I wrote my first letter to the editor in The Hindu in the late sixties. My close friend CR Sukumaran Nair was learning typewriting at an institute. He typed out the letter for me. The Hindu, which I used to subscribe to, published it promptly. As I used to tell him, the editor picked it up because it was typewritten!
That was the first time my name, with the place name Pathanamthitta, appeared in a newspaper. In the afternoon, I went to the Panchayat Library to check how many people read the newspaper. Many readers picked up the paper and scanned the pages, but I could not see anyone noticing my letter or my name.
I preferred to believe that lakhs of readers elsewhere in the country read my letter. More than five and a half decades later, I still get a lot of happiness when I see my byline.
Not many people know that I ventured into journalism by publishing a magazine titled Naveenam. I could have chosen any designation other than Editor, which was bestowed on the late Nellickal Muralidharan Nair.
The print-line mentioned me as “Sub-editor.” Only one person associated with the venture is alive today. He is Thomas Abraham, whose travelogue is now being serialised in the Malayala Manorama.
When my wife turned 60 and 70, we organised a large celebration at the church, where Prof Omchery NN Pillai, Prof M. Chandrasekharan Nair, Shri Raveendran Mannodi, and Smt Sarada Raveendran were guests of honor.
When I reached those milestones, my wife suggested that I organise such a function. I always preferred to celebrate my birthdays with my family members at home or at a restaurant.
But when my friends at the Kerala Club suggested that I celebrate my Golden Jubilee as a Journalist at the Club, I could not resist the temptation.
It was on December 3, 1973, that I joined the India Press Agency (IPA), owned by Nikhil Chakravarthy and edited by OP Sabharwal, as a full-time journalist. I have quit many jobs, but I never quit journalism. Even today, my little income is by way of writing editorials and columns.
As Kerala Club’s capacity was limited, I could not invite many of my friends. Almost all of whom I invited agreed to come. I told only one person not to come. That was Mr. HK Dua, whose birthday fell on the same day. I also thought it would be strenuous for him to climb the steep stairs.
Shri Shekhar Gupta, who was my editor, wanted to attend, but his travel plans clashed with the Club program. I would have been happy to hear him as he is now the editor of my son Snehesh.
The Secretary of the Club, Shri K. Madhavan Kutty, said it was to accommodate him that the function was held today, as he was away in Kerala for a month. He also compèred the programme.
Among my friends, the first to be called to address the gathering was Dr Ash Narain Roy, Director, Institute of Social Sciences. He was my colleague at the Hindustan Times.
Around three decades ago, when my friend Dr. George Mathew was looking for someone to succeed him as Director, I recommended Dr Roy because he was essentially an academic. The rest is history. He recently received one of the world’s most prestigious awards. As usual, Dr Roy quoted Edmund Burke to Ernest Hemingway to Kalidasa to shower panegyrics on me.
Shri R. Prasannan, Resident Editor of the Manorama Group, said I was a Journalist without Jealousy. He remembered how I complimented him when, as a cub reporter, he introduced the first ‘Man of the Year’ of The Week, Baba Amte, in the early eighties. Actually, the man came alive in his words!
Shri Sunny Sebastian, the adopted son of Rajasthan, who represented The Hindu and went on to establish the third university of journalism in the country as Vice-Chancellor, quoted my columns to recall how I became an “educationist” by reading the Kothari Commission Report on education, which was to me like the Bible when I started my career.
Shri N. Ashokan of the Mathrubhumi Group referred to my write-ups and said they were instructive and illuminating.
Senior BJP functionary and journalist, Shri R. Balashankar recalled our association that began when we had a common friend in CR Sukumaran Nair. He revealed something startling.
While I was with The Hitavada in Bhopal, he tipped me about a school that was flouting every norm. I did a story, leading to an inquiry, based on which it was closed. A few days after the report appeared, someone close to the school owner hit his head with a brick, forcing him to seek medical help. Everybody had a hearty laugh when he said, “I felt the weight of Philip’s words on my head!”.
Rev Abraham Mathew, who is a senior functionary at the National Council of Churches, and who led a discussion on Manipur at the Club a few months back, had come with a shawl though the invitation specifically mentioned that no gifts were needed. He said my articles helped the readers to think differently.
Thereafter, the secretary left the floor open to the audience. Prof M. Chandrasekharan Nair of IGNOU regaled the audience when he narrated his experience while undergoing an MRI test.
He had read my piece on FB about my own experience with MRI. It gave him a lot of courage to remain inside the machine. However, I had not written that the test would be incomplete if the patient had not remained in the machine for 12 minutes. As a result, the professor had to remain in the machine a second time, totalling 23 minutes!
My colleagues at The Tribune, Syed Noorruzzman, Ms. Chetna Keer, and Ms. Tripti Nath had narrated some Chandigarh-related anecdotes.
I had actually forgotten one incident. Soon after I joined the newspaper, an employee had to be admitted to Escorts Hospital at Mohali. They demanded Rs 1 lakh as an advance to do an operation. I forced the management to issue the cheque immediately. Thank you, Syed Saab for this recall.
I first heard about Ms. Pamela Philipose that she was from Chengannur and was bright and talented from her father-in-law who was a former diplomat and my friend. I was happy that she was accompanied by her husband and scholar Achin Vanayak, whom his classmates in New York used to tease for keeping “a snake” in his turban.
When his father heard about it, he went to the school, where the principal allowed him to address all the students. He told the students about Sikhism and how important for them was to keep their hair. He removed his turban and opened it to tell them that there was no snake in it. Thereafter no one teased him. For me, it made a good middle in the HT.
Pamela said I always enjoyed writing editorials and was happy to know that I never gave up writing them. Shri Marydas John, who retired from The Hindu, recalled how I mentored him as a journalist. He would be happy to remember that I asked him to do a feature on Malayalis in Patna for The Searchlight and report the murder of a Malayali at Hazaribagh. I gave him money to go there and do the story.
Social worker, lawyer, and Achan Oru Vazha Vechu-fame Deepa Joseph recalled how she used me as a ‘phone-a-friend’ and scored a point while taking part in a television debate. She called me a ‘walking encyclopaedia,’ an epithet my grandson Nehemiah would laugh at, for he knows me better than her.
Mr. V K Cherian complimented me for my ‘secularism’ while being a believer and church functionary. He mentioned that we both came from Onattukara, which produced legends like Kayamkulam Kochunni and Cartoonist Shankar.
Dr. Sakhi John was at his eloquent best when he recalled my contributions as President and Chief Executive of Deepalaya. He sent me a voice clip that contained an anecdote which on hindsight he thought was too emotional to say in public.
Uma Rajesh is my colleague at the Club. She was generous enough to bring sweets — rasagulla and carrot halwa — for all, as it was the first anniversary of her daughter Namita. As a result, the rasagulla that I ordered remained in the vessel while everybody took the one she brought!
Shri Joseph Maliaken had already established his name as a journalist when I took baby steps in journalism. He said that by being present and speaking, he had proved that he too had no jealousy. He appreciated my social interventions.
Club joint secretary Sunny publicly apologised for coming late and privately told me that he was watching a Mohanlal movie. He had only nice words for me. My neighbour Mathew Thariyan recalled my sermon in Hindi in the church, which surprised everyone for both the language and the content. Cartoonist Sudheernath said he recognised me more for my social work than for my journalism.
I had invited Shri Varghese George of The Hindu. As he left for Canada, he forced his parents-in-law to attend on his behalf.
Mrs. Annamma Kurien told me that she wanted to speak but could not summon up the courage to do so. She told me how I had once complimented her for a report she presented in the church about which I also commented on Facebook. I recalled the Malayalam proverb, even the rock which remained closed to the jasmine plant would smell jasmine.
My friend Janu Unni was busy taking pictures, which made the event a memorable one for many. I was happy to see some of my colleagues like Mr. TM Abraham, Mr. Shaji John, and Ms. Leena George president, treasurer, and Board member of Deepalaya, attending the function.
When I landed in New Delhi, one of the first persons I met in his office was CP Ramachandran. Fifteen years later, I occupied his cabin at the HT. I was thrilled to see his daughter Anasuya Vaidya and her husband at the Club to felicitate me.
I can’t mention all the names here but I would never forget the poem my friend and colleague Shri Nandakumar wrote and presented on the occasion.
Former VC of IGNOU, Shri Mohammed Aslam, sent me a message he wanted the secretary to read out on the occasion. It said: “Due to some unavoidable circumstances, I am not able to attend this important function. But I would like to be a part of it through this message. I have met many people during my professional career stretching for more than 47 years, out of which I spent the last 32 years in Delhi.
“I was greatly impressed by Mr. AJ Philip whom I met about 10-15 years back at a function at the Institute of Social Sciences. After a few years when we had almost forgotten about our meeting and I was professionally being harassed, he came to know about it. He stood like a rock behind me.
“He is among very few people who are not scared of anyone when it comes to defending the truth. It brought us closer to each other and we got an opportunity to know each other better. His involvement in establishing and shaping several schools is praiseworthy and that too in educationally backward areas like Mewat.
“I discovered in him a sincere and bold journalist and educationist which is a rare commodity nowadays. I am so impressed with the contribution he made in the field of education and at the same time kept the highest standards of fearless journalism intact. I congratulate Mr. Philip on this professional accolade.’
My friend and former Kerala Chief Secretary, Dr VP Joy, sent me a video message which I am attaching here. Many of my friends have posted on FB and hundreds of my friends have commented there. Shri Amarendra Kishore came with a large bouquet of flowers
Everyone present autographed a copy of the Reluctant Dissenter by James Patrick Shannon, a Catholic Archbishop who quit his job to marry his lady love. I am grateful to Kerala Club and to everyone who made the day a memorable for me and my family and friends. As I said at the function, I would like to live only till I can write, not a minute afterwards.
I noticed that the most-heard speech was my wife’s. She liberated me from many mundane assignments and botherations to concentrate on my writing. She told the audience that despite all my drawbacks, she still loved me.
I am grateful to her, my children and grandchildren who never disturbed me while I was reading or writing.
As I sign off, I wish all my friends a very happy and prosperous New Year. May God bless us all.”
(A.J. Philip is a senior journalist and columnist. He has held high editorial posts in The Tribune, the Indian Express and the Hindustan Times. He writes regularly for the Indian Currents, the Oman Tribune and the New Indian Express. He can be contacted at [email protected])