, a village in present-day Thrissur district. M T's early life and surroundings deeply influenced his literary sensibilities.
He completed his schooling at Malamakkavu Elementary School and Kumaranelloor High School and graduated with a degree in chemistry from Victoria College, Palakkad, in 1953. His professional journey began as a teacher and gramasevakan at a block development office in Taliparamba, Kannur, before he joined Mathrubhumi Weekly as a sub-editor in 1957.
Over seven decades, he has authored nine novels, 19 collections of short stories, directed six films, around 54 screenplays and several collections of essays and memoirs. M T is celebrated for his evocative storytelling, exploring human emotions and the complexities of rural life.