Some journeys unexpectedly curve, turning you inward; taking you back to the womb, to the very conception of life. In the midst of a hectic study tour in Kannur district in North Kerala, writer K.M Venugopalan, our companion during this journey, took us to Chengal wherein resides Shri. Kallen Pokkudan, lovingly called as Kandal (mangrove) Pokkudan – the man who grew mangrove forests along the Pazhayangadi River. Exhausted as we were in the afternoon, we reached the house of Shri. Pokkudan, the tireless crusader for the restoration of the lost heritage of mangrove forests in the coastal region. What he began with a strong individual conviction in his home district, in Kannur in the 1980s, soon became a mass effort and countless mangroves have been planted in almost all parts of Kerala over the years. Kallen Pokkudan He was struggling with his lunch kept on the table, unable to eat, as sobs choked his throat in remembrance of his life part...
Poem by G. Sasi (1959-2002) Soumini, You said that black is beautiful Poets have sung it Then, How did the black people get humiliated? We are not the ones who suck blood and sweat We are melting… The blazing sun and the burning earth Are not tending us Mother, There is no space for the black people To hide in your wings We are being thrown out Oh mother Kali! Your neck has been ornamented By whose heads? When you quench your anger By sucking blood On whose headless body are you standing? Soumini, Don’t say for the sake of saying That black is beautiful… Don’t sing, Black is the seed of riot in the self Mountain of turbulence Shadow of suffering The color of love (Translated from Malayalam by Sreekala Sivasankaran) G. Sasi was born in 1959 in Madhuraveli, Kottayam district of Kerala . His parents Gopalan and Kuttippennu worked as coolies and they lived in the Ayamkudi slum colony. Sasi, after completing his school education went to college but could not continue the studies. His poems...
One more Keralappiravi has passed on 1st of Nov, 2008. As the govt. tirade against the Chengara struggle and the apathy of the general public to it continue in Kerala, let us remember Poykayil Appachan (1879-1939), the tireless crusader against casteism within the dominant churches and outside; he not only redefined religion but urged people to convert the dream of liberation into a reality on this earth. For Amarapuram, established under the leadership of Poykayil Appachan in 1910s, so many dalits had shed their sweat and tears and they’re not mere pieces of land, but as the name suggests the symbol of hope, an eternal city of freedom. We rejoice to reach Amarapuram Its beauty is unsurpassed Is it heaven or its peak? Is it luck or its peak! I am not the one to narrate it all! For this and translations of other songs of Poykayil Appachan by Ajay Sekher, see Unknown Subjects: Songs of Poykayil Appachan , edited by V.V Swamy and E.V Anil (Kottayam: Institute of PRDS studies, 2008)
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