THRISSUR: It is a usual sight in the political scenario of the state that candidates seek people’s mandate on the legacy of their forefathers and fatherly figures.
But in the case of Nivedita Subramanian, her maiden fight at the age of 45 is something like a trip down the memory lane - a flood of thoughts that brings back the sour memories of the past gloomy days behind the bars at an age of three along with her mother during Emergency period. For Nivedita, who tries her luck on BJP ticket in the assembly elections from Guruvayur, life has always been filled with unexpected trials and tribulations and challenges. Nivedita courted arrest along with her mother Radha Balakrishnan for participating in the protest marches organized against the Emergency imposed by Indira Gandhi in 1975. Though she was spared by the police when her mother was arrested, the young kid was not ready to leave her mother alone and she accompanied her to the Palakkad Kotta jail.
Speaking to ‘Express,’ she said there was a boy in the jail and he had also reached the jail along with his parents. I don’t remember his name and whereabouts, despite meeting a few times inside the jail. After some days, we were allowed by authorities to move around the jail compound for a couple of hours during day time after a plea was made to this effect,” she said. “But the one-month long jail term never dampened my spirit in the childhood, but it only provided the energy to face the challenges and the odds in the life. “The unexpected departure of my husband and my in-laws in a road accident in 2007 and the death of my mother, who was the state president of Mahila Morcha, three years ago, have created a lot of vacuum that can’t be filled, of late. And I was struggling with my three kids to overcome the loss,” she said. She was never upset over the material loss and gains in life. Here in the elections too, Nivedita, an advocate by profession, is not bothered about the verdict. Nivedita, a holder of BA and law degrees, is currently pursuing her masters degree in law from Annamalai University.