THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Coming from cold country, he was not greeted with a cold shoulder!
When Shakir Yousf left Baramulla, in Kashmir, he was burdened with the uncertainty of a youth entering an unfamiliar world. But, in Keralam, far removed from the snow-clad mountains and people he grew up with, he found a campus that gave him a voice and fellow students who warmed up to him.
The over 2,500-km gulf may not have not narrowed. But Shakir’s fear of alienation has. Today, the 20-year-old Kashmiri is the union chairperson of Konni St Thomas College, in Pathanamthitta district, a position he says he could hardly have imagined when he first stepped onto the campus.
“I enrolled for the college’s BBA course. Initially, everything was new to me. I did not know any Malayalam,” says Shakir. “I reached Konni on August 10. The very next day, at the college’s freshers’ day event, I kept to myself. However, the other students approached me to break the ice. Soon, I was dancing with them, making friends and creating memories.” The first Malayalam words he memorised — “sukham ano” (how are you), “vellam” (water) and “chor” (rice) — proved essential to get along.
Just a month later, on September 29, Shakir was unanimously elected college union chairperson under the banner of the Students’ Federation of India (SFI). Former students of St Thomas College who are leftist leaders noticed his popularity and suggested his name for the post. “After thinking it over for a day, I accepted the offer,” he says.
As union chairperson, Shakir wants to be the voice of students. “I want to make sure that students can approach me whenever they need help,” he adds.
“Earlier, there were several student organisations in the college which witnessed fierce elections. However, after the management reduced the student strength, the other organisations lost their support base, while SFI retained its,” points out SFI Pathanamthitta district secretary Anandhu Madhu.
After his Plus-II, Shakir decided to pursue higher studies outside Kashmir. His father suggested Bengaluru or Chandigarh, but Shakir chose Keralam after some online research. His father Mohammad Yousf, a government employee, and mother Rohie were reluctant to send their elder son so far from their village of Kongamdara Pattan. Shakir contacted a family friend, Prof Rahe, a faculty member at Mahatma Gandhi University, to persuade them. He also convinced his cousin Faizan to move to Keralam. “I wanted to get out of my comfort zone,” he explains.
For a person only used to Kashmir’s winters, adapting to Keralam’s humid tropical climate was a challenge. Then there was the food.
“Here, every item on the menu is spicy.” Though he enjoys idli, puttu and appam, it is Kerala porotta that has charmed him. Shakir has also won the affection and respect of local residents with his cricketing skills.