E K Narayanan Nambiar (90) has not read ‘Love in the Time of Cholera’; nor is he the famous protagonist Florentino Ariza. But his life is more eventful than any fictional character. He and his first wife Sarada, with whom he was forced to part ways 72 years ago due to a socio-political turbulence, are also the characters of a historic-novel written by his niece Santha Kavumbayi.
And when they met, it was almost like a sequel to her novel, ‘December 30’, based on the Kavumbayi peasant uprising against feudalism in the district in 1946. “When I wrote the novel, I never had any inkling that they would meet again. They were separated within months of their marriage,” she said. When Nambiar married his distant relative, he was just 18 while she was 13. This happened when the struggle against British rule was at its peak and farmers were joining hands to fight feudal lords.
On December 29, Nambiar, accompanied by his father Thaliyan Raman Nambiar and hundreds of others gathered at the hill near the house of the local feudal landlord. Their plan was to avenge brutalities meted out to them. But before they could do anything, Malabar Special Police rained bullets on the mob, killing five. Nambiar and his father escaped unhurt. But police set their home afire and tortured the women to get a lead. Sarada was spared. The incident forced the family to send her back home. Police visited their home for nearly two months until they were held.
On February 11, 1950, Raman Nambiar was shot inside prison. The son, who was shot 16 times, survived. “Aunty had no idea that her husband had survived. She was compelled to marry another man. Uncle too married another woman after he was released,” said Kavumbayi. After she met Sarada’s son, they felt the two should meet because they still remembered each other fondly, she said. They met on December 26.
E K Narayanan Nambiar with his first wife Sarada
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