THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: When Sugathakumari has succumbed to novel coronavirus, it reminds one of meaningful coincidences or synchronicity in her life.
Around six years ago, this correspondent met her at Abhaya, an organisation established to care for the destitute women, at Vanchiyoor here.
The purpose of the meeting was to persuade her to give her voice-over to a documentary titled ‘Gods in Shackle’ shot by Sangita Iyer, which exposes the cruelty towards the captive elephants in the state. When I showed the visuals of elephant torture, she broke into tears and asked me to stop playing them.
It took around 30 minutes for the ardent elephant lover to regain her composure. And she asked me not to play the visuals anymore.
Later, she gave the voice-over to the one-and-a-half-hour-long movie, nominated for the prestigious International Elephant Film Festival at the UN General Assembly and won over a dozen international film festival awards for shedding light on the dark underbelly of the temple festivals in Kerala which mistreats and exploits the elephants in the name of God.
She also visited Guruvayur elephant yard after reports of ill-treatment of jumbos there and submitted a slew of suggestions to the state government to ensure the well-being of the captive elephants in the state. She then told The New Indian Express that captive elephants were being tortured in the name of God and religion in Kerala. If anyone raises his/her voice against the cruelties against elephants, the person was treated as anti-religion and an atheist.
To a large extent Covid-19 virus has helped bring to a halt to the torture meted towards elephant. The virus that has taken her life has come to the rescue of the tortured jumbos in Kerala even as the state governments have failed to implement most of her suggestions.
The tuskers have been cooling their heels in the state without any festivals, thanks to Covid-19, but it has taken away the beloved poet of Kerala.
Speaking to The New Indian Express from Canada, Sangita, executive producer of ‘Gods in Shackle’, said, “I’m devastated to hear the news about my beloved teacher. I’m crying. But I can’t hold her in this physical body. Her spirit will always be with me. I watched her in awe, giving voice to the elephants fearlessly, and articulating clearly. As much as her demise is a colossal loss for humanity, captive elephants have lost a powerful voice with her demise,” she said.