Kerala's most-read short story writer, T Padmanabhan, said that the short story was a neglected form of art in Kerala and was always treated like the poor cousin who visited a wealthy family.

"Though I have said this at least 40 years ago, nothing has changed," T Padmanabhan said on Sunday, January 12, while speaking about his writerly life at the week-long Third Kerala Legislature International Book Festival (KLIBF) organised at the Kerala Legislative Assembly.

Elaborating on his resentment, the 96-year-old writer gave the example of the Vayalar Award that was instituted in 1977 in the name of poet Vayalar Ramavarma.

"When the award was instituted, its by-law had drawn up five literary genres that could be considered for the prize: novel, poem, drama, history and autobiography. Short story was not included. Never have I missed an opportunity to vehemently oppose this. And 15 years after the award was instituted, the short story was also included. Now, it has been nearly 50 years since the Vayalar Award was instituted. And in this period, I am the only short story writer who had won it," the legendary writer said, and with a playful smile, added: "I am sure they gave me the award just to get rid of a nuisance, and not because of any merit in my work."

Lalithambika Antharjanam was the first recipient of the Vayalar award, and she won it for her work 'Agnisakshi'. Padmanabhan won the award in 2000 for his collection 'Puzha Kadannu Marangalude Idayilekku'.

Another great short story writer N S Madhavan, in his preface to his first short story collection 'Choolamedile Shavangal', had spoken about Padmanabhan's role in giving short story a dignified status in the world of Malayalam literature. "It was T Padmanabhan's stories that shifted the position of the short story from the outer verandah of literature to the royal reclining chair inside its living room," Madhavan had said.

Now, Padmanabhan repents for having accepted the Vayalar Award in 2000. "I who have rejected awards that had lakhs as prize money should not have accepted the award," he said.

The writer said that he accepted it only because he had high regard for P K Vasudevan Nair, a former chief minister who was then the chairman of the selection committee. "I had a very close bond with him. If I had rejected the award, he would have felt sad," the writer said.

Nonetheless, Padmanabhan said that the novel was a great form of art. "If I had not attempted the novel it was only because I was too impatient," Padmanabhan said. He would not attempt his autobiography either. "If I say the truth, there will be enemies. But I cannot lie either. That's why I have refrained from writing an autobiography," the nonagenarian writer said.

Padmanabhan said he wrote just for his happiness. "And if my readers gain something from these stories, there would be no greater happiness for me," he said. In the last 75 years, Padmanabhan had written just about 200 short stories. "This would make it clear to you that I was not after money," he said. "And any writer worth his salt would always be lonely in his mind," he said.