Gravedigger to fisherman: M S Arun Kumar stands tall among candidates for Kerala elections

To earn a livelihood for his three-member family, the 32-year-old LDF candidate in Mavelikkara had done various jobs, including that of a gravedigger, from his childhood.
Mavelikkara LDF candidate Arunkumar
Mavelikkara LDF candidate Arunkumar

ALAPPUZHA: M S Arunkumar, the LDF candidate in Mavelikkara seat, is an exception among those in
the fray for the coming assembly polls. To earn a livelihood for his three-member family, the 32-year-old had done various jobs, including that of a gravedigger, from his childhood.

Living in a modest house situated on three cents at Kallimel in Mavelikkara, he has also been a construction worker, daily labourer and painter. Arunkumar's plight began when he was just 13, said his friend Akshy Ashok. "His father had died of a heart attack when Arunkumar was studying in Class VIII at
Pop Pious HSS, Kattanam. He got admission to boarding  school, when then district panchayat under former MP C S Sujatha rolled out a scheme to adopt studious SC students belonging to economically backward families. The meagre income of his mother Vilasini, who worked as a domestic help in nearby houses, was the sole income of the family which also included his sister. He had also done minor jobs like painting and other works during the school holidays and summer vacation. After finishing Plus two, he enrolled for the BA English(Language& Literature) course at Bishop Moore College, Mavelikkara. He was an SFI member during his college days and went on to become the college union chairman," said Akshy.

Mathew Samuel, church 'mooppan' (caretaker) of Kallimel Kalluvalayam St Thomas Orthodox Church, where Arunkumar had worked as a gravedigger many times to keep the home fires burning, recalled him as a hardworking youth who was brilliant in academics. "He was studious and collected text books and books for reading from nearby families where his mother worked. As a source of additional  income, he
caught fish from the Achankovil river and sold it to customers from the roadside. He is the pride of our village," Mathew said.

Arunkumar is now DYFI state committee member, State Youth Commission district coordinator and CPM Mavelikkara area committee member. He is currently pursuing LLB  at the Kerala University. Arunkumar is married to Sneha Suresh and the couple has a daughter, Alaida.

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