A writer’s ultimate commitment is to society and fellow beings, M.T. Vasudevan Nair has said.
After receiving an award in memory of N.M. Mohammedali, a former president and general secretary of the Kerala Gazetted Officers’ Association, here on Monday, he said: “I think it is fair to compare Mohammedali, a doctor as well as a writer, with Anton Chekhov, the short story writer of the 19th century, who was a physician as well,” M.T. said.
He said Chekhov was always concerned about his fellow beings. He had written about the political prisoners exiled to Siberia by the Tsarist regime. “Chekhov travelled to faraway places to meet people ignoring his health. Chekhov had tuberculosis. He was of the view that the writer was accountable to society. Mohammedali too shared the views,” M.T. added.
The award carried a citation and a purse of ₹50,000.
‘Miser of words;
CPI(M) Polit Bureau member M.A. Baby, who presented the award, compared M.T. to Latin American writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez, saying both had dabbled in multiple fields. Calling M.T. a “miser of words”, he claimed that the writer was an expert in condensing vast ideas into short literary works, citing his book Hemingway: Oru Mukhavura .
