PULLUVAZHY COMMUNISM : THEN AND NOW

Pulluvazhy, my native village is very close to Allapra, the village I am residing now. Once in a month I visit Pulluvazhy to meet my mother. After partition, I moved to Allapra, purchased a plot, built a house and started living with my family. My younger brother was allotted the ancestral house at Pulluvazhy. Mother chose to live with my younger brother and family as she was reluctant to shift residence which was her abode for a long period.

My younger brother and his wife, both employed, will move to their working places and children to their schools in the morning, leaving my mother alone. She spends her time reading ‘puranas’ (ancient scriptures) or watching television.

The shortcut to my village was a tarred, pot-holed road. While moving through the path my mind gets flooded with memories of the early days when there was no tarred road to reach the main road which snaked through south to the north in front of my ancestral house. To both sides of shortcut were thick growth of trees and bushes in my childhood days. Flowers of various hues stuck their heads out to the path as if to draw attention of the passers-by. Young children got scary to move down the path fearing ‘Yakshis’ (witches) and demons. Their grown-ups didn’t even permit them also, fearing harm to their children.

The whole scenario underwent changes down the years. Along-with the wide tarred road, palatial houses came up along each side of the path in the place of ‘jungles’. Huge inflow of gulf-money by members of different families helped bring about a face-lift to Pulluvazhy.

Pulluvazhy was once renowned for its Communist ideals and its revolutionary zeal and fervour. Pulluvazhy Communism and its founding leaders assumed epic dimensions for years, far and wide. Enthusiasts from faraway corners of Kerala came over to Pulluvazhy traversing difficult paths to study more about Pulluvazhy communism and its fire-brand leaders. Long before I was born, the famous (or infamous?) Calcutta Thesis propounded by Comrade B.T.Renadive, one of the shining leaders of Communist Party heralding the arrival of ‘Spring Thunder’ mistaking the ground realities came into force. Heeding to the calls of the leaders to his ‘Thesis’ the workers turned violent, attacked police stations, killed police personnel and snatched their weapons. It was a bloody violence. But the government banned the Party and put the followers in jails, tortured them mercilessly, many even got killed as an aftermath and unable to withstand police brutalities the ‘Thesis’ was withdrawn and Com. Renadive demoted to the Area committee of the Party as punishment for his failed inopportune Thesis.

In my early days, there were occasions when the Party was witness to leaders mobilising the workers especially those in the lower strata of society forming lengthy processions reminding me of a train, marching to the nearby town of Perumbavoor. Each one holding red flag and those in the vanguard shouting slogans to the accompaniment of drums blowing bugles, chanting slogans like Communist Party zindabad, Inquilab Zindabad, Com.P.Krishna Pillai zindabad. Those were the good old days for the oppressed lot at least to dream about a better, prosperous tomorrow. With the passing of years all dreams of the poor, those who gave their sweat and tears for the Party got disillusioned and withdrew into their shells and the leaders moved in search of greener pastures, amassed wealth and led lavish lives. Those who came to visit Pulluvazhy to learn more about Pulluvazhy Communism wrote the epitah of the Party and its monumental blunder, returned down cast.

“Amma, nowadays Communist Party has turned into a virtual non-entity now? Am I right?”

My mother gave me a wide smile.

“Now, most Pulluvazhy comrades and leaders are in hot pursuit of spiritualism, son. Isn’t it in some way good?” Amma who is in her pursuit of spiritualism is a totally satisfied and a happy woman now.

Will Pulluvazhy return to the days when the red embers of revolution glowed, again? After all it is an hypothetical question.