KOZHIKODE: Legendary writer M T Vasudevan Nair has been selected for this year’s Ezhuthachan Puraskaram, the highest literary honour instituted by the State Government.Announcing the award at a press conference here on Tuesday, Cultural Affairs Minister K C Joseph said the panel chaired by noted writer and literary critic M Leelavathi had opined that the honour should have been presented to M T Vasudevan Nair much earlier. Other members of the jury included novelist K L Mohana Varma, writer Jose Panachippuram, Kerala Sahitya Akademi president and author Perumbadavam Sreedharan and Cultural Affairs Department principal secretary Sajan Peter.Minister K C Joseph, Social Welfare Minister M K Muneer and M K Raghavan MP visited the writer at his residence in Kozhikode and conveyed the greetings. Apart from a cash prize of `1.5 lakh, the award comprises a citation and a plaque. Named after the father of Malayalam literature and poet Thunchath Ezhuthachan, the award was instituted by Kerala Congress leader and former Minister T M Jacob when he was the Cultural Affairs Minister in 1993. This year the cash prize has been increased from `1 lakh to `1.5 lakh. The award presentation ceremony will be held at a later date convenient to M T Vasudevan Nair, the minister said.Popularly known as MT and known for his versatile story telling and well-crafted novels, the author received Padma Bhushan, the third highest civilian award of the country, in 2005. MT was awarded Jnanpith for his work Randamoozham in 1995. He has won the National Film Award for Best Screenplay four times and also received Kendra Sahitya Akademi Award once and Sahitya Akademi Award thrice.
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