One who filled time with the plenty of words
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MT, as MT Vasudevan Nair is popularly known, has passed away after etching his mark in the annals of history. Making history with a golden touch in every creative domain is considered the pinnacle of genius. The curtain of an era is down as MT, who graced Malayalam with his brilliance in writing and thought, has left us. Only MT existed in Malayalam, as MT, possibly even in India itself. A storyteller who brought out the forms of short story and novel in literature from the smokescreen of hyperbole and the chains of imitation to the contemplations of the true realities of society; a filmmaker who created a new wave through novel experiments in screenplay and direction, a magazine editor who guided many talents in the way of writing, a pioneer of the Thunchan Trust which was started to take the Malayalam language into the new age, a reader and speaker who introduced the pulse of global literature to Malayalis. The world of Madath Thekkepaattu Vasudevan Nair aka MT Vasudevan Nair was wider than all of this. The significance of the two letters MT, his writing, and his life was as profound as a well-flowing river. When that dense, complex and at times mysterious river stops flowing, it becomes an incomparable loss for Malayalam. We pay our tributes to him.
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Many commentators have noted that MT's conception of space is similar to the astrophysical 'space-time' concept. His writing technique may be so intertwined that it is not possible to say which of these guided his writing style. No matter how one approaches MT's literature, no matter how one deconstructs its characters, ultimately his protagonists were not mere characters; it was space and time where the ground was set. Even naming his novel 'Kaalam' (meaning time) with autobiographical undertones is no coincidence in this sense. 'Kaaam', 'Pallivalum Kalchilambum' and 'Vaanaprastham' all confirm this concept of writing. The characteristics of the world of his works were the lands and characters that go through the changes that time deems necessary. All he talked about was world literature. He wanted to be Dostoevsky and was disappointed that 'we can't do that'; there is no other answer to the question of who is Garcia's Malayalam lover. There is no other Malayali who has enjoyed the literary festivals of world literature so much. Still, he casts his letters within his own formulated 'space-time' logic. Beyond mere imitations of celebrated writings, he encapsulated the breadth and depth of world literature within this 'space-time'. He added his own writing to the depth and breadth of the river Nila (meaning Bharatappuzha river), which flowed with life and experiences. Nila does not flow into the sea; MT became a writer and filmmaker who transcended the language barriers when he experimented with the technique of writing that makes the ocean flow into the river.
MT became a complete writer when this originality in writing complemented an extraordinary grasp of language. His writing had a river-like beauty that stemmed from the poetic narrative beauty of his language. New Wave became possible in Malayalam too when the ripples of his writing skills spread to screenplays. 59 years ago, another history began with the film 'Murappennu' based on his novel, just as a momentous change was happening in Malayalam literature through MT. Thereafter there was no looking back. More than fifty movies. During 1980-90, 25 films were born in Malayalam through MT's pen. It was a time when MT became a symbol of Malayalam in films as well as in short stories and novels; it was also the time when the Malayalam film industry changed. A man of few words even when he was presiding over such a golden age and later when he passed the torch of his creative world to the new generation. He seems to have sought, beyond mere modesty, to wear the cloak of silence and converse with the world in its mysteries. His political criticism in Kozhikode last year when the Chief Minister on the stage was one such. Power has become dominant and totalitarian - the debate about whom MT's words meant has not ended yet because the passion that characterised his writing was perceptible in his speech too. That speech was also his last political speech. MT’s warning about the dangers of fascism in the country was his politics throughout his life. In these times when the written world echoes the centres of power, the fact that he moved in the opposite direction or kept aloof makes the mark of his writing stand out. This is why we are made to say that Malayalam has only MT like MT.
