MADURAI: Bombs and bloodshed, and eons behind bars. That’s how RP Ravichandran defines past.
For a man incarcerated for the better part of his life for his involvement in the murder of former PM Rajiv Gandhi, coping with the life outside was not a cakewalk. Still, Ravichandran picked up the pieces and is now the proud owner of a publishing house and a bookstore at Rajakambeeram near Madurai.
Ask him about his venture Kaaraa Publication, he would say it is to give a fillip to the writers whose pen bleeds for the voiceless.
His first book Rajiv Kolai Top Secret, released in 2018, was written as a response to the assassination case. In his second and third book (Oru Kannamoochi Aatam! Eluvar Viduthalaiyum Indiaya Arasamaippum! & Eluvar Viduthalaiya? Oruvar Vidhuthalaiya? Unmaiyum, Urutalum), Ravichandran said he had tried to cover the legal and political developments.
It was not easy, said Ravichandran while recollecting the years-long wait to collect the materials needed for his books. “Initially no one was ready to publish my works. Then, I came across Yaal Publication, which published two of my books. My third book was published by Yappu Publication,” he said.
Ravichandran’s latest work, an anthology of poems, Siraimozhi, was released by his own house on March 10.
Ravichandran also threw light on Senkodi Muthukumar Memorial Trust, which he started recently to help those who need assistance for education and medical expenses.