THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: “Strange as it sounds, I can confidently say that I was exposed to politics at the young age of three. Back in those days, my mother’s ancestral house was like a shelter home for numerous freedom fighters,” reminisces octogenarian Manjippuzha Natarajan, a politician-turned-writer-artist who continues to be active in social affairs.
Born to artists M A Velu and N Devasena in 1936 at Karunagapalli taluk in Chavara, Thekkumbhagam, most of Natarajan’s primary education was in Kollam and Kottayam.
The state was going through a politically volatile situation at the time. His first tryst with political activism came at the age of ten when he was studying at Nair Samajam School Karapuzha.
He took part in a march led by then Congress leader M M Jacob against police brutalities. In 1950 when his father died, he had to put his education on hold for two years. That’s when he decided to explore his father’s artdom so as to complete his father’s unfinished works.
With the help of his father’s students, Natarajan completed the paintings that were to be handed over to those who had already paid for them. He then went to Bengaluru to work on film banners. Later, he came to Kerala to get his education back on track, even while pursuing an artistic career.
Even though he indulged in all art forms, he was mostly known for his paintings. He now has more than 150 paintings to his credit. Natarajan often wrote as well.
“One of my fondest memories as a budding writer was in 1965 when one of my works, ‘Kanmuna kallimullupole aruthapol’, got published. It was termed as one of the good stories during that time by the then chief editor of Kalakaummudy, N Ramachandran,” he recalls.
In 1960, Natarajan bagged a job with the state education department and served at Irinjalikuda, Ponnani, Manarkaadu, Ottapalam and Thiruvananthapuram. “I always strived to use my political knowledge for people and the unions,” he says. Notably, Natarajan played a crucial role as an NGO union leader too.
Later, Natarajan started his law practice to serve society. “I never used to demand lawyer fees. People could give me whatever they wanted. I believe that one should only pay according to capacity,” he says.
Though hampered by blurry vision, Natarajan continues to dabble in art, a refuge for him in myriad ways. And so, even at the age of 86, Natarajan is still going strong.