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| Varadan Krishnamoorthy, Pallippuram, Palakkad |
For
the script-less language of the tribes of Arunachal Pradesh, Varadan
Krishnamoorthy is the teacher from Kerala who built the bridge of
letters to the outside world. His
painstaking effort and experience of teaching English for 25 years in the
North Eastern State, led to the publication of the ‘Proverbs of Adis’
in English in 1989.
Later
he compiled and published their folk tales in English besides
collaborating with his student Gechin in the writing of the 1st
dictionary of the language.
It
was love of English that made Krishnamoorthy proceed to CIEFL,
Taking
the assistance of his student, he used to visit the houses of his pupils
and gather proverbs and folktales from the elderly.
Polished and resurrected in English, these tales form the first
literary handshake of the tribes with the world.
In
appreciation for his efforts, the Adi and Tagin literary circles had
extended their membership to this outsider from Kerala.
After
a quarter century in distant lands, Krishnamoorthy opted for voluntary
retirement and came back to Palakkad.
His other writings include ‘Poohi Calls Me’ and
‘Kidnapper’, both collection of stories and ‘Weak Bridge Drive
Slow’, a novel, all in English. In
his own native tongue, he has written a novel, ‘Veendum Sangeetham’.
He
lives at Pallippuram with his wife Thulasimani and daughters Prathibha
Narayani and Preetha Lakshmi.
Courtesy:
Sulfikar
(text),
Sree, Malayala Manorama, August
28, 2005
Contributed by: Administrator
