New Delhi: Anthony Parakal, the man who became popular by writing over 4,000 letters to the editors of esteemed publications, died earlier this week in Mumbai’s Malad.
The 89-year-old, who passed away Tuesday, was a “mini-celebrity” of sorts among mediapersons of the pre-internet and SMS era. He was seen as a prolific man, who wanted to change the world through his letters to the editors, written over a period of six decades.
Parakal began writing in 1955 with a letter to The Times of India before calling it quits in 2005, to devote his time to “pick arguments with his wife”.
But the TOI had received another letter from Parakal in 2012. It was written in longhand and said: “Having lost my vision and memory, I am reduced to a used match-stick.”
His letters have been kept carefully in more than a dozen files.
Tributes have poured in for this letter-man. Journalist Naresh Fernandes took to Twitter Thursday to pay homage. “For generations of newspaper readers in Bombay, this man was a legend,” said Fernandes.
For generations of newspaper readers in Bombay, this man was a legend. For five decades from 1955, he wrote more than 4,000 letters to the editor. He stopped in 2005 and said he'd use the time to 'pick arguments with his wife'.https://t.co/cBRuXqbpl0 pic.twitter.com/D47ISOXyZk
— naresh fernandes (@tajmahalfoxtrot) July 2, 2020
Sharing Fernandes’ tweet, India Today anchor Rajdeep Sardesai wrote: “Wow, Naresh you have revived a lot of fond memories from early TOI days; he would badger me with a letter a week (if not more)!! The nicer, more innocent world of letter writers before social media took over! RIP Anthony Parakal.”
Wow, Naresh you have revived a lot of fond memories from early TOI days; he would badger me with a letter a week (if not more)!! The nicer, more innocent world of letter writers before social media took over!RIP Anthony Parakal. @tajmahalfoxtrot https://t.co/dZ9kVYIBR0
— Rajdeep Sardesai (@sardesairajdeep) July 2, 2020
Another Twitter user, Vijay Sankaran, said: “I still remember Anthony Parakal and many other regulars from a time when reading letters to the editor was still a thing.”
I still remember Anthony Parakal and many other regulars from a time when reading letters to the editor was still a thing. https://t.co/nbKVvrNHUz
— Vijay Sankaran (@vijaysankaran) July 2, 2020
Last letter published in Time
Parakal, a former railway employee, had come to Mumbai from Kerala in 1954. He soon got into the habit of visiting the People’s Library at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus to improve his proficiency in English and began writing letters to newspaper editors.
A 2006 profile of Parakal in the DNA, states that his files have personal replies from Morarjee Desai, Gulzarilal Nanda and Rajiv Gandhi.
In 1993, Parakal’s name found its way into the Limca Book Of Records. The All India Press Writers Association had also honoured him with the ‘Knight of Conscience’ award in 1999.
His last letter was published on 12 December 2005 in the Time magazine.