Mandela Voice Echoed in Kerala Too

19 July 2013
Thiruvanathapuram

As South Africa celebrates Nelson Mandela’s 95th birthday, a few in the state who brought the spirit of the South African freedom movement to Kerala in the 80s and 90s recalled their efforts.

By translating his memoir and poems written by various black poets and presenting street plays, these men tried their best to reproduce here the same vibrancy that was witnessed by the South African society during the period. “Mandela and his movement represented a time in history when the black people all over the world woke up, organised and began voicing their rights in an unprecedented way.

The emergent blacks became the heroes of the time,” said N K Raveendran, Associate Editor of Asianet who translated Nelson Mandela’s memoir ‘No Easy Walk to Freedom’ in the early nineties. The second edition of the book was brought out recently by Fabi Publications.

Recalling the period, Civic Chandran, thinker-activist, said that Mandela’s movement inspired the oppressed all over the world. It was great to see the contemporary Kerala society being enriched by the works of many writers and activists from the Dalit communities.

Source– http://newindianexpress.com/states/kerala/Mandelas-freedom-movement-echoed-in-the-80s-in-Kerala/2013/07/19/article1691224.ece

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