New Year - 2013

New year wishes to none
Mayan calendar might have been right
The spell of deluge
Let's hope to have a beautiful world
Devoid of humans.

How ecstatic such a world would be
Where love wags its plume
Lovers unite in
The abode of pleasure
Where good brood are born.

Alas! that world would no way witness
A soul thrusting iron rod into another
To gain voluptuous delight.
Let's pray to be born an animal
At least in next life.

(MAN, what an Augean term!!! I am dead;
I don't like to address myself as "human being", but "animal")...

Death of a middle aged apolitical bureaucratic intellectual (or crushing of a bookworm) - A report

11.08.2011

     The meeting of six dye based youths (you are free to call them six middle aged persons) held yesterday in the Tagore Park at Mahe beach declared unanimously the death of their friend Mr.Sidharthan after a detailed critical assessment of the entire episode. That summit assigned the great responsibility of making a biography of the late Sidharthan, who was also called Guruji, on me.

1. Who was Guruji?

      

     Guruji was the lone son of Govindan Gurukkal of Mundoth, a dignified Thiyya family in Kadathanad, descendants. I don’t know on which date, under which star he was born. But one thing I know, by seeing Guruji’s performance an astonished friend wondered,

     “Hey, Guruji, new stars might have been risen in the sky on your birth and might have been neglected by all, only because this sky belongs to Malabar, especially North Malabar.”

2. How was he fostered himself?

     There was a vast land for him to grow without any hindrance. Moorad River in the South, Mahe River in the North, Western Ghats in the East and the Arabian Sea in the West bordered his land; a fertile land defecated by a huge group of politico-literary pseudo intellectuals.

     All were in contemplation that Guruji, who had grown hurdled with the old remains of the so-called progressive literary revolution of the fifties and sixties, was drowned in the surrealist inundation of the seventies. But, nothing had happened. Guruji’s, not much appreciated extended hiatus of, education ended with a real mastery degree in history from the North.

3. What he did after his education?

     Returning after grabbing the mastery degree in history, the ill-fated natives found him as a parallel college teacher.

     We can staggeringly hear his sound beyond the boisterous laugh and roar and amidst the clanging and rattling of bangles,

     “…in that way they constructed railway lines in India on a stage by stage basis. It was in the 1890s they divided the counties like Vatakara, Mahe etc. with the railway lines.  The British constructed the railway lines in this treasure land to drag out all our wealth to England through these lines…”

    
     The novices retorted, “Leave away this stupidity, sir”. Then they growled as usual.

     But there was not any inconsistency for Guruji, since he himself had appointed as one of the front-runners of Indian Revolution, which in his presumption was behind schedule only because of the absence of a Che Guevara or Mao. So he never allowed his heart to hear the clinging of bangles or the adoring eyes, that hypnotizing him from the front benches, which made a clear intrusion amidst the growling. If he allowed that, it might be the collapse of the expectation of the whole land. He rightly adjudicated.

    

     (will be continued...)

Revelation - 31

Tactics will not give perennial achievements... 

Republic of India vs Team Anna

It will be worthy to recall a part of the great speech in connection with the formation of the Republic of India, delivered on 25th November 1949, at this juncture of threat on our democracy (I fear, that most of this Anna Team supporters are even unaware of what is a Republic) ".......If we wish to maintain democracy not merely in form, but also in fact, what must we do? The first thing in my judgement we must do is to hold fast to constitutional methods of achieving our social and economic objectives. It means we must abandon the bloody methods of revolution. It means that we must abandon the method of civil disobedience, non-cooperation and satyagraha. When there was no way left for constitutional methods for achieving economic and social objectives, there was a great deal of justification for unconstitutional methods. But where constitutional methods are open, there can be no justification for these unconstitutional methods. These methods are nothing but the Grammar of Anarchy and the sooner they are abandoned, the better for us......" (means as per our constitution if Executive fails to deliver its duty, people can approach Judiciary for getting their rights done. Here this Anna team is acting unconstitutionally.

ALL ALONG THE ARTERIES OF SIKKIM

3.30 am. In Lachen it is just dawn. At Tamushyo’s home-stay all through the night we perceived a feeble sound ‘chu, choo, chooo...’ from the mount behind her home. It was the same sound which was continually humming around our ears while strolling along the Himalayan ranges for the last couple of days. The fast flowing rivers and water falls create an incessant echo – chooo... - in the Himalayan valleys and incidentally ‘Chu’ is the word for river in Tibetan. Chu has got different meanings like ‘the origin’ or ‘Lord’ in Chinese and Korean languages. But I feel it is the sound of nature all along the ‘Greater Himalaya’. This time we were on an exploration to unravel the scenic beauty of Lachung Chu, Lachen Chu and Rangeet – the three main arteries of Sikkim – which combine to form the fastest flowing river of India, Tri srota or Teesta. Lachung Chu and Lachen Chu meet in Chungthang and Rangeet unites with them in Melli.

 Magnanimous! – Gurudongmar Lake 

Before unfolding the experience of exploring the origin of Lachen Chu, I can’t resist myself from writing about the hospitality of the people of Sikkim which we felt, especially in the home-stays. In Sikkim, we find a female dominant society. Women are found to be active in all walks of life especially in tourism. ‘Home-stay tourism’ is a burgeoning tourist sector in Sikkim. In Lachen, we stayed in a home-stay of Ms.Tamushyo. She is a divorcee of 35 years, having a girl child studying in a primary school. She runs a grocery cum wine store together with the home-stay.   Even her child Deepa is enthusiastic to serve the guests and customers amid her studies. The cleanliness of her kitchen is praiseworthy. The general hygiene of Sikkim people is exemplary compared to other Indian states. 

Lachen Chu 

One of the main tributaries of river Teesta – Lachen Chu – originates from Tso-Lhamu (Tsho is lake in Nepali language) in North Sikkim at an elevation of 17,500 ft above sea level in the Greater Himalaya. Our destination was Tsho-Lhamu where Lachen Chu originates. Due to security reasons we were forced to cut short our trip to Gurudongmar Lake, which is at 17,200 ft above sea level and just 5 km away from Tsho-Lhamu.

 A Lachen cutie

The thirty member group started our trek to Gurudongmar in three jeeps in the wee hours of the morning. Jeep drivers arranged our breakfast on the way in another home, near to an Indian Military camp at Thangu. Thanga means river side, here the thanga of Lachen chu. We were served with Sikkimese cuisine of momo, hot cup of maggie and hot tea made in yak milk. 

After refreshing ourselves and getting permission from Indian Military post, we continued our trail. Even though we felt extreme cold, terrain was getting dry barring snow peaked mountains at the horizon. Greenery was on diminution, animals, except petite sparrows, were not spotted. After two hours of motoring through the Tibetan plateau we reached near the vicinity of our destination. We were warned of not to exert much in the open or not to stand outside vehicle for more than 30 minutes for want of oxygen in the surrounding air. But to our bad luck our jeep failed to climb the last 200 metres. 

Sarva Dharma Sthal (place for all religions worship) maintained by the Indian Army was just in front of us, behind that mound is the holy lake. Here I made a mistake; in my zeal, I jumped out of the jeep and moved ahead with brisk steps forgetting the warnings. Darkness veiled my eyes unexpectedly and I almost fainted. One of my friends advised me to relax for some time and to inhale deep. I felt good after five minutes and thereafter I plodded to Sarva Dharma Sthal with slow pace. Worth it really, because the feelings developed in my mind after seeing the holy lake from the courtyard of Sarva Dharma Sthal is ineffable. It was such an exotic sight; one can never forget it, if he ever experienced it. A five kilo metre long rivulet originated from Tsho-Lhamu is touching Gurodongmar in its Northwest and moving forward to Southeast as Lachen Chu.

Sarva Dharma Sthal – Gurudongmar

After meditating before the magnanimous lake we prayed in Sarva Dharma Sthal too. In nineties, this place of reverence was a hot point of attention in the media. Some overzealous army officers built a gurudwara in this major Buddhist pilgrimage centre of Sikkim, much against the sentiments of the local people, particularly the Lachenpas. It is said that in the eighth century, Guru Rinpoche (Lord Padmasambava), who established Buddhism in Tibet and in the Himalayan region visited this lake and blessed it. To make matters worse, the then Lachen chief, the late Anung Lachenpa, issued an open statement threatening to take appropriate action against those who desecrated the sanctity of the holy lake. The chief also urged the government to restore the “original look and sanctity” of the place. Now this edifice is known as ‘Sarva Dharma Sthal’, a place of worship for all the religions. 

Lachung Chu 

To explore Lachung Chu, tourist operator arranged us a home-stay at Lachung. Our destination was Zero point beyond Yumesamdong at 15,300 ft above sea level, where Lachung Chu initiates its course. We started early, even though we were too comfortable under the cosy quilt. 

Yumthang – a valley in heaven

After getting permission from the Indian Military post at Lachung we proceeded to Yumtang, the valley of flowers. It was not that cold. Our caravan treaded through the breathtaking shots of the nature. Snow covered trees and herbs, frothing springs, snow covered roads, Rhododendron flowers, all of them were in fact enthralling. Our breakfast was arranged at Yumtang. If a person is dropped directly at Yumtang he will not in the slightest believe that he is in India. Yumtang reminds you of a hill resort in Europe. One will feel like lying and rolling over the snow. Kids and youngsters were having their own fun like skating, snow ball fighting etc.

Yumesamdong and zero point are couple of kilo metres ahead. One may wonder what zero point is. It is nothing but the end of the road. Yumesamdong is very close to the Chinese border. There are about fourteen hot springs around Yumesamdong which keep Lachung Chu flows all the seasons, without getting frozen. From the origination point of Lachung Chu we directly went back to Chungtang, the point of confluence of Lachen Chu and Lachung Chu.

Teesta

Virtually, the emerald river Teesta forms at Chungtang, with the confluence of Lachen Chu and Lachung Chu. From there it flows right away to South through the heart land of Sikkim such as Singhik, Mangan and Rangpo to meet the Rangeet River. The rivulets of 61 kilometres long Rangeet arises from Kabru, Goechala and Narasingh glaciers of West Sikkim. Teesta meets its tributary Rangeet at Melli in Sikkim side and Teesta Bazar in West Bengal side. 

Emerald river Teesta – at Rangpo

A series of dams are proposed all along Teesta and its tributaries Lachen Chu, Lachung Chu and Rangeet with the aim of the production of 50,000 MW of electricity within the next 10 years. There are apprehensions that these dams may lead to reservoir induced seismicity. Chief of the Lachen tribal community, Chowo Rabjor, drew attention to the implementation of the Teesta Stage-1 Hydro-electric power project in Lachen valley in North Sikkim. In a letter to the Himalayan Green Hydro Energy Pvt Ltd, which is handling Stage -1 of the project, the chief stated that the people of Lachen were ready to sacrifice their lives to “protect our land, forests, age-old tradition and places of worship.” Ten years back, the tribal people jointly opposed the 30-MW Rathongchu hydel project in West Sikkim on the same grounds and forced the government to abandon the controversial project midway. In sync, harnessing of the perennial water falls to produce power can not be reckoned as an exploitation of nature; micro-hydel projects are suitable for Himalayan states like Sikkim than bigger dams. 

Course of Teesta in Sikkim – Map - not to scale

From the convergence of Teesta and Rangeet, the famous Teesta Suspension Bridge is just 4 miles away southward in West Bengal. This bridge joins Kalimpong with Darjeeling. Teesta hits the plains at Sevoke, and then courses its way to Jalpaiguri and then to Rangpur District of Bangladesh, before finally merging with the mighty Brahmaputra at Fulcherry (in Bangladesh). 

Travel Tips: Nearest Airport – Bagdogra – 124 kms from Gangtok. Nearest Railway Station – New Jalpaiguri – 125 kms from Gangtok. Permits are required for travel to Lachen, Thangu, Guru Dongmar Lake, Lachung, Yumtang, Yumesamdong and Zero point. Tourist operators based at New Jalpaiguri, Siliguri and Gangtok will arrange permits. 

Revelation - 30

Obstacles motivate life.

Revelation - 29

It is better that Roses have thorns.

Revelation - 28

A friend will never ever desert you if that person is a real friend of you (unless you are a fool, in selecting friends).

Friendship

Every friend was once a stranger; we cannot say that we have lost a friend, if a friendship is capable of ending; it is because it never existed. 

Revelation - 27

Does an oyster ever see the pearl that it created?

ON RELATIONSHIPS

Relationships - of all kinds - are like sand held in your hand. Held loosely, with an open hand, the sand remains where it is. The minute you close your hands and squeeze tightly to hold on, the sand trickles through your fingers. You may hold on to some of it, but most will be spilled. A relationship is like that. Held loosely, with respect and freedom for the other person, it is likely to remain intact. But hold too tightly, too possessively, and the relationship slips away and is lost. 

KALEEL JAMISON, The Nibble Theory.

Revelation - 26

Honesty to oneself is the prerequisite for one’s happiness.

The lost tranquility of our canopy

Following the lost tranquility of our canopy, I am trying to float a canoe in the turbulent sea, which roars in high pitch, between us... 

PEACE

my dream came true

Broken trust

Broken trust is my kin...

The Rashomon Effect

Akira Kurosawa's "Rashomon" (1950, Japanese) and Adoor Gopalakrishnan's "Anantharam" (1987, Malayalam) though created around three decades apart, do have some similarities especially in the context of their narrative techniques. Both masterpieces of cinema offer a vast expanse for exploration and study. Both the films tend to make use of multiple narratives to take forward the film in an interesting direction. 

The film "Rashomon" was the tool for the creation of a new phrase Rashomon effect. The Rashomon effect is the contradictory interpretations of the same event by different people; like the different versions of the four witnesses' accounts of a rape and murder in the movie "Rashomon". The idea of contradicting interpretations has been around for a long time and has ethical implications in theater, journalism and literature. 

In the film "Rashomon", various characters provide alternative, self-serving and contradictory versions of the same incident. The film opens on a woodcutter and a priest sitting beneath the Rashomon city gate to stay dry in a downpour. A commoner joins them and they tell him that they've witnessed a disturbing event, which they then begin recounting to him. The woodcutter claims that he found the body of a murdered samurai three days earlier while looking for wood in the forest; upon discovering the body, he says, he fled in panic to notify the authorities. The priest says that he saw the samurai with his wife travelling the same day that the murder happened. Both the men were then summoned to testify in court, where they met the captured bandit Tajomaru, who claimed responsibility for rape and murder. 

In the climax of "Rashomon", at the gate, the woodcutter, priest, and commoner are interrupted from their discussion of the woodcutter's account by the sound of a crying baby. They find the baby abandoned in a basket and the commoner takes a kimono and an amulet that have been left for the baby. The woodcutter reproaches the commoner for stealing from the abandoned baby, but the commoner chastises him. We can deduce that the reason the woodcutter did not speak up at the trial was because he was the one who stole the dagger from the scene of the murder. The commoner leaves Rashomon, claiming that all men are motivated only by self-interest.

These deceptions and lies shake the priest's faith in humanity. He is brought back to his senses when the woodcutter reaches for the baby in the priest's arms. The priest is suspicious at first, but the woodcutter explains that he intends to take care of the baby along with his own children. This simple revelation recasts the woodcutter's story and the subsequent theft of the dagger in a new light. The priest gives the baby to the woodcutter, saying that the woodcutter has given him reason to continue having hope in humanity. The film closes on the woodcutter, walking home with the baby. The rain has stopped and the clouds have opened revealing the sun in contrast to the beginning where it was overcast.

In "Anantharam", the story develops through a commentary by the protagonist (Ajayan) about himself in the first person. Later he tells another story about his life with the same background. Finally both these stories fuse together. 

The main character Ajayan was born an orphan. He is brought up by a doctor. A brilliant child, Ajayan grows up into an introvert and confused youth. A beautiful girl Suma arrives at their house after marrying Balu, his  foster-brother. Ajayan at the very first sight of his sister-in-law gets sexually attracted to her. This creates internal conflict within him and ultimately he leaves the house. In the second story Ajayan narrates his confused youth and about the beautiful girl, Nalini, who enters his life. Ajayan's mind shifts often between reality and an imaginary romantic world. Finally both these stories converge at a point where both Nalini and Suma become a single entity.

The visual technique used by the director Adoor Gopalakrishnan to differentiate the two stories is worth mentioning here. In the final scene we find the boy (Ajayan) stepping down the stairs twice; by counting in odd numbers first and then in even numbers, thereby the Rashomon effect on life.   

"Rashomon" struck the world of film like a thunderbolt. It won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival, effectively opening the world of Japanese cinema to the West. It won the Academy Award as best foreign film. It set box office records for a subtitled film. 

"Anantharam" won three National Film Awards. It was included in IBN Live's list of 100 greatest Indian films of all time.

Both the films depict the pursuit of truth through multiple narratives.

(This is a modified English translation of my article - അടൂരും അകിരുവും (Adoorum Akiruvum) - published in Cinerama, March 1989). 

Revelation - 25

Size of one’s Horizon depends on his position...

Revelation - 24

Faith makes one inactive,stubborn and closed.

Revelation - 23

Today's first train is running behind the last train of yesterday...

Revelation - 22

Love is the most painful thing in this world...

LIFE is TIME

What is death?

It is a philosophical question that haunts the intelligentsia from time immemorial. Many thinkers tried to respond to the issue. Unlike other questions, here, all were successful to reach the answers because of the simplicity of the question. 

Sometimes, this might be the lone question for which everyone might get the right answer even if the answers are contradictory to one another. In other words we can also say that all the answers are wrong. That is the funny side of this dilemma. Anyway we can ask this question once more. 

What is death?

Death is the cessation of the connection between our mind and our body or death is the termination of the biological functions of a living organism or simply DEATH is the end of LIFE.

Then enters the question, what is LIFE?

An object is said to have life if it traverses with time, otherwise it is dead.

There was life on a body till this moment, but there is no life after this moment, means death has only one dimension - time. In the case of the body, all other dimensions are the same before and after death, except the dimension - time. So we can conclude that if a body fails to traverse with time it is dead and if a body traverses with time it has life.

We can illustrate life, death and time with a suitable example. My pet dog died one minute ago, means, it ended its journey with time; the physical dimensions of my pet dog failed to be in motion with the dimension of time. Its physical body is there in front of me, there is no visible physical change so far, but it has no life. The only problem with my pet dog is that it has no today or tomorrow. The dimension of time has not succeeded to be with the other dimensions of my pet dog even though all other dimensions are there intact as it was there one minute back. So, we can say that an object is said to have life if it traverses with time, otherwise it is dead.

Ultimately we can say that TIME is LIFE. Or in other words, if an object enfolds the dimension, TIME, along with its physical dimensions then it is having life.  If the dimension, TIME, is eliminated then it will become dead. 

Revelation - 21

An object is said to have life if it traverses with time, otherwise it is dead...

Revelation - 20

All arts are the creations of the intelligentsia and are artificial. 

Revelation - 19

We, human beings, created god, not god created us ...

Revelation - 18

If there were no God and Religions in the minds of some creatures of Earth, our Earth would be a far better place to live in ...

Revelation - 17

I love DOG because I can depend on it, but I hate GOD because I can't depend on it.

Revelation - 16

Blindness is not a constraint to see dreams.

Revelation - 15

All followers are blind but not dumb...

Revelation - 14

Spirituality is nothing but a masquerade to cover up one's ill thoughts and fragile psyche.

Revelation - 13

Being a follower of some one is worser than suicide.

Revelation - 12

Cowards lie.

Revelation - 11

Spirits, devoid of brain, can have spirituality, whereas brainy human beings are always above the spirit level. 

Revelation - 10

Any one can be Truthful but every one can't be Honest, as deep love is the basis of honesty ...

Revelation - 9

Bonds are bondage ... 

Revelation - 8

I am running at a speed of 1675km/hr to my grave yard, but I don't know where it is, may be I am just in front of it. 

Revelation - 7

Seniority is the first priority, wherever it is, especially to reach the eternal altar, if there is something like that ... 

Revelation - 6

Universe is much smaller than our mind ...

Revelation - 5

Damn you... impostor, I can’t help to hate you.

Revelation - 4

I could not realize that you would fondle my days so much by becoming my best friend.....

Revelation - 3

Stop, when there is no path in your vicinity.

Revelation - 2

Human beings ornate their nudity with dress and they ornate their sex with romance.

Revelation - 1

All logical understandings are imperfect and relative. Any life on Earth is not free to take a stand devoid of the influence of Earth.

Holy cows, Incisors and Freedom – An Anarchist’s perspective

On that doomed day if that Britisher had not booted out the two incisors of that Indian lived in South Africa, we need not have to sit-in against Globalisation or we need not have to be in human chain against ASEAN free trade agreement.

Otherwise we could have exploited the people of other countries, where Sun sets, by being snobbish citizens of a country where Sun never sets.

Otherwise we could have travelled freely to Colombo, Rangoon, Johannes burg, Penang, Mauritius, London etc without passports and could have worked or not there without any fear, as we did earlier.

Otherwise nobody could have exported the salt of our sweat for meagre prices.

At the most, Holy cows need not have to suffocate by travelling in cattle class.

The revenge for the loss of two incisors surpassed the theory of Butterfly effect.

Roy, Stalin & Gandhi

Communist Party of India turned eighty eight in October. The formation of the Communist Party of India was in Tashkent on the 17th of October 1920 with 7 members and M.N.Roy was the first General Secretary of it. However, our mainstream communist leaders are sceptic about the roll of M.N.Roy since he was in the black book of Stalin in his later days. The main fault they found in him was that he was a communist who went beyond Communism (Marxism), which was quite unthinkable for them. Nevertheless, after half a century of his death (in1954 January), we can now reassess what he prophesied then.

Roy was an international figure in politics having contacts with Lenin, Trotsky, Stalin, Borodin, Carranza etc. He was the key tool in the formation of Mexican Communist Party – the first communist party formed outside Russia and he was the first General Secretary of it – a wonderful position for a Bengali of British India. He was also the founder General Secretary of the Communist Party of India. His contributions as the executive member of the Communist International were remarkable. He was an active member of Comintern until Stalin blacklisted him. But he moved on.

On coming to India, Roy realized that the National Revolution in India will take place only after independence and so he asked the communist workers and people to rally behind the Congress – which in his view was a liberal social democratic party comprised of feudal proprietors, bourgeois and labourers. This theory was in tune with that put forward by Lenin in the first Comintern but Stalin opposed it. Like this, there were many differences of opinions between him and Stalin and finally Stalin branded Roy as a renegade. Thereafter the mainstream Indian communists feared to have contact with him. After reaching India Roy asked the people to strengthen the congress but the congress leaders were suspicious about him since he was a communist.

The clear proof of his mettle was found during the Second World War. On the onset of the war, he had immediately realized the threat to humanity from the Nazis and he asked the people to stand behind the British to fight against fascism. This went against the prevalent sentiment amongst the common Indian men and the leaders of the Congress who were in blind opposition to British. They were eager to go with Quit India movement at that juncture. The Communists took up his call for anti-fascist movement only after the Nazi’s attack on Russia. He had predicted that if Germany and the axis powers victorious in the war it will be the end of democracy in the world and India would never be independent. According to him India will get her freedom only in a free world. Luckily, the British and the allies won and India along with many other colonies got the freedom.

Ideologically Roy was in different view with Gandhiji in politics. Gandhiji viewed that in India politics cannot be separated from religion. Actually, Gandhiji’s dream for the building up of a Ramarajya sowed the seed for the formation of separate Muslim state, for which India still bleeds. Within these dissimilarities, there were many similarities between Gandhiyan thought and Radical Humanism put forward by Roy, especially in the decentralization of political and economic power; the difference is that Roy was more rational and scientific. His perception and wide experience helped in the formation of a new and better ideology. He might have been strongly influenced by the thoughts of Bukharin (who had been killed by Stalin) and Kotsky.

Time revealed that Roy was right. The need of the hour is that the communists, socialists and all the anti-fascist secular organisations work together to save our democracy from peril and it will be the best tribute that Indians can offer to Roy – the greatest political philosopher of our time.

Published in ‘THE RADICAL HUMANIST’ (February 2006).

The Reincarnation

(Note: In day-today life we often encounter such situations as Mr. Abel Correa experienced on his first visit to Cannanore. May be unscientific, my explanation to this phenomenon is that along with other traits, shocking memories also move across generations through genes. This is an English translation of my Malayalam short story published in Sameeksha - 2006 April). 


Albeit he wore a pair of high-heeled shoes an eerie sensation rapt his body through his feet with the first step on the terra firma of Cannanore. He was stepping down from the bus. However a weird sensation.

He recalled, ''Cannanore was an important port on the Arabian Sea which carried out trade with Persia and Arabia in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries and it was the British military headquarters on India's west coast up to 1887. In conjunction with her elder sister Tellicherry it was the third biggest city in the western coast of British India in the eighteenth century, next only to Bombay and Karachi. Mahe River, which divided the British Tellicherry and French Mahe was then famed as the English Channel of Asia''.

Abel Correa was reaching Cannanore for the first time and for him it was the fulfilment of a long cherished dream. Even though he had visited almost all places of Kerala as a medical representative, it was his maiden trip to his ancestral town, which was spiritually connected to him through his father’s reminiscences.

His father Hudson Correa and his grandpa Wilson Correa were born and brought up at this, once most famous, old town of Malabar. After graduation from the near by Brennan College, Hudson joined as a Tea-Maker in a Tea estate in Talapoya which is a hamlet near Manantoddy in Wynad. The English & Scottish Joint Stock Company owned the estate. Almost at that time Abel’s grandpa had disposed off his assets in Cannanore and migrated to Cochin, another famous town in Malabar Coast. Hudson was married to Abel’s mummy, Maria, from Cochin and Abel was born in Wynad.

After coming out from the bus stand Abel passed through the rail under bridge and walked towards the west. But for his surprise, when he reached near the old military ground whatever he saw seemed to be very familiar to him. The Saint Angelo fort, the Saint Michael’s school and every thing seemed to be very familiar, even the culverts and footpaths were by heart.

“I am coming here for the first time, then why these delusions”, Abel wondered, “Some miracle has happened”.

Each nook and corner of this never seen city was seemed to be very familiar to Abel. Abel advanced through the familiar but unknown path. Pretty odd. He walked on some unknown intuition, on his premonition. At last he reached near a tile thatched old house. An ancient stone stairs exceeds into the widened path. It seemed to be very familiar to Abel.

“This may be my ancestral house”, he thought, “Where my Papa and Grandpa were born and brought up”.

Abel spent some moments before the stairs, remembering his ancestors.

Then he started to climb up the stairs, which was beyond his control. His feet carried him to the courtyard. Without any hesitation his feet moved further on and he climbed to the lobby. Nobody was there. He entered into the room. In the kitchen doorstep, he saw a girl in skirt and chemise sitting opposite to the door and oiling her legs, may be for bathing. Abel went near to her. Her face was very acquainted.

'Yes, it is sure, she is Madhavi, no doubt.’ Inadvertently he called her “Madhavee”.

In surprise she turned and found him, a stranger inside the house, she frightened and screamed, “ Uncle, a thief here, hurry”.

Abel lost his self for a moment; somehow he managed to regain his consciousness and understood the gravity of the situation. He ran back, but before the first turn he got a fast blow. He fell down on the floor. Abel saw a middle-aged man wearing a folded dhoti - Rairu Nambiar. He couldn’t say why, anyhow that name came to the tip of his tongue.

Crying out loudly Rairu Nambiar ran to him with his raised leg to trample Abel. Abel got a hard blow on his abdomen. He wriggled out with pain. Abel called the girl, “Madhavee, tell Rairu not to trample me anymore”.

That middle aged man hanged him on his shirt-collar and asked, “Why, you pig, crying out calling my mother and uncle who were died far back?” He pushed him out.

Abel fell down on his back in the courtyard. Madhavi, who was not Madhavi, withhold her uncle. Rairu Nambiar, who was not Rairu Nambiar, was screaming towards him for another attack.

Collecting all the remaining energy Abel rolled over and got up from the courtyard and leaped to the earthen path within a fraction of a second.

Even though his body was sweating and crumbling with pain, his mind was very calm and there were no incomprehensible thoughts inside him at that piece of time.

The Metamorphosis

(Turtle and tortoise are the common names for the reptiles living with a shell in the group Chelonia. However usually, the term ‘turtle’ has been applied to the marine species and the term ‘tortoise’ is employed for the slow moving terrestrial species. In this story, the term ‘Land turtle’ has been used purposefully.)

Turtles are biological beings having some exciting strange behaviors - amphibians; they live in sea but lay eggs in seashore. They will come to the uninhabited shores, dig in the sand, and lay the eggs and will return to the sea. Like iron granules attracted to the magnet, the hatched out babe turtles will swim through the sands to the sea; even if we forcibly misdirected. Certainly a strange phenomenon.

Like these turtles, our Buji – the turtle keeper of Kolavi beach – another biological being, also has some typical strange behaviors. He will catch the smell of local brew from any distance and will reach there in no time. He got his name Buji as the acronym of bhudhi jeevi means intellectual, by walking along with some of his friends who were pretending themselves as intellectuals. Contrary to the spirit of his nickname, Buji will behave like a drunken monkey if he got intoxicated. He may bite, or scuff his fellow table partners.

At dawn, today, that Buji alias Land Turtle dived into the sea.

This turtle embodiment was to the earth in the late 1950s in a no man’s land. Like him, his land also has some peculiarities. At times this land will be in Kadathanad and it will be in Kurumbranad at other times. Moorad River is the natural boundary of these two counties. In each sixty years or so, the river will change its course and open to the sea in different locations about three kilometers apart. If it opens in the South, the land will be with Kadathanad, if it opens in the North, the same land will be in Kurumbranad. Of course, a strange situation and no title deed for the land.The latest development in the ultimate metamorphosis of this special breed Land Turtle to Turtle is as follows.

Buji, who was an ex-vocal revolutionary, got a job in a Public Enterprise seven years ago. From then on he was living an almost sound life in a nuclear family – with his wife Vanaja and a five-year-old son, Vasu.Six months back it started – a pain from the lower abdomen. Not on all days. Some times the pain will be severe. He thought the uneasiness may be due to gas trouble and took some local medicines. Not relieved. An English Apothecary at Tellicherry branded it as hernia and adjudicated that it could be cured only through a surgery and advised him to see a surgeon.Even if Buji alias Land turtle had once believed in bloodshed revolution, he felt fear even to hear the words like surgery and operation.

Around that spell, a yoga healer came to settle near his den – Rajan Vaidyar. Buji’s wife Vanaja had heard about the healer from some of her friends. As per her advice, Buji went to see the healer, and she accompanied him.

Rajan Vaidyar is a bearded man; some white hairs are forming a lining for his beard. He wore a saffron dhoti and covered by a saffron upper cloth. Something incredible in his eyes, which we could not decode easily. Buji liked him; so also might be his wife.

Healer examined him by gently pressing his abdomen.“Nothing to worry about”, he told to Vanaja, “it can be cured easily. Operation is not required. He has to do some special types of yoga each day and has to walk for two hours between four and six in the morning, everyday. Special care should be taken not to exert any pressure on the lower abdomen.”

Vanaja was very anxious about her husband’s health status like any other wife. Daily, before the arrival of Buji from his office, she used to collect the details from the healer about the exercises that should be done by him that day. She used to start the treatment protocol from the moment he just entering the house.

That chaste woman bought an alarm timepiece and set the alarm at 4 am and daily it was put on.Everyday he will start his toddle from the Kolavi beach and touch the National Highway and return – six kilometers in two hours. For first one or two weeks, it was very tiresome. Thereafter he actually enjoyed it. He met with anglers, newspaper boys, milk vendors etc. He was acquainted with some of them. He used to take torch, on days when there was no moonlight.

Nevertheless, today that happened. As usual, he woke up at 4’o clock, took a coffee from the flask, locked the door from outside without annoying the sleeping wife and child and started the walk.After walking about thirty minutes, on an unknown perception, he felt that the door was not locked properly. He stopped for a while in uncertainty, thinking whether to walk forward or return and confirm.Buji decided to return.Entering the courtyard, he went to the backdoor and checked the lock. Nothing to worry about, it was locked properly.

“An unnecessary exercise”, he thought and turned for the next lap of foot.

Just then, he noticed a light from one of their bedrooms that they are not using regularly.

“I have not entered that room; then why Vanaja switched on the light in that room in this odd time”, he wondered.

Buji stretched out to get hold of the window and peeped into the room. Stunning darkness flared his eyes.Vanaja might be doing yoga. She was on the cot. Above the cot and above Vanaja, there was Rajan Vaidyar not on saffron but on body colour.

Buji’s hands slackened off and he sank to the earth. First, he put one hand on his abdomen then the other and slowly arched down.

His hands converted as front leg supports for swim and by stressing the back legs in the sand, he, the turtle, progressed towards the sea, like any other turtle.

The first stroke with the sea made Buji’s sensations ascended to a new altitude; the metamorphosis was completed and it dived to the depth of the sea....