As brave as his words

KOCHI: For those who knew him closely, Perunna Thomas was more than a journalist or a writer. Thomas, who passed away 40 years ago on September 29, was a man unafraid of speaking his mind. Service-minded at his best, he brought together auto and taxi drivers and created an independent trade union for them. His short stories were abundant with socio-political and religious connotations such as ‘Karthavinte Aliyan’, and  ‘Mishiha Thampurante Valarthappan’, much to the church’s chagrin.

A few years ago, D Pradeep Kumar, journalist and former head of programmes, All India Radio, Manjeri FM, who also happens to be a relative of Thomas, compiled the author’s short stories into ‘Perunna Thomas Kathakal’. The impressive collection explored the psyche of Thomas, whose sentences were short and easily understandable to a layman.

“Thomas played an enormous role in making me the journalist I am today. Back then, he was the correspondent of ‘Kerala Kaumudi’. Such was his amiable and influential nature, that he had people from all walks of life visiting him. Engaged in several healthy debates and discussions, Thomas’ mind was strongly political. Even though he started as a communist in his public life, he later shifted to Congress. Ranging from being aides with writers Vaikom Muhammed Basheer and Ponjikkara Rafi, who featured in his story ‘Braanthumoshanam’, to having associates in industrial groups, Thomas was a jack of all trades,” says Pradeep.

He recalls the picture of K Balakrishnan, editor and publisher of ‘Kaumudi weekly’, in Thomas’ house. “Incidentally, Thomas’ first-ever story was published by the weekly. In 1940, he wrote his first collection of short stories. One of them was based on the sexual abuse by a Christian priest. Several of his stories revolved around such themes. They were realistic, with simple but powerful language. He also employed first-person narration which supplemented his stories,” says Pradeep.

And Pradeep’s personal favourite story would be? “Undoubtedly ‘Patelum Chiruthayum’, based on Sardar Vallabhai Patel. The story, heavily political, speaks about the death of the former and a faceless woman in Ernakulam. But then, he has also written ‘Dahikkunna Rosapoo’, which was almost poetry in prose. The romantic in him had come to light. However, it was short-lived, and was put off by his daughter’s death in 1966,” added Pradeep.

Critic M Thomas Mathew, who penned the foreword to ‘Perunna Thomas Kathakal’ remembers a soft-spoken Thomas, despite being a revolutionary in spirit. “His daughter’s death affected him massively. Thomas has had his share of problems, but he never shunned away from examining life,” he said.

 Former MP, advocate Thampan Thomas, who was one of Thomas’s closest friends, has many memories from his friendship with the writer too. “Perunna Thomas was instrumental in establishing the Ernakulam Press Club. He would always come to me and discuss matters on the auto and taxi drivers union. He even conducted a lottery to gather money for the union’s building. An able leader, his finest quality was to question and examine the establishment. Not one to blindly follow, Thomas’ political mind was rather loud in his writings. He was always there for the society, and to help people stand on their own feet,” Thampan added.