It happened in 1984. Almost a quarter century ahead of the world’s expression of concern for global warming, a poet in Kerala penned an elegy to Mother Earth. The poem, Bhoomikkoru Charamageetham (A Dirge to Earth) was an eye-opener that gave a much-needed push to the green movement in Kerala.
Ottaplakkal Neelakanta Velu Kurup, popularly known as ONV, is a poet who never lets his conscience sleep. Equally acclaimed as an activist, teacher and orator, ONV has earned the wrath of many for his uncompromising stand on several issues. But the Jnanpith Award of 2007 has silenced his critics.
“I am renewing my pledge to be honest till the end,” was his first response to the award of the country‘s greatest literary honour. Four days after the announcement, when we met him, ONV was thrilled to hear that Prof TJ Joseph had written a letter with his left hand congratulating the poet. (Joseph’s right hand was recently chopped off by fanatics following a controversy over a question paper set by him).
“His mistake might have been a casual error. Look how we punished him. First, physical torture, then ostracism,” said ONV. “I feel honoured that Joseph treated me as a friend. Whatever your faith — whether you are a believer or an atheist — becoming a good human being is the greatest deed”. One of his famous poems equates ‘humans who lost humaneness’ to ‘snakes who lost their precious stones’.
“We Shall Overcome”, the anthem of the US civil rights movement, still energises the veteran poet who will turn 80 next May. He asserts that
poetry is the response of a poet to a particular human situation. “Simply because there is a slogan in every poem, you can’t dismiss it as sloganeering. If a slogan is what a particular situation demands, the poet needs to write such a poem. Even the great Neruda penned such a poem, We Demand Punishment”.
Kurup is a known sympathiser of Marxism. “My love for Marxism is that it gives the best blueprint for an equal society. It is the one movement that gives the feeling that another world is possible, a world where ‘each for all and all for each’ prevails.”
For him, the old Soviet Union is still paradise on earth. “I was there during the communist regime and after its demise. I experienced the difference. I hated Gorbachev.”
In 1989, ONV contested the parliamentary election from Thiruvananthapuram as a CPI-backed independent. He lost. But he doesn’t regret donning the mantle of an activist. “It has only benefited me,” he said.
Recently, the poet was seen inaugurating a sit-in strike in front of the secretariat to protest the proposed acquisition of land for road-widening from the poet Kumaranasan’s memorial in Thiruvananthapuram. “I couldn’t bear it when I heard they were demolishing the memorial,” he justified.
“I have some plans and hope to work them out soon,” said the poet when asked about his next major work. He is also leading the movement in Kerala for classical language status for Malayalam. “I will speak about it again only after Malayalam gets classical status,” was his reply when quizzed about the movement. ONV is coordinating a document being prepared by a group of linguists to prove that Malayalam deserves classical status. The success of this mission will surely be a second Jnanpith for him.
b_sreejan@expressbuzz.com
