Kallen Pokkudan, also known as Kandal Pokkudan, was an Indian environmental activist and writer from

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

. He was known for his efforts for the protection and proliferation of the

mangrove forest Mangrove forests, also called mangrove swamps, mangrove thickets or mangals, are productive wetlands that occur in coastal intertidal zones. Mangrove forests grow mainly at tropical and subtropical latitudes because mangroves cannot withstand fr ...

s in Kerala, since 1989.

Biography

Semporna Sabah Mangroves-between-Kg-Bubul-and-Kg-Air-Sri-Jaya-01

Pokkudan was born in 1937 at Iddukkil Thara, a hamlet in the remote village of Ezhom Moola, near

Pazhayangadi Pazhayangadi (Also called Payangadi), is a small township, approximately north of district headquarters Kannur, south of Payyanur and west of Taliparamba in the Indian state of Kerala. In the local language of Malayalam it literally means ...

, in Kannur district in the south Indian state of

in a tribal family to Aringelayan Govindan Parotti and Kallen Vellachi. He had minimal education which extended only up to 2nd standard and he took to communism at the age of 18. He was more aligned to the radical group in the

Communist Party of India Communist Party of India (CPI) is the oldest Marxist–Leninist communist party in India and one of the nine national parties in the country. The CPI was founded in modern-day Kanpur (formerly known as Cawnpore) on 26 December 1925. H ...

, was involved in many people's movement and was arrested on many occasions. He was an accused in many cases related to farmers' unrests including a murder case and was incarcerated several times. When the party split in 1964, he took sides with the

Communist Party of India (Marxist) The Communist Party of India (Marxist) (abbreviated as CPI(M)/CPIM/CPM) is a Marxism–Leninism, Marxist–Leninist communist List of political parties in India, political party in India. It is the largest communist party of India in term ...

but de-aligned from party ranks in the 1980s when he became disenchanted with them. After his split with the party, Pokkudan spent his time in environmental protection activities, focusing on the protection of the mangrove forests of Kerala. He embarked on a mission to plant mangroves across the coastal waters of Kerala and is reported to have planted over one

lakh A lakh (; abbreviated L; sometimes written lac) is a unit in the Indian numbering system equal to one hundred thousand (100,000; scientific notation: 105). In the Indian 2,2,3 convention of digit grouping, it is written as 1,00,000. For ex ...

(100,000) mangrove plants in the state. He founded the ''Mangrove School'' and conducted over 500 classes in various parts of the state in an attempt to educate the masses about the ecological importance of mangroves. His last work, ''Kandal Inangal'' (Mangrove Species) is a work detailing various species of mangroves found in Kerala.

Sthalam ''Sthalam'' is a 2011 Malayalam film written and directed by Kaviyoor Sivaprasad, and produced by Mariam Anoop and Rajesh S Nair under the banner of Avagama creations. The film, starring Bala, Shweta Menon, Sudheesh, and Jyothirmayi, and shot i ...

, a 2012 film by Siva Prasad, has been made on the life of Pokkudan. He was one of the protagonists of '' Papilio Buddha'', a 2013 feature film by Jayan Cherian, which focuses on the environmental and spiritual aspects of life. Pokkudan was married to Meenakshi and the couple had three daughters, Pushpalatha, Pushpavalli and Rekha and three sons, Anandan, Raghunath and Sreejith. Sreejith Paithalen, the last born, is a freelance journalist and has

ghost written A ghostwriter is hired to write literary or journalistic works, speeches, or other texts that are officially credited to another person as the author. Celebrities, executives, participants in timely news stories, and political leaders often h ...

two of his father's books. He died on 27 September 2015, aged 78, at Kannur, succumbing to age related illnesses, his wife preceding him in death, and was cremated at his residence at

Books

Pokkudan had only basic literacy but he published several books, with assistance from others, including two autobiographical works, ''Ente Jeevitham'' (My Life) and ''Kandalkkadukalkkidayil Ente Jeevitham'' (My Life Among the Mangrove Forests). ''Kandal Inangal'' (Mangrove Species) and ''Chuttachi'' are two of his other notable works. His life has been documented in a biography, ''Pokkudan Ezhuthatha Aathmakatha'' (The Unwritten Autobiography of Pokkudan), written by Thaha Madayi and published by Samakalika Malayalam in 2003.

Film on Pokkudan

A Malayalam film called ''

'' was made in 2011 based upon the life of Kallen Pokkudan. It was written and directed by

Kaviyoor Sivaprasad Kaviyoor Sivaprasad is a Malayalam film director, screenwriter and visiting faculty of Malayalam University and SJCC. He is the father of actor-director Sidhartha Siva. Awards * 2016: ''Chalachithra Prathiba Award'' by the Kerala Film Critics ...

Awards

Pokkudan received the P. V. Thampy Memorial Endowment Award in 2001. Two years later, he was awarded the ''Bhoomi Mitra'' award followed by the ''Vana Mitra'' (Friend of Forests) Award of the Kerala Forests and Wildlife Department, in 2006, making him the first recipient of the honour. The Government of Kerala honoured him with the ''Haritha Vyakthi'' (Green Personality) Award in 2010. He won the P. S. Gopinathan Nair Environmental Award in 2014. He was also a recipient of the A. V. Abdul Rahman Haji award (2010), ''Acharya Award'' from

Kannur University Kannur University is a multi-campus public university established in 1996 to provide development of higher education in Kasaragod, Kannur, Wayanad districts of Kerala, India. It serves the region of North Malabar. It was established after the ...

and Bala Sahitya Institute Award.

References

External links