‘Writing is the medicine that keeps me alive’: 99-yr-old Dr M Leelavathy returns with a new take on Mahabharata

Kochi: At 4 am, a faint sound emerges from the writing room of Dr M Leelavathy’s home. After her morning bath and prayers, the 99-year-old writer sits at her desk, ready to begin another day of writing.

“Writing is the medicine that keeps me alive. When I write, I realise there is still life left in me,” she says.

Dr Leelavathy, one of Malayalam literature’s most respected critics and writers, continues to write daily. She recently completed the final chapter of her latest work, a book based on the 'Mahabharata'.

“I usually wake up by 2 am. Then, I bathe, pray, and then write,” she explains. “When I write in the morning, both my mind and body feel fresh. I write about five or six pages a day. The new book, which I began two months ago, has now reached 265 pages.”

Reflecting on the inspiration behind her new work, she says: “So many great thinkers, like Kuttikrishna Marar, have written about the 'Mahabharata'. I have tried to see it in my own way. I believe the Kurukshetra War could have been avoided if people had truly wanted to stop it. My writing explores why so many remained silent.”

Despite the age of technology, Dr Leelavathy remains loyal to her traditional tools. “I don’t know how to write in modern things,” she says. “I prefer paper, pen, and black ink. Black ink makes thoughts clearer. Paper is dear to me, there’s so much here that even if you cover me with it and burn me, there would be still left.”