He couldn’t afford to wait.
Garnering all the sights
In the sharpened pupils of camera
From poisoned river beds,
dying forests going arid,
From country roads turning prickly
Beating drums of raw skin
pealed from his own bleeding body…
beating and singing
broadcasting right into the
screen of heart…
finally drawing the curtains..
Coming alive in green-seekers
Even as his eyes closed for the last
did he hold in his closed palm fast
A clump of green green grass
A year without Saratchandran. Could it be just a coincidence that the disastrous radiations from Japan’s Nuclear warm Daiichi would reach us this very year, we wonder. But it certainly is no coincidence that a much mightier, much more dangerous nuclear power plant Kudankulam, right at our door steps is on the verge of being commissioned in the next few days. And Sarat was there among the first few who raised their voices against the Kudankulam Project right from the moment of its inception by the Government.
He was a constant source of love and warmth in a contemporary world where the spring of love and mutual care was drying up, drop by drop. He was a catalyst that strengthened the bond among friends. He kept his eyes open and vigilant in the midst of our lot who, wounded in the lashes of time withdrew into our own pathetic selves. sarat shook us out of our slumbers to the sights that we refused to see. He made a bunch of youngsters who would have otherwise gone mere careerists turn into soldiers in the people’s struggles. The weakness as well as strength of Sarat was the selfless love that he extended towards others .
As we assemble on the premises of Sahitya Academi on April 1st at 5.30 pm, we keep his memory alive and meaningful by renewing our oath on the Anti-nuclear policy. By opposing such baneful modes of development that spell catastrophe to not just the human life but all forms of life on earth, we ensure that the values and principles held high by Sarat would always be kept alive and burning.
At 5.30 pm o April 1st, Dr S Sankar in his Sarat memorial talk, would discuss the environmental issues that threaten Kerala. We sincerely hope that all friends of Sarat and humanity would be present here to join hands with us. After the memorial Lecture, the film that received the First ever Saratchandran Memorial film Fellowship, Mullaitheev Saga directed by Someetharan will be screened.
