Manu Remakant feigns an alcoholic to trail addicts in Trivandrum who hop bars early morning. he first streaks of sunlight vainly tried to strain through the thick clouds. An unusual fog hugs the city roads. In the darkness my eyes picked a couple of men wearing mundu and white shirt walking hurriedly along the road. “See them? They are going to the bar on the main road,” said my auto-rickshaw driver, hoping that the topic would break the ice. “Bar! … Continue reading
Other Stories
ONV Kurup, the legendary Malayalam poet, flags off Manu Remakant’s journey through time to piece together the broken narratives about Trivandrum The guest concludes his speech sprinkled with honeyed words about CP’s American model vision about the future of Travancore. He gets back to his seat. An uncomfortable silence descends on the hall for a few minutes. Have the people of the town given a blank cheque to the Dewan to decide on their future? Uncertainty doesn’t last much long. … Continue reading
On the 54th birthday of Kerala, Manu Remakant takes us back to the many permutations behind forming the state of Kerala This is the Orient Illustrated Weekly, July 20, 1947. The article written by P. B. K. Menon gives us the heat of the times, when discussions were on to carve a state out of the chaos called malayala kara. Map of Kerala; Image Courtesy: commons.wikimedia.org They had many options. There was a Cape Comerin which had a culture … Continue reading
An 80-year old college magazine takes Manu Remakant to a dark cranny in the life and history of Travancore. 1st of July. The assembly begins after the prayer in Women’s College, Travancore. Miss. Carrapiett, the former Principal welcomes the new students. Hundreds of girls stand in line in rapt attention as she introduces the incumbent Principal, Miss. FE Grose. This is 1st of July, 1929. The college has reopened today after the summer vacation. Libraries sometimes soar like flights. … Continue reading
