He was chosen for the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Overall Contributions in 2016 which he refused.

For the next three years, he ran his own computer aided design and drafting center in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu.

He writes popular columns in The Sunday Express (Zebra Crossing, now available online as a social network created by the author) and in Madhyamam Weekly (Moonnu Vara a.k.a.

Maythil's first novel, Sooryavamsam, published in 1970, announced the arrival of a major talent in Malayalam literature.

The essence of his writing is summed up by K. Satchidanandan in the following words: There are very few in Indian fiction who can compare with this author in artistic innovation, intellectual subtlety and original perception of things and of life.