M.T. Vasudevan Nair, favourite storyteller of modern Kerala, no more + Railways?.ToString()?? Railways?.ToString()+" Current Affairs";

M.T. Vasudevan Nair, a luminary in Malayalam literature and cinema, passed away on December 25, 2024, at the age of 91.
Early Life and Literary Contributions:
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 in 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.
MT’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. Naalukettu, 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, Kaalam 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 short stories such as Kuttiyedathi, Vaarikuzhi, Pathanam, Ninte Ormakku, Vanaprastham, and Sherlock.
Popular movies:
MT’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).
MT’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.
Awards won by M.T. Vasudevan Nair:
MT 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 doctorates.