THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Samaanahridaya, ninakkaayy padunnen (for you like-minded hearts, I sing), a poetic line penned by Sugathakumari -- poet, environmentalist, social activist and one of the most genuine humanists of our times -- aptly captures her own life and times.
“After spending an entire lifetime writing, I am left with only a handful of poems...what with a thousand hands reaching upto me, I am able to hold on only to a few. But I'm sure thousands of trees at faraway places have a place in their hearts for me. I’m content with it,” was how she herself sought to sum up her poetic life, when The New Indian Express had caught up with her, as she turned 84 in January 2018.
A poet of deep compassion who penned brilliant works like ‘Ambalamani’ and ‘Rathrimazha’, Sugathakumari will undoubtedly remain in the hearts of many for leading several social struggles, be it the Silent Valley protest, the ‘Krishnavanam’ movement or setting up the ‘Abhaya’ home.
Sugathakumari had time and again warned that Nature would retaliate like never before. She loved to quote from TS Eliot's 'The Hollow Men' to showcase the rampant destruction of resources, unmindful of the environment:
“This is the way the world ends,
this is the way the world ends,
this is the way the world ends,
not with a bang
but with a whimper.”
The Silent Valley protest played a significant role in shaping her as an environmentalist. Her inner glee often shone through while she narrated to rapt listeners the story of 'Krishnavanam' -- how she was instrumental in giving a new lease of life to a dried-up forest.
On one such occasion, after a long and fruitful interaction with her friends from the Bommiyampadi tribal settlement in Attappady, Sugathakumari reminisced that at the time she had embarked on that long tiresome journey to nurture a thoroughly dry patch, the land had looked parched and the dried-up rivers had seemed like wandering ghosts.
“It was a challenging job with no money and one was not sure whether the plants would thrive. But Nature healed herself. If we plant 10,000 saplings, Nature herself would plant 30,000 more. If we sowed a hundred seeds, the birds would bring along another 1000 seeds.”
It was Sugathakumari who established 'Abhaya', a home for the destitute in the state capital, braving stiff opposition and criticism pouring in from various corners.
Speaking to The New Indian Express about her association with Abhaya, she had recalled how she chanced upon some people at the Mental Hospital a couple of decades ago – an incident which led her to seriously contemplate setting up a home for the homeless. Since then, Abhaya has become a household name in Kerala for homeless women, the mentally deranged, drug addicts and other societal outcastes.
Sugathakumari has breathed her last. But, as she chose to say, thousands at faraway places will breath her memories forever.