KALPETTA: Writer, Playwright and activist K J Baby, popularly known as Kanavu Baby, passed away on Sunday. He was 70. He was found dead in a building near his house in Nadavayal, Wayanad. The primary conclusion of the Kenichira police is that he died by suicide.
The police have found a suicide note which mentions Baby’s struggles to cope with the loneliness and depression after his wife Sherley’s demise in 2021. He had also been suffering various health issues recently.
Baby was the founder of Kanavu alternative school which focuses on the education and personality development of Scheduled Tribe students. He was also a noted figure in the socio-cultural arena and a winner of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi award.
He was born on February 27, 1954 in Mavilayi, Kannur. In 1973, when he was 19, Baby’s family migrated to Wayanad. He got to know the artistic and cultural life of the tribal groups of Wayanad and was influenced by the community’s folklores and tribal legends.
His play Nadugaddika holds a significant position in Malayalam literature. The play was inspired by the tribal ritual called Gaddika, performed to drive away demons and ghosts that plague the country, clan, house and individuals. The title Nadugaddika comes from the meaning of performing gaddika for the country.
The play, which was staged throughout Kerala during the Emergency, was a major intervention in Dalit literature in Malayalam. Nadugaddika, which presented the problems of Dalits, their culture, life struggles and resistance in the changing society through emotional language in a street theater style, attracted a lot of attention.
Wayanad Samskarika Vedi, a Wayanad-based group, mobilised 18 artists and performed Nadugaddika across Kerala. On May 22, 1981, the organisers of the play were arrested by the police at Muthalakulam in Kozhikode. Although the first attempt was blocked, Nadugaddika was presented many times at different places after 12 years by another group led by Baby.
After Nadugaddika, Baby wrote Mavelimanram, a novel that showcased Malayalam literature, the cultural and heritage richness of the tribal community. It depicts the diversity in their language, folklore and customs. The novel won the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award. Baby’s other renowned works include Bespurkkana, Goodbye Malabar, Uyirppu and Kunjappante Kurishu Maranam.
He is a recipient of Muttathu Varkey award, TV Kochubava Literary Award, Akam Award, Joseph Mundassery Memorial Literary Awardand the award from Bharat Bhavan, a cultural Institution working under the department of culture, Kerala, for his contributions to the village drama.
In 1994, Kanavu, an alternative education centre providing education to people belonging to tribal backward classes, was founded. In 2006, Baby withdrew from the Kanavu’s administration and handed over the responsibility to his disciples who studied there.
The body was handed over to the relatives after a postmortem at Sultan Bathery Taluk Hospital. His body will be kept in the Nadavayal Cooperative College Hall from 10am to 12pm on Monday for the public to pay homage, followed by his cremation at the Shanthi Kavadam Crematorium at Thrissilery.