Exploring the past

[KP Sasi]

Any exploration into the life of my father makes me more than humble. Our father, comrade K. Damodaran was recognised as an intellectual who instilled Marxism into the minds of Keralites from its early stages. I tried my level best to find out how many years our father spent in jail. Even now, I do not really know. The information I have received is between 12 to 16 years in total. If it is 16 years, he spent one fourth of his life in jail. If it is 12 years, then he must have spent around one fifth of his life in jail. The underground period is different. 
In fact, there is an interesting story around it.

Once he received permission from Kannoor jail on parole, to go to his house for four days. On his way, he stopped at Ponnani. Ponnani beedi workers' union was initiated by K. Damodaran. There was a strike of the beedi workers union for better wages at that time. Naturally, he got involved with it instead of going home. He gave a speech quoting Quran at that time. Ponnani was filled with Muslim beedi workers. The merit of K.Damodaran was that he was well versed with Bible, Qur'an and Sanskrit texts of the upper caste Hindu spiritualities. I am convinced that this guy is the first liberation theologian in India. Liberation theology entered India only in 1968. But he spoke about it in India a couple of decades before.

After the speech among the striking beedi workers, K. Damodaran was arrested. Then he told the inspector who arrested him: `You can't put me in jail. You have no authority.' The inspector asked him: `Why not?' And he said: `I am already in Kannoor Jail. I have come out on parole. It is physically impossible for me to be in two jails at the same time.'😊

[KP Sasi]

Dear Pappooty, The debate between Fr. Vadakkan and K. Damodaran is still relevant today. That debate was the first exploration into liberation theology in India. That took place before liberation theology took roots in Latin America. If you forget the symbols like Moscow, what remains is a social and political interpretation of Jesus Christ as a revolutionary. The debate happened through pamphlets. After the debate, Fr. Vadakkan and K. Damodaran remained as thick friends. Pritam Singh ji. K. Damodaran was extremely fond of you. You were one outlet where he could speak his mind. Despite the difference of age or experience, somehow I could see that both of you respected each other. I was too young at that time.

On Sat, Jun 22, 2019 at 9:47 PM Pappootty .K <papp...@gmail.com> wrote:

യേശുക്രിസ്തു മോസ്കോവിൽ എന്ന പേരിൽ ,ജനയുഗത്തിലാണെന്നു തോന്നുന്നു, ദാമോദരൻ തുടർച്ചയായി എഴുതുകയും ഫാ.വടക്കനുമായി തർക്കിക്കുകയും ചെയ്തിരുന്നു.

On Sat, 22 Jun 2019, 10:16 satchida, <satc...@gmail.com> wrote:

Knew him personally. Fond memories...

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy smartphone.

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From: David Selvaraj <davidse...@gmail.com>

Date: 22/06/2019 09:45 (GMT+05:30)

To: KP Sasi <kpsa...@gmail.com>

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Subject: Re: Exploring the past

This is great. Thank you for sharing. I have heard of him from my father in law.

I agree with what you are hinting at: Theologies have to liberated. This can happen only in a context of struggles for peace with justice .

The fruit has not fallen far from the tree.

David

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[KP Sasi]

Sachi Mash, I think there is no need to compare Debiprasad Chattopodhya and K.Damodaran. Personally speaking, I am highly impressed with DP Chattopadhya's works, especially on his work on Lokayata. Of course, K.Damodaran had a broader perspective. But DP's work is more specific. In any case, there were not too many people within the communist movement like them. And in these days when communal fascism is of mainstream acceptance, I believe that any work on history of philosophical traditions from a political perspective is too relevant and much in need.

On Sun, Jun 23, 2019 at 9:38 AM satchida <satc...@gmail.com> wrote:

I got close to him personally only since the late 60s when I first met him to support APDR, a human rights organisation whose branch in Kerala  some of us were  launching at that time; but I had grown up reading his works like Indiayude Atmaavu ( The Spirit/ Soul of India), a book whose relevance is growing today. Com Damodaran  fought both capitalism and mechanical materialism with equal vehemence and upheld all that was positive in India' s tradition instead of denying it altogether that cost the Movement dearly as it left the entire tradition for Hindutva ideologues to manipulate. Hisposition was wiser and deare to me than that of Debiprasad Chattopadhyay etc who would not go beyond Chatvaka. If I still uphold such a position it is also partly due to Damodaran' s  reserachesalong with my reading of late Marx and of Gandhi.

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy smartphone.

-------- Original message --------

From: Pritam Singh <pritam...@area.ox.ac.uk>

Date: 22/06/2019 22:37 (GMT+05:30)

To: KP Sasi <kpsa...@gmail.com>, fourth-esta...@googlegroups.com, Green Youth Movement <green...@googlegroups.com>, Sandeep Pandey <ashaa...@yahoo.com>, meghnath ranchi <akhra....@gmail.com>, Joe Athialy <jo...@athyal.org>, George mutholil <gmut...@gmail.com>, Satchid Anandan <satc...@gmail.com>, blue rose <seen...@gmail.com>, Sudhir Pattnaik <sudhir....@gmail.com>, Uma Gopi <achint...@yahoo.co.in>, Anitha Sharma <anithash...@gmail.com>, Javed Anand <javed...@gmail.com>, Joe Athialy <j...@athyal.org>, Joe Athialy <j...@cenfa.org>, Joe Athialy <joeat...@gmail.com>, Jose Kavi <kav...@gmail.com>, Mustafa Desamangalam <musta...@gmail.com>, Augustine Sebastian <opheliaof...@gmail.com>, Pandavath Baburaj <pandavat...@gmail.com>, Divya Bhatt <613tassel...@gmail.com>, Kavita Krishnan <ai...@yahoo.co.in>, ajay singh <ajays...@gmail.com>, Joe Xavier <ajoex...@gmail.com>, arun kali raja <aruns...@gmail.com>, asit das <asit...@gmail.com>, Dalit Christians <cbci...@gmail.com>, Koya.p...@rediffmail.com, Medha Patkar <medha....@gmail.com>, aruna roy <arun...@gmail.com>, medha <me...@narmada.org>, Medha Patkar <nba....@gmail.com>, invites <inv...@yahoogroups.com>, common-concern <common-...@googlegroups.com>, SOLIDARITY YOUTH MOVEMENT <solida...@gmail.com>, Peoples' Solidarity Concerns <peoples...@gmail.com>, anand patwardhan <anan...@gmail.com>, Kappen Mercy <mercy...@yahoo.com>, David Selvaraj <davidse...@gmail.com>, Vijayasingh Ronald David <vsroy...@gmail.com>, Vijayan MJ <g...@psa-india.net>, Vijayan MJ <vij...@psa-india.net>, VINOD KOSHY <vinodmuk...@gmail.com>, reena...@gmail.com, Kedar Mishra <kedar...@yahoo.com>, Ish Mishra <mish...@gmail.com>, Pritam Singh <psi...@brookes.ac.uk>, Brp Bhaskar <brpbh...@gmail.com>, Satya Sivaraman <satya...@gmail.com>, "binumathew100 ." <binuma...@gmail.com>, charul joshi <sankal...@gmail.com>, charul joshi <sankal...@gmail.com>, Samar Bosu Mullick <sanjay...@hotmail.com>, Durang Basumullick <durang.ba...@gmail.com>, Samyadip Chatterji <samy...@gmail.com>, Sathyajit Baburaj <sathy...@gmail.com>, David Selvaraj <davids...@gmail.com>, David Selvaraj <david.s...@gmail.com>, Krishnamurthi J <jkrishn...@gmail.com>, Lakshmi Josyula <jos...@purdue.edu>, Sandhya Venugopalan <sandhy...@gmail.com>, KP Madhu <kp.mad...@gmail.com>, Mohanan K P <mohan...@gmail.com>

Subject: Re: Exploring the past

Dear Sasi,

Your father has been the finest communist I have ever met. Though I was much younger than him, I had a strong bond of friendship with him. I wrote his obituary which the Indian Express published as a letter to the Editor. Unfortunately, I have not been able to find a copy of that obituary which if I ever find, I will send that to you.

In his memory

Pritam

---

From: KP Sasi <kpsa...@gmail.com>
Sent: 22 June 2019 03:45:43
To: fourth-esta...@googlegroups.com; Green Youth Movement; Sandeep Pandey; meghnath ranchi; Joe Athialy; George mutholil; Satchid Anandan; blue rose; Sudhir Pattnaik; Uma Gopi; Anitha Sharma; Javed Anand; Joe Athialy; Joe Athialy; Joe Athialy; Jose Kavi; Mustafa Desamangalam; Augustine Sebastian; Pandavath Baburaj; Divya Bhatt; Kavita Krishnan; ajay singh; Joe Xavier; arun kali raja; asit das; Dalit Christians; Koya.p...@rediffmail.com; Medha Patkar; aruna roy; medha; Medha Patkar; invites; common-concern; SOLIDARITY YOUTH MOVEMENT; Peoples' Solidarity Concerns; anand patwardhan; Kappen Mercy; David Selvaraj; Vijayasingh Ronald David; Vijayan MJ; Vijayan MJ; VINOD KOSHY; reena...@gmail.com; Kedar Mishra; Ish Mishra; Pritam Singh; Pritam Singh; Brp Bhaskar; Satya Sivaraman; binumathew100 .; charul joshi; charul joshi; Samar Bosu Mullick; Durang Basumullick; Samyadip Chatterji; Sathyajit Baburaj; David Selvaraj; David Selvaraj; Krishnamurthi J; Lakshmi Josyula; Sandhya Venugopalan; KP Madhu; Mohanan K P
Subject: Exploring the past

 

[Anand Patwardhan]

dear sasi

it looks like u have plenty of material to make a rich filmic exploration both personal and political. love, anand

[KP Sasi]

Dear Anand and Satchid Anandan,

Thank you for your responses. Yes, I have a lot of materials for a film on K. Damodaran. The only thing is that I am looking at it as a feature film. My colleague and ex- associate director who wasted so much of time in his life, Mustafa Desamangalam wanted to make a documentary on K. Damodaran. Among the interviews he had taken there was also an interview of my mother before her death. He could not raise hundred rupees to complete that film. As far as I am concerned, I can not raise money for any of my film plans. Therefore, I am spending my time in writing these days. It doesn't cost money.

On Sun, Jun 23, 2019 at 11:55 AM Satchid Anandan <satc...@gmail.com> wrote:

Yes, Sasi, I completely agree with Anand. It will be wonderful to have a good documentary on Com Damodaran.

I do value DPC's work but its scope is very limited , being confined to lokayata . If you recall some of us also got his works as well as DD Kosambi's  translated and published in Malayalam. But one also needs to look at the so-called 'idealist' traditions as religion has to be seen not just as a collection of holy books, but as day-to-day practice, ( Habermas's 'everyday') and seen in  historical perspective as to what they really did , not just what their founders or propagators preached.  ( Remember liberation theologies, religious movements for women etc and the positive roles they at times played esp in Africa, Latin America and some Arabian countries)

Satchida

[KP Sasi]

Dear Anand and Satchid Anandan,

Thank you for your responses. Yes, I have a lot of materials for a film on K. Damodaran. The only thing is that I am looking at it as a feature film. My colleague and ex- associate director who wasted so much of time in his life with me, Mustafa Desamangalam, wanted to make a documentary on K. Damodaran. Among the interviews he had taken there was also an interview of my mother before her death. He could not raise hundred rupees to complete that film. As far as I am concerned, I can not raise money for any of my film plans. Therefore, I am spending my time in writing these days. It doesn't cost money. Dreams are cheaper than reality.

On Sun, Jun 23, 2019 at 11:55 AM Satchid Anandan <satc...@gmail.com> wrote:

Yes, Sasi, I completely agree with Anand. It will be wonderful to have a good documentary on Com Damodaran.

I do value DPC's work but its scope is very limited , being confined to lokayata . If you recall some of us also got his works as well as DD Kosambi's  translated and published in Malayalam. But one also needs to look at the so-called 'idealist' traditions as religion has to be seen not just as a collection of holy books, but as day-to-day practice, ( Habermas's 'everyday') and seen in  historical perspective as to what they really did , not just what their founders or propagators preached.  ( Remember liberation theologies, religious movements for women etc and the positive roles they at times played esp in Africa, Latin America and some Arabian countries)

Satchida

On Sun, 23 Jun 2019 at 11:44, Anand Patwardhan <anan...@gmail.com> wrote:

[KP Sasi]

Dear Sachidanandan,

What worries me these days is not the growth of Hindutva forces. I am more worried about the responses of our own friends. In Kerala for example, many of my friends equate religion to communalism. This is certainly a dangerous tradition. What we are going through is a narrow, mechanical interpretations on fascism. And I know many people who are more secular within their own religions, more than my own secular friends.

[KP Sasi]

Dear CPI, Dear CPM, Dear Congress, Dear Muslim League, Dear Secular and socialist forces, listen to my words from my heart: Abdul Nazar Maudany has already spent 20 years as an under trial in jail right in front of you. 20 years in jail without being proven as `guilty'. The only `guilty' people I find in this debate are you guys, my friends. You are guilty of not protecting the basic human rights of a person. By keeping mum on this issue, you have proven yourself as `not secular'.

https://www.countercurrents.org/sasi090414.htm

On Mon, Jun 24, 2019 at 4:12 PM Girish Kumar <giri...@gmail.com> wrote:

ഭാരതീയദർശനങ്ങൾ എന്ന അദ്ദേഹത്തിൻറെ കൃതി ഒന്നുമാത്രം മതി 

അദ്ദേഹത്തെ അനശ്വരനാക്കാൻ. പക്ഷെ ഇന്നത്തെ തലമുറ അദ്ദേഹത്തെ, അറിയുന്നില്ല, വായിക്കുന്നില്ല. 

ഗിരീഷ് കുമാർ ആർ.  

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[KP Sasi]

Hats off to Sunitha Devadas. She has clearly articulated my own frustration about Abdul Nasar Maudany. Please share this widely.
https://www.facebook.com/nazarudheen.thirunavaya.3/videos/2237776726475451/UzpfSTEwMDAwNzEyNDA0NjczNjpWSzoyMzc5MTgzMzQ1NjI4MjAw/

On Sat, Jun 22, 2019 at 8:15 AM KP Sasi <kpsa...@gmail.com> wrote:

[KP Sasi]

Dear CPI, Dear CPM, Dear Congress, Dear Muslim League, Dear Secular and socialist forces, listen to my words from my heart: Abdul Nazar Maudany has already spent 20 years as an under trial in jail right in front of you. 20 years in jail without being proven as `guilty'. The only `guilty' people I find in this debate are you guys, my friends. You are guilty of not protecting the basic human rights of a person. By keeping mum on this issue, you have proven yourself as `not secular'.

https://www.countercurrents.org/sasi090414.htm

On Sat, Jun 22, 2019 at 8:15 AM KP Sasi <kpsa...@gmail.com> wrote:

[KP Sasi]

Babu, I discussed this with my brother two years back. But he doesn't remember it. The fat nude paintings of women were a decoration in that house in Ferozeshah Road. I am telling him to continue painting and photography rather than trying to become an academician. He is a good artist. Sometimes people do not do what they are good at.

On Mon, Jun 24, 2019 at 7:29 PM Pandavath Baburaj <pandavat...@gmail.com> wrote:

For me the enduring image of com. K. Damodaran is of him sitting in his room in the M P's Bungalow in New Delhi writing something serious sorrounded by nude paintings. Well buxomed nude women  smiling at him from the walls, all in flaming red !!.The great comrade did not seem very upset about the nudity around him. Sasi's mother told me they were Mohan's paintings. I was twelve years old then. Much later Sasi told me that he was very upset when Mohan tried to remove Guruvayoorappan's photo from the wall. Sasi's mother a devotee had hung it there. He told his son how important it is to respect other people's beliefs. Once Sasi was smoking when Damodaran came into the room and Sasi tried to hide the cigarette. Damodaran was very angry at Sasi not for smoking but for hiding it. I have been Sasi's friend, disciple and associate since the early 1980s. Com. Damodaran was always with us in our long journey together.....                                            BABU

[KP Sasi]

 Mohanan KP, If I say that your brush strokes are bolder than Van Gogh, you will say that I am accusing you. So, thanks for sending us your recent works. Will look forward to receive more.

On Mon, Jun 24, 2019 at 10:32 PM Mohanan K P <mohan...@gmail.com> wrote:

Dear Babhu, 

The accusation that I do not do what I am good at is false. While it is true that I do not paint fat nudes any more, I continue to draw and occasionally paint. As evidence, I am attaching  the scans of a few recent sketches of mine. 

I am also good at cooking. (I am attaching a document called "Adventures in Cooking" as evidence for my interest in cooking even though it does not constitute evidence for the claim that I am good at cooking. 

I am also good at logic (I am going to give a two day workshop on alternative logics this week end.), mathematical thinking, scientific thinking, and philosophical thinking. I currently teach thinking like mathematicians, scientists and philosophers. (I am attaching a Current Science article as evidence to support this statement.) 

Like my father, I have a strong interest in societal problems.  Evidence: Tara and I recently created a course on Global Citizenship through Inquiry commissioned by UNESCO MGIEP. It has modules on migration, democracy, nationhood and nationalism, identify, and collective violence. 

Finally, even though I am not a grassroots activist, I  have inherited from my father his missionary spirit  of striving towards of a better world,  but I pursue that missionary  work through education, not politics (see  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgI0X7XqotI&t=5s and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krss9ifVWf4&t=982s ) I describe myself as an educational activist. 

I don't think I can make the world a better place through my art or my cooking. So I choose to pursue my calling through education. Do contact me if this calling resonates with yours.

Mo(han(an)) 

PS.I also make funny videos for educational purposes.See http://aki.schoolofthinq.com/sub_modules/69

."