#*oru voice* You are a human being.

[lunarharp]

some illustrations/vibes from my uhh 29k memory trauma/disability focus orufrey fic, into the deep end.

[justahalfling]

watching master rn... jd’s on the bus rn and all i can think of as a uni kid is, literally no professor is like this

now they’re on the metro... ticking off all the transit options huh

imagine if this happened on an mrt in singapore everyone would be massively pissed at their commute being disrupted but just silently seething and pretending it’s not happening lmao

cool now they’re on an auto they really are ticking off all the options

again no professor is like this lmao

me seeing them literally lifting the couch with him: *vadivelu voice* ithu too much, ithu too too much

this dude reminds me of qrow branwen from rwby lmao

BOI STOP WIGGLING YOUR BUTT I HAVE ADHD AND CANT STAND SECOND HAND EMBARRASSMENT 

finally a goddamn lanyard i was like whats with the lack of lanyards

WAS THAT A CAT I JUST SAW

also come on if he’s drunk after 6pm when the hell does he do his research work... again no prof is like this (i know this is a movie but it’s hard to suspend my disbelief)

did they just put a blank in the captions for the word government when they said “the government doesnt listen to its people” ?!?!?

so far the movie has not passed the third stage of the bechdel test lmao why is it that whenever these two women meet up they’re always talking about the dude. men arent that special

lmao the drake praying hands

“the boys there [juvenile home] are not humans, they’re animal” cool cool cool just casually dehumanising children failed by the law okay cool

THE KITTEHHHHHHHHH

why is he taking the cat to see the inspector lmao

for real addiction is a disease and man i totally understand that not being able to sleep thing...

“stole from a bakery” is that a les mis reference

also i just realised VJS has emo boy hair kjhdjashlashas

why exactly are they going to beat him up in the cell?? he’s already in the cell?

bro wth that letter was evidence you should have hid it immediately.....

they’re fighting again??? weren’t we just fighting a few minutes ago??? 

the kaapu is so big on the lil kid that’s so funny omg

omg the soapy hair horns why do i find that so fucking funny they’re so unsubtle

wait so when she looses an arrow after multiple arrows the lorry slowly slides off the road but when he looses a single arrow somehow the lorry just jumps and crashes dramatically lmao okay she’s literally the expert here but okay

i know they revealed JD’s “backstory” but how funny would it have been if they just. never told us why. they should have just left it like that purely for the comedic potential

okay so i finished it yesterday but left without posting my final thoughts bc it was pretty late - i think final review is oru time paakalam lol. honestly speaking this movie was really not my cup of tea and not something i seek out on my own anyways - i prefer comedy, family moments, wholesomeness etc this felt more like a lot of fight scenes with a bit of movie here and there in the middle. also why are our movies taking cues from hollywood and going so dark, and i don’t mean thematically but literally? i could not see shit i had to turn the brightness up? like please that’s the one thing that i was like “yay it doesnt happen here” and it’s... please just make your movies well lit thanks

[penofthebeloved]

A little over eight years ago, I believed poetry to be the only outlet of expressing myself. Being someone who has a way with words is not a terrible thing to be. However, on the inside, I felt this burgeoning sense of creativity that I knew was resting just below the surface--that writing wasn't the only way to be creative. When I was a freshman or sophomore in college, I went to a prayer meeting (#christiancollege) and I met this older gentleman who happened to be one of the students from the first-ever graduating class of ORU over 50 years ago. He prayed for me, which is not unusual on the campus of Christian colleges. I remember how kind he was, but also how he approached prayer. There was a moment of silence--of him listening to Holy Spirit before he started to pray. I waited, and in my own silence, I was amazed at the man before me. As he began to pray, he started speaking about creativity. His voice was strong and sure, and I didn't doubt what he was saying. The fact that God could be concerned with my creativity, at the time, seemed small and intriguing. I was a writing major who was only beginning to understand the craft, and I didn't know fully what "creativity" he was referring to.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ .⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Over the years, I have gone back to that moment in time. That prayer lodged beautifully between my soul and my spirit. Last week I said that "I know creativity to be a holy thing." It is. As I grew and developed more interests and the courage to try new things, I began to realize that how we choose to invest in our creativity speaks to how far it can grow. It is very easy to place limitations on ourselves as human beings and most times quite difficult to find the courage to step out and try new things.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ God is One who deals greatly in new things and He never leaves us alone in the endeavor to try big things.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ .⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ This week, how can you challenge yourself creatively? What new steps can you take allowing courage to be a beacon for you?

[brajeshupadhyay]

With roots in democratic socialism, how the 'Kerala model' ranks well-being above wealth for its people

Three things about Kerala struck me when I landed there in 1970. The intense greenery, the uniform cleanliness, and the sight of my neighbourhood coconut-plucker sitting in the tea-shop every day, reading the newspaper and discussing politics.

For the next 20 years I lived in Trivandrum, which was a state capital like no other. A beautiful town that was not exactly a town because it had paddy fields running through it, interspersed with little rivulets, canals, and coconut groves. I soon realised that the houses, coconut groves and paddy fields were woven into the scenery of the state, and they stretched almost seamlessly right across, blurring the urban-rural divide. Also, like my neighbourhood coconut-plucker, everyone was politically aware and had a voice and an opinion. The Satyagraha gate at the Trivandrum Secretariat on the Main Road was testimony to that. Fishermen, coir factory workers, head-load workers…there was always a group agitating there. And many of them came from communities who were once marginalised.

It took me quite a while to understand the dynamics of this sliver of densely populated land at the very tip of the Indian peninsula. Winds from different countries had blown over it from times immemorial. Arabs and Jewish settlers, and an original Apostle of Christ had introduced Islam and Christianity and Judaism here long, long ago. All of them had coexisted peacefully with Hinduism for centuries.

Portuguese, French, Dutch and Chinese who came for trade had left their mark on the land.

There were, however, contradictions. On the one hand, the powerful and wealthy Nairs, who were a marital community, had matrilineal families, and on the other the Namboodiri Brahmins and the Syrian Christians were major land owners, following a patrilineal system. Even until the beginning of the 20th century it was a society with a most rigid and unjust caste system that denied lower castes basic rights. Power lay mostly in the hands of the landowners who were the feudal lords before whom the lower castes had to crouch out of sight.

So, how did such a society become a model for development and social reform? There were many movements that worked in tandem over a period of time, slowly eroding the old unjust power structures, and worked towards establishing a more equitable society. There were Communist governments that legislated radical reforms. Christian Missionaries preached equality, and set up schools and educational institutions in the state.  There were activists and social reformers who broke caste barriers and led their people out of bondage. There was also a benign royalty invested in the welfare of its people rather than its own pomp and grandeur.

Sri Narayana Guru, the Ezhava saint, was born in 1855 at a time when social discrimination against lower castes was at its peak in Kerala. He sought to break the stranglehold of upper castes over religion and social life. Ezhavas and Thiyas were considered lower caste and just one step above Pulayars and Parayars who were considered “untouchable”. Narayanan Guru preached unity of humanity irrespective of caste or religion. His saying: “One Caste, One Religion, One God for All" ("Oru Jathi, Oru Matham, Oru Daivam, Manushyanu") captures his philosophy. He established schools and worked as a teacher, managing to get the schools to open their doors to Ezhava children.

The famous Vaikom Satyagraha that paved the way for the Temple Entry Proclamation of 1936 issued by the young Travancor Maharaja, Sri Chitra Tirunal, is said to have been triggered when this much revered Guru was denied entry into one of the roads flanking the temple over of his caste.

Ayyankali, a contemporary of Narayana Guru, was a Pulayar rebel and reformer. In 1893, he dressed like an upper caste Nair and rode his own ox-cart through a public road, thus defying many of the bans related to clothing, ownership of property, and access to public spaces faced by Avarnas. This is celebrated as one of the major achievements in the history of Dalit movements in Kerala. Though Pulayars gained the right to access roads, temples and schools were still out of bounds. Ayyankali was himself illiterate, but he fought to get children from his caste admitted to schools, and even attempted to raise money and set up schools for these children.

The first chief minister of Kerala who took his oath in 1957 was the iconic Communist party leader EMS Namboodiripad, a Brahmin who had rejected his orthodox roots. It was the first time in India (and perhaps in the world) that a communist leader was democratically voted into power.

EMS, as he was popularly known, was an idealist. He had a short tenure of a little over two years during his first term. But within that period, he introduced many radical reforms. Soon after he was sworn in, he introduced the revolutionary Land Reforms Ordinance. This was, however, rejected by the Supreme Court; so was the education bill that sought to regulate the functioning of schools. The attempt to get these bills passed triggered off an anti-communist movement known as the 'Vimochana Samaram' or Liberation Movement, leading to the collapse of the first government.

It was only in 1970, under the government formed by another CPI leader, Achutha Menon, that the historic Agrarian Reforms Bill was finally passed. This served as a death knell for the existing exploitative feudal system. The Agrarian Reforms Bill conferred ownership rights on land to all tenants, including sharecroppers. A ceiling on land ownership was fixed. Surplus land taken from landlords was distributed to the landless poor. EMS himself gave away many acres of his inherited land. Though the education bill was never successfully passed, its suggestions were incorporated in other legislation pertaining to education. And the fire had been lit.

Achutha Menon was the best loved and longest serving chief minister of Kerala. Among other things, he established several centers of excellence, like the Centre for Development Studies, and the Sri Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Science and Technology. He also introduced some innovative projects like the One Lakh Housing Scheme, for which he roped in the renowned architect Laurie Baker, known for his low-cost, environment-friendly housing.

Another path-breaking project that came later was the Kerala Literacy Mission started in 1998. Its slogan was “Education for all and education forever”. The program, which is fully funded by the state government, goes beyond just providing teaching basic literacy skills. Its stated objectives include creating awareness about environmental concerns and women’s equality, and also disseminating information on development programs to deprived sections of society.

Healthcare is another area in which Kerala has shown remarkable success. The state has a better health standard than the rest of the country, with low birth and death rates. The sex ratio at birth is better than that in the the rest of India. The affordable healthcare system that was started in a small way after Kerala was formed has now become better organised. Also, a good network of private hospitals and schools have come up across the state built with remittances from NRIs.

All these seemingly disparate steps have merged over the years to create a society that is vibrant, politically and socially alive. The 'Kerala Model' has its roots in democratic socialism, where the focus is not on generating wealth, but on generating well-being for all.

Many years ago, I interviewed Mohamed Koya who was then briefly the Chief Minister of Kerala. Among other things, I asked him about the success of Kerala’s family planning program.

“It is simple,” he said. “It is because we have so many rivers and so much water.”

“So?” I asked, surprised.

“So everyone is very clean. We all have a bath twice daily. That keeps us very healthy. Children survive better even in poor families because we have good healthcare for all. So, we don’t need to have large families with more children. Everyone is satisfied with just two.”

What sounded naïve and simplistic in 1979 makes so much sense today in a coronavirus-struck world. Bathe regularly. Wash your hands and feet when you enter the house. Wear fresh clothes.

It is also a state with many political and social firsts — the first Indian state to have a coalition government; the first state in the world to have a democratically elected communist government; the first state in India to throw open temples to all castes. It is also one of the first states in the country where political parties with strong communal and religious roots formed coalitions to fight for a common cause.

via Blogger https://ift.tt/2SLDCg2

[vigneshpugazh]

Snippets of my FB Posts...

On KB... December 23, 2014..

From 1965 to 2006, The journey started in Black & White and transforming in to the Modern Cinema; Show casing different aspects of life through his films. Revolutionized the Industry through his Bold Women Centric movies; which is only prevalent in Novels. Kalki & Aval Oru Thodar Kathai for instance.

Introducing some memorable artists to the Industry who carved a legendary status to themselves - Kamal, Rajini & Prakash Raj. And also proving people wrong by making Nagesh the protagonist of his movies when MGR & Sivaji were in their primes. Always a change; Always a visionary.

No one has used the power of music so intertwined with script so effectively than him. A lesson to any aspiring director. And his Movies are time immemorial. Pick any movie & you will definitely relate some part of it to your lives.

Such was his brilliance in making movies & If Tamil Film Industry can feel proud of making very different scripts & impactful movies today - the Corner stone was laid  six decades back.

I, for one will watch his movies anyday & still feel fresh about it. Definitely the end of an era.

K.Balachander - Thank you!

On JJ.. December 5, 2016..

Komalavalli - that's where it all started. As the tradition goes, she had to have an another name.

If only Komalavalli had reamained Komalavalli. We would have seen a great lawyer defending the law of the nation. But then, the story was different.

Komalavalli had to become Jayalalithaa. Not some one defending laws, but some one enforcing a lot.

And she did. With a great respect and demeanour that would take a lot of people to even think, let alone execute.

May be she could have remained as one of the greatest performer that Tamil and other language film industry could have ever had. She was. She danced. She sang. She acted. She mesmerised. She came across as an aura that any actress after her tried to emualate. We celebrated. We enjoyed. We loved her.

But then, in retrospect, as we know her, she cannot be stopped with a three hour drama that people enjoyed seeing and clapping about. She wanted to make it real what her political mentor aspired for. She wanted to do things that her mentor did on screens. She wanted to take forward what her great guru left unfulfilled.

That's where begun the greatest journey. A journey that many envy of. A journey that many would try to emulate. A journey that would never fade away.

Be it her bold decisions to run the government, be it her audacious plans to make TN the greatest State, Be it her ruthless attitutude to make it the safest state to live in, She did it. She did it with a great success. Great panache that would only be a dream to many.

I personally have come to admire her as a personality that would stand as an epitome of courage and boldness. So much so that, the Oxford should consider changing the synonym of this words?!

May be a few mis-steps, may be a little greed.. Who cares. We are all humans.

And this day would remain in many as the day to remember a great human being, a leader, a personality, a swag and an idol that my generation has grown up with.

After all, as Aaranya Kandam qouted..

'The Best thing about being a Woman, is that, its a Man' world'.

Salute - Ms.Jayaram Jayalalithaa.!!

On MSD.. January 5, 2017..

This guy never ceases to surprise me.

If some one had asked me when He walked in at Number five on the most important day of any Indian Cricket fan, I would have called it insane. But, when the ball sailed over the long-on,  to define a moment that will be remembered by my generation and generations to come, I was surprised.

And when we were 2-0 down and when the cold Melbourne wind can shiver any Indian at 10 degree celisius... He shocked you with the announcement of retiring from the longest form of the game. I was surprised. Not shocked.

And when the best of the top order and middle order had failed you.. And when you thought the match was over(though we lost)... He came in to score a 113 (not out)in a city that still does not know what winter means,  I was surprised. Amazed. And I wrote my first FB post on him.

And when all was at stake.. And when an inexperienced team was playing the moment of their life.. And when his long hair defined him more than what we know him for today.. And when I was in a train listening to a tuned in radio that Joginder Sharma is going to bowl the last over.. It shocked me. But, when Sreesanth took the catch from the bat of the most profilic finisher in the game, I was surprised at his ploy.

Be it the instinct, be it the voices on mic, be it the presence of mind behind the wickets, be it the confidence of finshing the match, be it the humbleness of winning a trophy and be it the candidness of the situation, this guy never ceases to surprise me.

And when In shorts(thanks to the App that I have downloaded), informed that, he has stepped down as the captain of the shorter formats of the game, it did not shock me. It surprised me and amazed me.

So himself, as he has always been.. Always selfless.. Always futuristic(He would have made a great CEO of any Indian Company that lacks his vision).. Always the topic of an anecdote.. Always an example...

2019 World Cup or the 2017 Champions Trophy.. I don't want to speculate the same way any Indian daily would do.. But, I am happy. And I am happy as long as the Wickets are safe guarded by a Ticket Collector from Ranchi and I am overwhelmed as the person from the generation that lived through this un-like Indian incidents, especially in Indian Cricket!

Cheers, MS.Dhoni.!

[ever-flowing-creativity-blog]

0-2-4

sulfur, grain alcohol, formaldehyde, and the various aromas of other herbs, roots, fungi, and minerals filled Quincy’s alchemy lab. He was working on a new formula and if he could perfect it, things would turn up for him again. he was funded by the Tavarian Government. he studied alchemy, and other side experiments.

He had gained his funding from a nice little potion he had invented that could give a man cat like night vision, and energy for twenty-four hours. down the potion and you had gaurds who could see at night, and didn’t tire. his second masterpiece had been a pill the size of a pebble that made a man feel full for three whole days. they had been hard to perfect be he had found a way.

“Felvar hand me the Oru root.” Quincy called to his apprentice.

“yes sir.” Felvar replied.

He grabbed the purple and green root, and handed it too Quincy. Felvar was a good looking man when he cleaned up. When he was working dirt crept beneath his fingernails, the smoke blackened his olive skin, and it made his hair greasy with oils from the various roots and herbs. Quincy was an older man who didn’t care much about his looks he only cared about his work. which was evident by his long wild salt, and pepper hair, and long mangy grey beard. His skin color was lost to discoloration from years of working in smoke filled laboratories, and working with plants that dyed the skin. his hands were callous and his fingers blackened from a lifetime of alchemical work. he wore spectacles with large lenses that he had to constantly push up his nose as they slide down his face often.

“thank you… hmm, could you pass me… yes, the drake saliva. Be careful with it though. you get it in an open wound or sore it’ll burn like hell, then of course full body paralysis will kick in.” Quincy said as he grinded the Oru root into a paste.

“yes sir I shall be careful.” He replied as he went to the vial cabinet where the drake saliva was kept.

Quincy took the drake saliva, and put a few drops into the mixture he was concocting. he scrapped some of the Oru root paste into it as well, and held the glass beaker up to a candle. He tapped his temple, then added a few drop of a blue viscous liquid made from the blue knetti plant, and a light blue fungi called figneralis.

“hand me the mixture from the athanor. it should be ready now. its time to test our work.”

“Yes sir I’ll get right on it.” Felvar said as he grabbed padded gloves. he had burned himself many times he didn’t care to do so again.

Carefully Felvar removed the new potion from the athanor. The potion had gone in a blueish-yellow concoction, now it was a deep purple. Quincy and Felvar had been living off of their past success. It had been a few years now since they had a great breakthrough, and they were running the risk of losing their funding.  Felvar placed the potion down next to the new batch. Then he grabbed the new batch and placed it into the athanor.

“leave it there and go retrieve a test subject. It should be cooled enough by the time you come back.” Quincy said waving the boy off as he studied his work.

The potion was to give a person super human strength. And so far as his test had showed they had the super human strength part down, but the madness that accompanied it was less than desirable. Some subjects bodies even warped and changed, Becoming something unrecognizable as human. But so was the way of science. It was a great deal of trial and error. Many, many errors. Quincy was looking over his notes when Felvar wheeled up the next test subject. A young slave woman with long brown hair. And the X branded on her cheek marking her as a slave. Tears ran down her face as she saw the corpses on the far side of the room laid out on stone beds cut opened for study. She wrestled around trying to break free, but Felvar was good at making sure the straps were always tight and secure. He wheeled her up next to Quincy who was holding up the fresh batch of potion.

“Test subject 0-2-4 female, five-foot-four age early twenties. Testing batch 0-1-2. Batch 0-1-1 had adverse effects on both male and female test subjects numbered 0-2-2 and 0-2-3. Subjects 0-2-2 and 0-2-3 suffered deformation of the body, calcification of the skin, discoloration of the eyes, and degeneration of cognitive functions. Batch 0-1-1 did improve subject’s physical strength, but the adverse side effect greatly outweighed the positive benefits. Batch 0-1-2 hopes to highlight the beneficial properties and eliminated the adverse effects.” Quincy recited as Felvar wrote down what he said.

The slave girl still wrestled in her restraints and made attempts at screaming but she was gaged. Quincy stroked his long beard as he held up his new batch and shook it in front of the girls face.

“Remove the gag” Quincy ordered, and Felvar complied.

“HELP! HELP ME! HELP! SOMEONE PLEASE!” subject 0-2-4 screamed.

“Must every single one of you scream every time! Be happy that you are advancing science! It is far more noble indeed than slaving away on a farm, or being a house servant!” Quincy responded.

“HELP! HELP! ANYBODY PLEASE!” screamed subject 0-2-4.

Quincy sighed heavily and rubbed his fingers against his temples. “plug her nose we need her to ingest the potion orally.”

“yes sir” Felvar replied.

She screamed one last time and Felvar plugged her nose before she could inhale again. With a swiftness, Quincy began to pour the potion down her throat. Felvar waited for a second then released her nose and the woman began coughing.

“keep your notes at the ready” Quincy said as he watched the woman, his clipboard in hand.

The woman was bawling, terrified, and restrained, while the two men simply watched her like she was some kind of show. Then her legs and arms began to convulse. Her skin started to redden, and her eyes began to twitch. She screamed again, this time not in fear, but in pain.

“Felvar get the sedative ready.” Quincy said continuing to write down notes on subject 0-2-4.

“On it Sir” Felver responded as he pulled a needle and corked vial from his coat.

Subject 0-2-4 screamed again this time her voice much deeper than before. as the muscles in her arms, legs, and neck began to bulge, and convulse, growing larger with each convulsion. She tugged at the restraints, and shook her head in defiance.

“inject the sedative into the joint on the inside arm.” Quincy said calmly still writing down notes.

“Yes, s…” Felvar began. But there was a load sound of snapping metal as the entire right arm of the wheel chair, she was restrained in sheared off in a feat of pure strength.

Quincy’s eyes grew wide, and a smile crept onto his face.

“sir what should I do?” Felvar asked nervously.

“inject the sedative quickly.” Quincy replied.

Felvar inched towards subject 0-2-4 with his needle as she swung her free arm wildly trying to keep him at bay. Screaming, muscles convulsing. Eye’s completely bloodshot, but focused on the man inching towards her. Then there was a sudden tinge of pain in her neck as Quincy stuck a needle in her neck from the side where her arm was still restrained.

“Thank you Felvar, you provided an adequate distraction. Now continue to ta…” Quincy was cut off as her other arm broke free and a piece of metal flew from under his chin and into his head.

Felvar trembled at the sight, as his teacher crumbled to the ground and laid unmoving. Subject 0-2-4 was breathing heavily, her breath making visible waves of heat. Felver stumbled back and tripped over his own feet, he watched in horror as subject 0-2-4 broke free of one of her leg restraints. Felvar flipped onto his stomach and tried to rush to his feet. As he gained some momentum he heard the last restraint snap. He ran for the door on the far side of the laboratory, but was hit in the back of the legs with something, that hit him with so much force it broke his leg on impact. He screamed in pain.

He crawled for the door, but as soon as he was close enough to touch the old soot covered wooden door he felt the heat of an overwhelming presence standing over him. A large seven-foot monstrosity was standing over him, with nearly no resemblance to the woman who was subject 0-2-4. her neck was gone it was one mass of muscle connecting her shoulders and her head. Her head now twice as large as before, bones… or calcified skin morphed her brow and check bones into a jutting mass that made her eyes look sunken deep into her face. Sharp bones jutted from her knees and elbows.

Subject 0-2-4 loomed over him, her muscles still pulsating, still growing. Drool trickling down her chin, she brought her hands up interlocking them above her head. And as she did she stumbled backwards. A ray of hope twinkled in Felvar’s eyes. The sedative his master had given her was finally starting to take effect. She was wobbly on her feet stumbling forwards and back. Felvar scooted his way towards the door. If he could some how manage to get outside. If he could manage to get out and somehow mount his horse with his one good leg.

Subject 0-2-4 stumbled forward her foot crushing Felvar’s last good leg. He screamed out in agony. He looked up one last time then clenched his eyes shut as subject 0-2-4 came crashing down upon him.

[brajeshupadhyay]

Three things about Kerala struck me when I landed there in 1970. The intense greenery, the uniform cleanliness, and the sight of my neighbourhood coconut-plucker sitting in the tea-shop every day, reading the newspaper and discussing politics. For the next 20 years I lived in Trivandrum, which was a state capital like no other. A beautiful town that was not exactly a town because it had paddy fields running through it, interspersed with little rivulets, canals, and coconut groves. I soon realised that the houses, coconut groves and paddy fields were woven into the scenery of the state, and they stretched almost seamlessly right across, blurring the urban-rural divide. Also, like my neighbourhood coconut-plucker, everyone was politically aware and had a voice and an opinion. The Satyagraha gate at the Trivandrum Secretariat on the Main Road was testimony to that. Fishermen, coir factory workers, head-load workers…there was always a group agitating there. And many of them came from communities who were once marginalised. It took me quite a while to understand the dynamics of this sliver of densely populated land at the very tip of the Indian peninsula. Winds from different countries had blown over it from times immemorial. Arabs and Jewish settlers, and an original Apostle of Christ had introduced Islam and Christianity and Judaism here long, long ago. All of them had coexisted peacefully with Hinduism for centuries. Portuguese, French, Dutch and Chinese who came for trade had left their mark on the land. There were, however, contradictions. On the one hand, the powerful and wealthy Nairs, who were a marital community, had matrilineal families, and on the other the Namboodiri Brahmins and the Syrian Christians were major land owners, following a patrilineal system. Even until the beginning of the 20th century it was a society with a most rigid and unjust caste system that denied lower castes basic rights. Power lay mostly in the hands of the landowners who were the feudal lords before whom the lower castes had to crouch out of sight. So, how did such a society become a model for development and social reform? There were many movements that worked in tandem over a period of time, slowly eroding the old unjust power structures, and worked towards establishing a more equitable society. There were Communist governments that legislated radical reforms. Christian Missionaries preached equality, and set up schools and educational institutions in the state.  There were activists and social reformers who broke caste barriers and led their people out of bondage. There was also a benign royalty invested in the welfare of its people rather than its own pomp and grandeur. Sri Narayana Guru, the Ezhava saint, was born in 1855 at a time when social discrimination against lower castes was at its peak in Kerala. He sought to break the stranglehold of upper castes over religion and social life. Ezhavas and Thiyas were considered lower caste and just one step above Pulayars and Parayars who were considered “untouchable”. Narayanan Guru preached unity of humanity irrespective of caste or religion. His saying: “One Caste, One Religion, One God for All" ("Oru Jathi, Oru Matham, Oru Daivam, Manushyanu") captures his philosophy. He established schools and worked as a teacher, managing to get the schools to open their doors to Ezhava children. The famous Vaikom Satyagraha that paved the way for the Temple Entry Proclamation of 1936 issued by the young Travancor Maharaja, Sri Chitra Tirunal, is said to have been triggered when this much revered Guru was denied entry into one of the roads flanking the temple over of his caste. Ayyankali, a contemporary of Narayana Guru, was a Pulayar rebel and reformer. In 1893, he dressed like an upper caste Nair and rode his own ox-cart through a public road, thus defying many of the bans related to clothing, ownership of property, and access to public spaces faced by Avarnas. This is celebrated as one of the major achievements in the history of Dalit movements in Kerala. Though Pulayars gained the right to access roads, temples and schools were still out of bounds. Ayyankali was himself illiterate, but he fought to get children from his caste admitted to schools, and even attempted to raise money and set up schools for these children. The first chief minister of Kerala who took his oath in 1957 was the iconic Communist party leader EMS Namboodiripad, a Brahmin who had rejected his orthodox roots. It was the first time in India (and perhaps in the world) that a communist leader was democratically voted into power. EMS, as he was popularly known, was an idealist. He had a short tenure of a little over two years during his first term. But within that period, he introduced many radical reforms. Soon after he was sworn in, he introduced the revolutionary Land Reforms Ordinance. This was, however, rejected by the Supreme Court; so was the education bill that sought to regulate the functioning of schools. The attempt to get these bills passed triggered off an anti-communist movement known as the 'Vimochana Samaram' or Liberation Movement, leading to the collapse of the first government. It was only in 1970, under the government formed by another CPI leader, Achutha Menon, that the historic Agrarian Reforms Bill was finally passed. This served as a death knell for the existing exploitative feudal system. The Agrarian Reforms Bill conferred ownership rights on land to all tenants, including sharecroppers. A ceiling on land ownership was fixed. Surplus land taken from landlords was distributed to the landless poor. EMS himself gave away many acres of his inherited land. Though the education bill was never successfully passed, its suggestions were incorporated in other legislation pertaining to education. And the fire had been lit. Achutha Menon was the best loved and longest serving chief minister of Kerala. Among other things, he established several centers of excellence, like the Centre for Development Studies, and the Sri Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Science and Technology. He also introduced some innovative projects like the One Lakh Housing Scheme, for which he roped in the renowned architect Laurie Baker, known for his low-cost, environment-friendly housing. Another path-breaking project that came later was the Kerala Literacy Mission started in 1998. Its slogan was “Education for all and education forever”. The program, which is fully funded by the state government, goes beyond just providing teaching basic literacy skills. Its stated objectives include creating awareness about environmental concerns and women’s equality, and also disseminating information on development programs to deprived sections of society. Healthcare is another area in which Kerala has shown remarkable success. The state has a better health standard than the rest of the country, with low birth and death rates. The sex ratio at birth is better than that in the the rest of India. The affordable healthcare system that was started in a small way after Kerala was formed has now become better organised. Also, a good network of private hospitals and schools have come up across the state built with remittances from NRIs. All these seemingly disparate steps have merged over the years to create a society that is vibrant, politically and socially alive. The 'Kerala Model' has its roots in democratic socialism, where the focus is not on generating wealth, but on generating well-being for all. Many years ago, I interviewed Mohamed Koya who was then briefly the Chief Minister of Kerala. Among other things, I asked him about the success of Kerala’s family planning program. “It is simple,” he said. “It is because we have so many rivers and so much water.” “So?” I asked, surprised. “So everyone is very clean. We all have a bath twice daily. That keeps us very healthy. Children survive better even in poor families because we have good healthcare for all. So, we don’t need to have large families with more children. Everyone is satisfied with just two.” What sounded naïve and simplistic in 1979 makes so much sense today in a coronavirus-struck world. Bathe regularly. Wash your hands and feet when you enter the house. Wear fresh clothes. It is also a state with many political and social firsts — the first Indian state to have a coalition government; the first state in the world to have a democratically elected communist government; the first state in India to throw open temples to all castes. It is also one of the first states in the country where political parties with strong communal and religious roots formed coalitions to fight for a common cause.

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