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Thomas’
first venture as writer deserves praise |
 Prof
K.V.Thomas, former Minister for Tourism, makes his debut as
an author with “ENTE KUMBALANGI”. It is quite
unusual and uncommon for politicians to don the cap of a writer.Former
Prime Ministers PV Narasimha Rao and AB Vajpayee are the only
exceptions in this category. PV hit the bookstands all over
the country with his novel ‘The Outsider’ while
Vajpayee was more at home with his poetry than his politics.
Kerala too had a few politicians who penned books, but most
of them were propaganda materials for the ideology of the
parties in which they were members. KV Thomas has made a valiant
attempt to enter into the domain of authors. It is for the
readers to determine whether he has succeeded with his debut
work “ENTE KUMBALANGI”.
The book is about the island village Kumbalangi, where Thomas
was born as the son of Devassi Varkey and Rosa Varkey. Kumbalangi,
one of the many islands in the backwaters of Cochin is unique
in many respects, claims Thomas. Agriculture and fishing are
the main preoccupations of the people in the village. Thomas
portrays the life style of the village through some of the
characters that he used to meet quite regularly. The Kumbalangi
anecdotes remind one of Sardarji and Polish jokes, which evoke
instantaneous laughter.
Thomas Master, as he is popularly known, has done a good job
by bringing together a collection of his memoirs about the
Kumbalangi village in this small volume. The reader is taken
to the days of forties and fifties when there were no motorcars,
televisions, satellite channels or telephones. Radios were
quite rare during those days. The incident in which a gentleman
from the village going to mainland Ernakulam to buy a radio
speaks a lot about the nature of the people of Kumbalangi.
Master says the buyer asked for the radio in which Sankaranarayanan
reads news! And the opener from Thomas Master is about the
faux pas by the people of the Kumbalangi village who mistook
a Morris Minor car for a turtle.
 All
ingredients of the Kumbalangi village, including their favourite
dishes, drinks, mother-in-law Vs daughter-in-law tussle (which
is the same all over the state), social life etc has been
portrayed with an equal combination of fun and frolic. The
camaraderie existed in the villages and towns way back in
the fifties and sixties disappeared altogether with the advent
of science and technologies. Thomas grew up in the golden
era of Kerala when communal hatred and parochialism were unheard
of. The fact that he remembers a number of people in the Kumbalangi
village itself speaks volumes about his sincerity. The new
generation, which is coming up at Kumbalangi village, may
not be familiar with the next door neighbours. That too in
a village which has found place in the cyberspace. (Sthyavrithan,
who wrote the preface of the book says that Kumbalangi has
its own website!).
Though the initial attempt by Thomas to try his luck with
literature has not succeeded fully, he can sit back and take
credit for penning a book worth reading. How many among the
present day politicians are capable to recollect about their
hometowns or villages? But Prof Thomas could have put in some
more efforts to bring out the book in a professional manner.
NB Sudhir Nath’s illustrations add colour to the memoirs
by Thomas.
Ente Kumbalangi is a book worth reading though it is light
years behind RK Narayan’s“Malgudi Days”.
Sathyvrithan, a senior journalist who wrote the preface, could
have limited or curtailed his eloquence about the book. He
should have left it to the jurisdiction of the readers.
Ente Kumbalangi
Prof : K.V.Thomas
Pub : Orbit Media
Price: Rs.65/- |
Kumar
Chellappan |
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