THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: S Ramesan Nair, who died in Kochi on Thursday, had triggered a political storm in Kerala through a short radio play in 1994. As the ruling Congress and the then chief minister K Karunakaran took offence to the story line of the play ‘Sathabhishekam’, he was transferred to Port Blair station of the All India Radio from Thiruvananthapuram. He refused to accept the transfer and quit the job.
It was on October 16, 1994, that AIR Thiruvananthapuram aired ‘Sathabhishekam’ as part of a national radio play festival. The play was about an old ‘tharavadu’ (family home) and a ‘karanavar’ (patriarch) who had lost his mental equilibrium because of old age.
‘Ashtamangalyathu tharavadu’ had been rich and owned acres of land in the past. The head of the family, Kittumman, was a terror in his prime. However, as age caught up with him, he became weak and his memory started to fade. His wife, Bharanakshi Amma, soon took over the reins of the administration of invaluable assets under the possession of the ‘tharavadu’ and plotted with her supporters, led by Eshani Kumar, to siphon the wealth off to her ancestral home.
The couple did not have any offspring. When Bharanakshi Amma’s younger sister died, her son Kingini Kuttan was brought home. The boy was portrayed as mentally challenged. Kittumman’s blind love for the adopted son prompted him to fetch whatever Kingini Kuttan demanded. When Kittumman was bedridden, Bharanakshi Amma and Kingini Kuttan planned to celebrate his ‘sathabhishekam’ (84th birthday) with all pomp.
The radio play became an instant hit as there had been a huge outrage against the ways of K Karunakaran. The ISRO espionage case became a controversy around that time and a section of Congress leaders and UDF constituents started to plot the ouster of Karunakaran, which finally happened in early 1995. There was strong criticism within the Congress over the alleged move by Karunakaran to promote his son K Muraleedharan in the party ranks, out of the way.
The play was a quick effort from Ramesan Nair who took less than three hours to finish it. While the play was on air, many places in the state faced power cuts as pro-Congress KSEB workers allegedly tried to disrupt the broadcast. Later, while discussing about the controversy triggered by the play, Ramesan Nair recalled, “I am not into party politics. I don’t belong to any group or organisation.”
TOP 5 HITS of RAMESAN NAIR
O Priye... Aniyathipravu (1997)
Deva Sangeetham... Guru (1997)
Poomukha vaathikkal... Rakkuyilin Ragasadassil (1986)
Chandanam Manakkunna... Achuvettante Veedu (1987)
Vibhavaree Ragam... Rishyasringan (1997)