The culture and destiny of Kerala are largely shaped by the eternal palm of the land.The coconut tree — the Kera vriksham. It is the Kalpavriksham, the benign tree. From time immemorial Keralites have an ardent attachment to this plant, every part of which is useful to them one way or the other. For ordinary Keralites, the rise and fall in the price of coconut have deep impact in their day to day life.
Naturally, the coconut plucker also has attained a status and stature that is far above that of an ordinary labourer in Kerala. The relationship between an ordinary Malayali and his coconut plucker who belongs to the “thandan” community can’t be explained away easily.Even when caste and creed created unimaginable barriers between human beings in the past, these “thandans” and their womenfolk , the “thandathis” have gained entry into even thoroughly orthodox households as a special case.That was because ‘thandanmar ‘also have to perform other honourable duties in each household other than their normal labour. They were the main players at every important family functions.That was tradition. In between all these vital traditional functions there also occurs instances of trespasses into each other’s territory. There is a case of the birth of a lovely little girl nearby our home,who is called “vilakku”(light) by all of us because of her beauty and shine.The “thandathy” who gave birth to her have a meaningfully harmonious relation ship with her’ thampuran”,who is a man of honour and prestige in the area and a shining personality. Revese osmosis is also not unusual.
Our thandan Padmanabhan, was a man of honour and candid behaviour till his last breath.He had his own poojas and archanas every morning before venturing into his daily work. He was the most silent man I have ever come across. He plucked down coconuts with a soft cut, as if he does not want to hurt the tree.His wife Naani was poles apart from his character and demeanours. So much so that Naani was in everybody’s tongue for good and bad reasons.
Those are memories of the past. Padmanabhan is no more.Nani still alive,but walking down her steps towards the sea shore,in her twilight years. The shining ‘Thampuran’ is also gone.The ‘Vilakku’ is burning still, elsewhere.
It is now the turn of Sasi, the incumbent plucker. In his early 40s,he is a ‘thandan’ with many attributes.With not so many in his community willing to toe the path of their traditional vocation, people like Sasi have a heyday. Always on the move from one tree to another, one home to another, his mobile is perhaps the busiest one in that genre.A person with supreme skills, physical as well as mental, he earns the wrath and respect of many at the same time. Mostly on account of his busy schedule, he misses a lot of time-limits. An ace broker, he makes it a point to fix a price to any commodity, movable or immovable, that is open for sale.
Sasi is lean like a gymnast and climbs up trees like a wild cat.Some would say Sasi would dash down along with the plucked coconut in the same speed.He once told me that it is easy for him to climb than to walk.When recently my son came home with a bout of chicken pox, Sasi was around attending on him. “It is our duty to do so,” he reminded me. The whole household was gripped in a sense of fear and anxiety.