Madath Thekkepaattu Vasudevan Nair (known as M. T.) was an Indian author, screenplay writer, and film director. He was a prolific and versatile writer in modern Malayalam literature and was one of the masters of post-Independence Indian literature. Randamoozham, which retells the story of the Mahabharata from the point of view of Bhimasena, is widely regarded as his masterpiece.
Early Life and Education
Madath Thekkepaattu Vasudevan Nair was born on July 15, 1933, in Kudallur, a small village in the Palakkad district of Kerala. His native place was part of the Malabar District in the erstwhile Madras Presidency during the British Raj. He was the youngest of four children born to T. Narayanan Nair and Ammalu Amma. His father worked in Ceylon, and Nair spent his early days in Kudallur and at his father's house in Punnayurkulam, a village in the present-day Thrissur district.
He attended Malamakkavu Elementary School and later Kumaranelloor High School. After completing high school, he had to pause his education. When he resumed in 1949, he was advised to pursue the science stream, as it was believed that a degree in science would secure a job more easily than other degrees. He earned a degree in chemistry from Victoria College, Palakkad, in 1953.
He taught mathematics at Pattambi Board High School and Chavakkad Board High School for over a year and worked at M.B. Tutorial College, Palakkad, during 1955–56. He also briefly served as a gramasevakan at a block development office in Taliparamba, Kannur, before joining Mathrubhumi Weekly as a sub-editor in 1957.
Personal life
M.T. Vasudevan Nair first married writer and translator Prameela in 1965. They separated after 11 years of marriage. They had a daughter Sithara, who works as a business executive in the United States.
He married dance artist Kalamandalam Saraswathi in 1977, with whom he had a daughter, the dancer Aswathy Nair. M.T. Vasudevan Nair resided in Sithara, Kottaram Road, Kozhikode, a house named after his eldest daughter.
M.T. Vasudevan Nair died on December 25, 2024, at the age of 91 after suffering a cardiac arrest. He had been admitted to Baby Memorial Hospital in Kozhikode on December 15 due to breathing difficulties.
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