With two words Malayalam poet Balachandran Chullikkad rebuffed the question from a reader who asked him to come back to poetry from the artificial world of cinema. “Not interested,” replied the poet, known for his temper, at a literary festival organised by Mathrubhumi.
The question and his response is now going viral after someone ripped off that part and mixed it as a video.
Chullikkad, a poet who has been dear to Malayali readers since the 1970s, had taken to acting many years ago, something that is believed to have saved him from a much worse fate had he stuck to his former lifestyle.
His response therefore was instant when the reader asked, “What is the distance from poetry to cinema? Will you come back to poetry? There are a bunch of us who love good poetry. Will you not come back from the artificial world of cinema?”
After the initial curt response, Chullikkad took the microphone again and said, “I do what I feel like doing, not what others demand of me. I live my life, I don’t want to live the lives of others. In less than half a century, I’ve written less than 140 poems. I don’t take part in poetry competitions.”
Another person from the audience persisted: “You say you don’t want to return to poetry, but when you recited the poem now, we heard your voice crack and saw your eyes fill up.”
To this, Chullikkad replied that he had published a poem in Mathrubhumi magazine only two weeks back, and another four weeks ago. “Should I write every day? The same day that the poem was published in Mathrubhumi, a teacher from Maharajas College told me, ‘I don’t see anything you write nowadays’. I told him politely that I don’t show it to anyone, sir. Such questions have no sincerity. I’ve faced many such questions and don’t have any complaints. It’s fine if you haven’t read my poems that are being published these days, but to say that I haven’t written any... as if they’re just waiting for my poem before they can die! There are so many great poems in the world that a person cannot finish reading them even in 10 births.”
Once the video went viral and triggered many discussions, Chullikkad said in a statement, “Don’t spend valuable time in defending, backing or lauding me. Leave the slurs and scolding to me, let that not affect you. I’m used to this kind of weird nature of average Malayalis from my childhood. Don’t let mud be slung on you in my name.”
Chullikkad’s piercing poems, recited in his deep and intense voice, captivated hundreds of youth in the late 70s and 80s. His semi-autobiographical book Chidambarasmarana narrates his poignant life experiences.
Chullikkad made his acting debut in legendary director Aravindan’s movie Pokkuveyil in 1981. He has been active in acting – both in films and in television – for the past two decades.