The beach is this lifeguard's muse

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: You hardly see Karimkulam Virjin who works as a lifeguard at Kovalam without a pen and a paper. When he is not working, he loves to write. "I have been working as a lifeguard for the past 13 years. As part of my work, I come across a lot of tourists. All of them have different stories to narrate about the places they have travelled to. I find this interesting," says Virjin. 
 So far, Virjin has brought out two books. Kazhchapamparam (A ceremonial spinning top), which has vividly described about Indian and foreign tourists and also the rescue operations carried out by lifeguards on a daily basis.  

"I've been rescuing people and seeing my colleagues doing the same. It is not easy to rescue people from the turbulent sea. Especially when the underwater flow is higher. I want people to know what it is to be a lifeguard," he said.  Kazhchapamparam was published in Malayalam three years ago and so far sold 3, 000 copies.

According to him, he was always inspired to write and initially just wrote sentences and small narratives in his book. "My writings were influenced by the systems that existed in the cultural and societal sphere.   Later, I began writing about the sea and life around it," Virjin said.  Virjin says he had also forwarded his works to poet Chemmanam Chacko. "He wrote a return letter to me. This letter inspired me to become an author," he said.

Virjin's second book 'Chalathandilirunnu Chuvannna Akasam Kandu' (Sitting on a floating log and watching the red sky) was published in the year 2018. "This time I wrote in English since foreign tourists would not be able to understand me if I write in Malayalam. Author Thomas George Santhinagar helped me with the translation," said the 44-year-old who hails from Poovar.

The second book revolves around Karumkulam and the fishermen families and their lifestyle. He named the main character Daniel, after his son. Virjin says he also goes to sea on most mornings, because he needs both jobs to make both ends meet.