Sugathakumari's life is never separable from her writing. Hence, an appreciation of her poetry is never complete without a critique of her social interventions. Perhaps for the same reason, Sugathakumari has always been the odds-on favorite to be the Malayali voice of conscience and humanity, much like Maheswatha Devi for Bengal.
Sugathakumari teacher has written a lot about Krishna. But not anymore. Why?
I have written a lot about him... sung a lot for him; yes, he fills my heart. I will write when I feel I should ‘sing’ more.
Our family deity is Thiruvaranmula Appan – the guru who taught us to battle hard for values and never expect rewards. It is inevitable that we carry in our hearts a bit of that power.
Sugathakumari recalled the Aranmula agitation against plans for an airport that would have destroyed thousands of acres of agricultural land. The environmentalist was in the forefront of the legal battle that won in the Supreme Court.
Apparently, when Aranmula celebrated its first harvest festival after the verdict, the state minister of agriculture visited the poet-activist with a beautiful ear of grain and a basket full of rice.
What was your response to Zachariah calling you a guerrilla fighter of the RSS?
I did not respond. But when his words boiled over in my mind, I wrote a poem: 'Randaale Gurukkanmaar' (I have only two gurus). It was our parents who embedded Swami Vivekananda and Gandhiji in our hearts.
Aren't you happy that the battles for Malayalam have found success to an extent?
Certainly. Let me thank the government for making Malayalam our compulsory official language. I must also thank (minister) Raveendranath for his sincere efforts to improve educational standards.
However, despite being honored with the throne of Great Language, the Mother is still out there, waiting in the Sun. Even the so-called play schools allow only English. A three-year-old is interviewed in English. None of these have changed.
Eating habits have also become controversial.
A few years back, when we went to Pooyamkutty, a local tea shop offered parotta and beef for breakfast. Malayali's food habits have gone topsy-turvy. Pizza and KFC chicken are the first choices of children whose parents ate home-grown vegetables when they grew up. Anyone criticizing it as unhealthy is called an upper-caste fascist.
Beef is a major controversy now. What is your view of cow slaughter?
I have written that manslaughter is by no means an end to cow slaughter. Non-veg wasn't banned in India. Some societies developed the idea of total vegetarianism after the spread of Jainism and Buddhism. Definitely, non-toxic vegetables are the best for health. But no one has the right to interfere with food habits that are the right of each society. Murder and annihilation do not solve any problem.
The cow is one of the Earth's most useful animals. It’s a calm boon-giver. That's why she has been called Gomata (Cow Mother) and described as Kamadhenu – the mythical cow that grants everything.
Science tells us the ecological expenditure in using non-veg is several times higher than that of vegetarian food. Meat eaters should remember that what they consume is from cattle that are sick and starved to the bone. They are stuffed into trucks and are brought from hundreds of kilometers away. They suffer terrible cruelty on the way. Even the killing is horrible beyond words; there are no scientific methods either.
'Maricha Kunjungal Varunnundu' (Dead children are coming) was a poem of topical relevance. Would you discuss that?
Two turning points in my life were my visits to Silent Valley and Oolanpara asylums. Both of it had a huge impact on me. In fact, it changed my life altogether.
It was a rude awakening for me at a time when I was deeply immersed in poetry. I felt as if my clothes were on fire. Ever since those visits, I have been doing all sorts of things for this earth, the abandoned mentally challenged ones, the women who are cheated and assaulted and children who are raped and murdered. They are endless serials of tragic existence. Like the little squirrel who joined the construction of Ramasethu, I'm also providing my own modest support. That's all.
I know these are all wars that are never won. Yet, one has to try.
I am aware of the death pangs of the Western Ghats. I know the pain of holy rivers that stink with the filth of entire Malayali society. The images of young children who have been raped and hanged pierce me deeply. My heart burns as I feel the curse of women who face brutality from a huge society drowning in liquor. As I realize that what we will pass on to posterity are the toxicity of hatred and violence and material pleasures, as I listen to the silent wailing of a dying Earth, I raise my hands and pray, “Oh the horrifying one, I know you are Time; let your will be done.”
Who are the ones persecuting our children? Not strangers: fathers, grandfathers, uncles, guardians, teachers. Whom will the children turn to when guardians turn abusers and killers?
So our emotional environment has deteriorated as much as the environment, isn't it?
Some mock at poets, calling them birds of the forest. All I have to say is: it is the birds who are capable of warning of forest fires in advance. We poets can feel what's happening to the Earth. That's nothing divine. Writers are very sensitive. Even an easy wind causes a huge vibration. We warn loudly. Even science might say that later only.
Only some small agitations have been successful. Big ones keep failing. The Earth is in ruin. Nature has two faces: that of a sweet, loving mother and the other of a fierce, destructive demon. How will the Earth pardon when the child that she has fed sucks out her blood too? She will wriggle away from the monster child. Even science says the same.
What's it that we have to be proud of. What's on the increase is mainly money. In the Old Testament, Jehova tells his children: “You cannot serve both Mammon and me.” We've chosen the devil (money) and are worshiping it. The whole world is doing that. Pope Francis said the Earth, which we've made a heap of garbage, is heading towards total destruction.
What is your comment on communal passions that are on the rise?
Indeed, hatred is rising. Apart from Hindu-Muslim rift, we now have Dalit-upper caste tensions also multiplying at an alarming rate. We do not need this in Kerala. There's no scope here to allege minority persecution or harassment of Dalits. Yet, there is an effort to create dividers. Enmities are being aggravated. My plea to intellectuals and politicians is not to remind people of injustices of the past and stir up negative passions. Because it holds out a danger for our children. Flaring up enmities is no solution for old sins.
Shanti Samiti
I had a dream 10 to 15 years ago. That's what prompted the birth of Shanti Samiti. We built up a Hindu-Muslim-Christian fraternity with the support of people devoted to the fight against liquor. Our idea was to teach youngsters from all three religions the fundamental values of their religion, organize camps for interaction and common dining and also rush to places where communal tensions arise in a bid to work for peace.
Shanti Samiti organized Hindu camps, Muslim camps and Christian camps. Vishnunarayanan Namboodiri joined me in talking about Hindus at the camps. All of us stayed and ate together. Doubts were cleared. The camps are not conducted frequently anymore.
We meet for Onam and Christmas. For a couple of years now, we have been distributing sambharam (buttermilk) at Palayam Juma Masjid during Attukal Pongala. I was asked to inaugurate it, and I insisted on the Imam and Bishop Susaipakyam joining in. I'm proud it continues even now. My eyes fill up as I watch hundreds of women coming inside the mosque premises to drink sambharam.
Iftar is everywhere now. It became so widespread after Shanti Samiti organized it 10 to 15 years ago.
We recited 'Thamaso Ma Jyotirgamaya' at Shanti Samiti's hymn on the light. It reminded us that God is light and is the one who leads us to light. At the end of the camp, Muslim brothers readied a sadya (feast) for us.
How would we teach our children to discuss religion like this in the open? We need to start with it in schools.
Could you discuss Abhaya?
Abhaya is 30 years old now. I fully realize that God had been extremely kind to us. Thousands of lives have or passed through Abhaya in these 30 years. Even now, a countless number of people live with us or are related to us. They keep passing my mind like in a movie: teachers, engineers, doctors, Technopark employees, office staff, nurses, housewives… thousands of mentally challenged people… so many were addicted to liquor or narcotics. How many have escaped it all? How many returned to the dark? And how many girls! Young women and mothers…many who went astray...many who were cheated…. pregnant women...those who fled with their babies... and those brought in by police. A great drama is being staged non-stop.
How many of them really escaped their misery? How many were doomed? There are no numbers available. We do not have the capacity to seek those who have left. We can recognize their faces only if they come back and hold our hands.
The times we've passed were not easy. We had to pass paths of fire. There are many who had held on firmly despite the hardship, although many ditched us halfway through. I need to remember them. Several well-wishers in India, as well as abroad, have showered their kindness in Abhaya's begging bowl. Many keep supporting even now. I bow to those who support without having to gain anything in return.
We still keep on working hard. People in misery still keep seeking Abhaya's shelter every day, even now, especially mentally challenged people who are abandoned. There are people who come to us seeking to liberate themselves from the misery of liquor/narcotics addiction. There are women with little babies who flee their drinking husbands and find protection here: pregnant women and tortured wives.
We have our girls too. We work to ensure a bright future for them.
Abhaya conducts an Adalat for women every second Saturday of a month. Judges and lawyers join us in the unpaid event. We also run a free de-addiction center for liquor addicts. Patients and bystanders get bodhi care, as well as food, free. All our eight units are for the poor.
A paid hospital, Mitra, works with Abhaya for those who can afford it. Expert medical care and relaxation are provided there for the mentally challenged and for those who seek de-addiction.
Karma and Sradhabhavanam are Abhaya's centers for the mentally challenged, besides Mitra. Athani provides a shoulder for women burdened with misery. Abhaya Bala works for girls.
The government of India provided us 10 and a half acres of land outside the city to build our Abhaya – so green and so idyllic. It was the revered Dalai Lama who laid the foundation stone. Late president K. R. Narayanan had inaugurated it. The bodhi that Dalai Lama planted has grown into a tree, spreading its shelter and blessings for all of us.
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