KOZHIKODE: For Punathil Kunjabdulla, a writer’s commitment to a reader was a plain statement with no inhibitions. Though he was an eloquent revolutionary, it was his openness and boldness that underlined his works.
“Smarakasilakal” which won both Kendra Sahitya Akademi Award (1980) and Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award (1978) reinforced him as a writer who transformed real life characters and the world around him into narrative beauty with visionary modernism.
His sudden decision to contest Assembly elections in 2001 on BJP ticket was an aberration for many but he put it simple in an interview saying he discovered ‘truth’ in politics and therefore decided to contest on a BJP ticket. “They were the first to offer me a ticket. If the Congress or the CPM had offered me a ticket first, I would have accepted it. It is my commitment to the people and not any kind of affinity towards any particular party, that inspires me.”
His works enjoyed a vast readership for its simplicity that touched upon the themes of love, lust, selfishness and arrogance. Though his attentiveness to the surroundings was the core essence of his novels and short stories, Punathil touched up on various genres of writing through memoirs, travelogue and cookery book.
Instead of depicting women in moodily love, he celebrated lust, passion of love and beauty through his women characters. The women characters in “Kure Sthreekal”, “Pranaya Kathakal” and “Ente Kamukimarum Mattu Kathakalum” represented life as it is and the underlying tone was the lust.
“He was the first breed of writer who really brought in modernism in writing. He never bothered about the idealists, social and moral apostles. He was an honest writer who openly debated on lust, love and passion. His openness was his true strength,” said critic and writer M N Karassery.
Despite belonging to Muslim community, he was the most daring writer in North Malabar to confront the power of religious culture though opinions, bold visions and enlightened thoughts. His works too portrayed the contradictory life of Muslim women existing under the masculine culture.
“He stood against conventional morality. He was a writer without a mask. His decision to contest the assembly polls on BJP ticket was an attempt to destroy the preconceived communal agenda existing in society,” said social critic and writer Hameed Chennamangaloor.
“Punathil questioned pseudo moralities of conventional society and spoke against it. He was a writer of the mass and his works reflected the true world around us. It was with much ease that he penned his works absorbing the true life of the people. He was what he wrote and stood for. A humble and true human being,” said poet K P Ramanunni.
A messenger of anti-communalism: CM
Punathil Kunjabdulla was a writer with an innate sense of the throbbing pulse of contemporary life, opined Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. “He communicated with his readers in the language of the common man. His magical touch made his works a compelling read. He was one writer who viewed the world through the eyes of a cartoonist,” Pinarayi said. ‘Smarakasilakal’, Punathil’s masterpiece was an epic on the religious harmony in North Malabar. The work reflected an entire era as such. Punathil’s works convey a strong message against communalism, Pinarayi said.
A doctor with healing touch
Apart from being an eminent writer who made it big in the literary world, Punathil Kunjabdulla was also a dedicated doctor who had served in tribal colonies of Wayanad. He did MBBS course from Aligarh Muslim University where he stayed for a period of nine years (1961 to 1970). His works were influenced by his life as a doctor and the book ‘Marunnu’ portrayed his experiences as an MBBS student and a doctor. From 1970 to 1973 , he worked in government hospital and later ran a private nursing home from 1974 to 1996. It was from 1999 that he worked as a medical doctor in the tribal colonies in Wayanad district.