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The Story of an An Eminent Student of UCC
by N.M. Mathew, Canada
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Union Christian College had not only famous and dedicated staff but
also had famous students. So this is what I know about one of such
famous old students. I don't remember meeting him but this is what
the students in the senior classes (1945-'49 batch) told me. Some of
his classmates are still around and I hope UCC alumni may be able to
collect more details, before they are completely erased from our
memory.
The student Krishna Pillai was from a very poor family. He paid off
his college fees by taking Malayalam tuition to his classmates and
his seniors!! After tuition, if it was too late to go home at
Edappally, he would stay in South East Hostel (now Chacko Hostel) as
guest of his classmates. While in the hostel he made it a point to go
for an early morning dip in the nearby Periyar river.
Krishna Pillai attended the Malayalam classes regularly, listening to
the lecture (I am not sure whether it was Prof. D.P. Unni or Prof.
Kuttipuzha. Both of them were famous critics of Malayalam
literature).
That year the Malayalam text book was the well known, Ramanan,
(Lycidas-like pastoral elegy), published in 1936. Krishna Pillai,
used to sit at the back and listen carefully to the critical analysis
of this famous work, in addition to explaining the meaning of
difficult words. Professor used to mention the thoughts and feelings
that passed through the mind of the poet while writing those lines.
Eyes of Krishna Pillai would moisten as he listend to the story. At
the same time he noted down the important points for his use at the
tuition classes.
It was a habit of Krishna Pillai to create a lyric of his own while
walking. Sometimes he wrote them down. At other times he left it in
the memory of his friends.
I am sure you have heard about Krishna Pillai and his works. He is
generally known as Changapuzha Krishna Pillai (1911-1948). You might
have read his books and heard his lyrics. He left behind a large
volume of intensely lyrical romantic poetry, 40,000 lines of verse in
around 44 volumes. Ramanan was sold over 100,000 copies, a record
that stands. His Vazhakkula is a small poetical gem.
Is it not strange that a student of Union Christian College, was the
author of the Malayalam Text approved by the University, for him to
study for his examination? |
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