The world is her oyster
Molly Joy, 61
Molly Joy’s life always revolved around her family and the grocery shop she has been running for 26 years at Chitrapuzha in Ernakulam. One personal reserve she clenched onto dearly, however, was her passion for travel. And that passion has taken her to 11 countries in the past 10 years. “I was brought up in a financially poor household,” says Molly, 61. “My parents never had enough money to send me on school tours. So the idea of travel became a dream, a fascination.”
After her husband’s demise, Molly, who had studied only till Class 10, ran the family’s shop – Molly’s Stores – all by herself to raise their two children. “As years passed, the desire to travel got rekindled as I read some travel magazines hung up for sale at the store,” she says. In 2007, her childhood dream took wings. Along with a group of neighbours, Molly went on a tour to places such as Madurai, Ooty, Kodaikanal, Palani, Mysuru, and Kovalam.
Noting her appetite for exploration, a friend named Mary, who worked as a nurse in Abu Dhabi, asked Molly to get a passport to visit Europe. Thus, at the age of 51, Molly went on her first foreign trip.
“I used my hard-earned money. To date, I’ve never asked even a single penny for my travel,” says Molly. “I’m the sort of Christian who works even on Easter Day, and I save.”
In 2017, she went to Singapore and Malaysia. Trips to the UK and US followed. Molly can’t stop gushing about her 15-day trip to London. “I went on a cruise from Amsterdam,” she says. Molly adds that she celebrated her 58th birthday in London. “I had never celebrated my birthday before. It used to be just another day, considering the situation I was living in. So the London celebration was special,” she says. Molly, who recently returned from a Thailand trip, says her travel plans are not done yet.
In Lord Byron’s footsteps
Sidharth P K, 24
John Keats’s Ode to a Nightingale and Lord Byron’s She Walks in Beauty inspired Sidharth P K to write about love in his teens. He soon drowned in the romantic world of P B Shelley, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and William Wordsworth. He was mocked by his peers in college. “Many people discouraged me; some ridiculed it as an ‘age-thing’,” says Sidharth, 24, who hails from Tripunithura in Kochi.
That, however, did not deter him. So far, Sidharth has compiled 12 books of poems. He, in fact, entered the India Book of Records in 2021 for authoring and publishing 10 poetry books in a year. “The first spark came from my father, who had asked me to pen down something instead of squabbling with my younger brother (laughs),” says Sidharth, a postgraduate in history.
While in high school, he started sending poems to local publishers. But most were rejected. Finally, one of his poems got published in a newspaper. He was a second-year graduate student then. In 2020-21, Sidharth published his first book, Soulful Melodies a collection of 30 poems. “As I had a lot of unpublished works, Father Joby, a professor in the department of zoology, advised me to write a book. That gave me motivation.”
Last month, Sidharth completed his latest compilation, Waiting a Thousand Years For you — My Love Songs. he says ‘The Byronic Hero’ is one element that remains deep in his heart. “I don’t have any experience in love,” smiles Sidharth. “Experiences shared by veteran writers and the many campus love stories that I witnessed have been my real-world inspirations.”
Brain and brawn
Raam Prasad R S, 39
One throws a few punches in a boxing ring for a few minutes and then settles down in front of a chess board for some mind games with the opponent. This is no scene from a spy thriller. It’s chess boxing.
A builder by profession, Raam Prasad R S from Kazhakootam in the capital city has been spearheading the offbeat sport in Kerala. He came across the hybrid sport in which two contestants compete with each other until one wins by checkmate or a knockout.
Raam, 39, is a national champ (senior category) in chess boxing, which is governed by the Kolkata-based Chess Boxing Organisation of India. He says he is grateful to his gym trainer, Shanthanu Vijayan, for introducing him to the physically and mentally gruelling sport.
Raam believes the game is slowly gaining momentum in India. “As far as I know, the game was formulated by French comic book artist Enki Bilal decades ago. It later grew as a competitive sport, and has gained popularity in countries such as the UK and Russia.” After emerging as a gold medalist in the 2021 national competition, Raam took part in the World Chess Boxing Championship a few months ago.
“One needs to have both mental and physical power to compete,” he says. “The rounds last three minutes each. Even if one is weak with punches, he or she can beat the opponent through powerful moves on the chessboard.”
Wild, wild zest
Dr Aswathy S, 30
As a child, Aswathy S always wondered who would care for sick or injured animals in the wild. That innocent thought inspired her to become a wildlife veterinarian. After graduating from the Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Pookode, Aswathy, 30, went on to do a fellowship from the American Association of Zoo and Wildlife Veterinarians. While at it, she got to treat some interesting patients, including tarantulas, ball pythons, crocodiles, albino iridescent shark fish, iguanas, meerkats, and ferrets.
Today, she runs a unique veterinary hospital ‘Treat Unusual’ in Haripad, where she attends to wild and exotic animals. It has a branch in Chikkamagaluru as well. “I love nature. Since childhood, I’ve had an affection for the wild,” says Aswathy, whose Treat Unusual has a branch in Chikkamangaluru too. “I noted that there weren’t enough facilities and specialisation available in Kerala. That’s one of the reasons why I started a centre for exotic animals.”
Aswathy says there is always an element of risk or adventure while dealing with animals that have unpredictable behaviour. Once, a forest department official brought a 13kg Indian rock python to her hospital. It was severely injured and was trapped in a fishing net.
“Surgery was performed, as its oesophagus was infected and it couldn’t consume food,” says Aswathy. “I treated the python for about two months. I respect the wild, and I’m conscious of the fact that any wild animal would react when it’s hurt. To feed it, I once tried to insert a tube into its mouth. Though the python was held by another person, somehow it slipped free and tried to bite me. I felt its teeth on my fingernail.”
Aswathy says she has many consultations from exotic animal farms in south India. “Since exotic animals can survive only in their habitat, I advise the farm owners and guide them on how to set up ideal habitats.” The youngster plans to visit other countries, including South Africa, to study more about the wild and introduce sophisticated facilities in Kerala.
Run, buddy, run
Bahuleyan S N, 44
Daily wager Bahuleyan S N, of Dhanuvachapuram in Thiruvananthapuram, loves running. And he uses his passion to raise funds for charity. “I was into athletics since childhood and self-trained to compete in 100 to 400m races at district, state and national championships,” he says. “I have several national and state-level medals. As a sportsperson, I always believed one should use God’s gift to support the needy. So I started turning my passion into a means to raise funds for ailing, underprivileged people.”
Bahuleyan, 44, entered the Limca Book of Records in 2006 for his solo, barefoot run from Kanyakumari to Kasaragod. It was planned as a fundraiser for cancer patients. Bahuleyan says the idea of fundraiser runs and races came up after the death of his uncle, who fought cancer two decades ago. “I attempted three charity solo runs at the age of 27, and contributed Rs 4.5 lakh to 60 cancer patients, That was the start,” he says.
Fast-forward to 2022. Bahuleyan continues his run. Recently, he completed a run from Parassala to Palakkad. However, he was able to collect only Rs 50,000. “That too was given to the needy,” he says.
“I am employed as a daily wage worker at Kollam District Sports Council. It is difficult to get leaves to make charity races as they may take weeks to complete.”
Now, he says, it is break time. “But I will soon plan another run. I can’t stop it. I find happiness when ordinary people who earn daily wages come forward and contribute to charity,” he says. “Getting to learn that humanity is not dead yet is the biggest motivator.”