Having corrupted the minds of at least four generations of Hindus with his poisonous fiction, a Keralite French stooge and leftist atheist returned to Guruvayur to celebrate his eightieth birthday. While it is commendable that he had a sense of clarity at this ripe age, his literature continues to pollute young Hindu minds even today. Another reason for the abrupt Ghar Wapsi could be his greed for money and fame. Let us look at the life and history of Maniyambath Mukundan, commonly known as M. Mukundan.
Mukundan was born in Mayyazhi (Mahe), then a French overseas colony but now a part of Puducherry, in September 1942. He had a troubled childhood marred by various ailments, and writing came to his aid. In 1962, a young Mukundan joined the French Embassy in New Delhi.
Following Jean-Paul Sartre’s footsteps, the originator of existentialism, Mukandan is one of the writers who initiated ‘modernism’ in Kerala. Existentialism undermines ethics by glorifying individual freedom and denying scientific facts. They claim that daily existence is ‘absurd’ and promote an ‘anything-goes’ mentality by refusing to judge human deeds.
Young children should not be exposed to messages about the hopelessness of life. It is also against all the basic principles of Hindu/Sanathana Dharma. Existentialism lacks a moral foundation and makes students feel disconnected from their family, peers and society. Unfortunately, such philosophies emanating from Europe have acquired the aura of being ‘cool’ and are widely disseminated in the English language that most of our urban youth grow up reading.
Though we should never expose young minds to such anarchic thought without first teaching them Dharmic knowledge systems, that is precisely what many young minds followed as part of Nehruvian/Marxist socialist propaganda. Hindu children were most affected since the others have a different ecosystem. While Hindus lack Gurukuls, thousands of mosques/madrassas and churches/sunday schools exist in every village of Kerala. Missionaries run most educational institutes.
Mukundan began publishing in the 1960s. His early novels like Haridwaril Mani Muzhangunnu (Haridwar Bells are Ringing) published in 1972 refers to the holy town as ‘filled with aimless youth high on Charas and Bhang’. Most of his literature shows Bharat in a bad light, glorifying erstwhile communist Russia and making ample use of Hindu caste faultlines. After an extended stay in Delhi, M Mukandan came to Kerala as the secretary of the notorious Kerala Sahitya Akademi. From there, Mukundan’s life progressed from existentialism to being a full-fledged left-wing companion.
Around four o’clock in the morning on September 10th, the ‘storyteller’ from Mayyazhi reached the temple town seeking the blessings of Guruvayurappan. He had Prasada Ootu (Annadhanam) as his birthday treat at Anna Lakshmi Hall. Communist officials manning the Guruvayur Devaswom Board made a beeline for his room afterward. Though his body language suggested otherwise, he praised the food, especially the Palpayasam (sweet kheer). He even added that he had come there before the Covid period with his friends.
Earlier, Mukundan refused to enter temples and said he was ‘scared’ when he saw a Hindu wearing sandalwood tilak on his forehead. History tells us that many ultra-revolutionary Naxalites became Sai Baba and Amritanandamayi Devi devotees. Has Mukundan undergone such a surprising change?
Those in the know quickly pointed out his previous stances on social media. Mukandan had earlier blurted on the stage of a youth festival that ‘the sandalwood on the forehead of a Hindu scares me.’ Of course, all such self-professed atheists and rationalists never get perturbed on seeing a skullcap or cross wearing person. Many asked if he was now not afraid to go to Guruvayur and wear the sandalwood tilak?
On August 30th, 2007, a group of Islamic terrorists from the National Development Front (NDF) set fire to Angadippuram Thali Temple near Perinthalmanna in Malappuram district at 3 am. The Police found several petrol cans from nearby areas. The main door of the temple was entirely gutted in the arson. The NDF is the forerunner of the Popular Front of India.
After learning about the Malappuram incident, the then Minister of Culture, MA Baby, and Mukundan visited the temple. The author refused to enter the temple but stood outside, and when questioned, he replied, ‘I do not enter temples.’ This same man came to Guruvayur, bowed in front of Bhagwan Krishna, and feasted on prasad.
Baby is another atheist (the Indian type, with a soft corner for Abrahamic religions) and currently a CPM politburo member. He recently stirred a controversy when he compared former communist dictators and tyrants with Islam’s prophet Mohammed. It left Islamists baying for his blood. Meanwhile, Baby has reverted to Marx’s teachings and hails China, even though our northern neighbor no longer adheres to strict Marxist/Maoist doctrines.
Mukandan is now in the anti-Pinarayi Vijayan faction. Recently, he said that Vijayan should not run the proposed Silver Line rail project over the ‘tears of the people.’ Similarly, the writer reacted against the potholed roads in Kerala and came down heavily on Vijayan’s son-in-law and PWD minister PA Mohammed Riyas. Mukundan said, “we are looking for a place without potholes to screen one of my films. There are potholes on earth and in space, so where will it be screened”.
In late 2018, the writer did his best to incite Hindu passions during the Sabarimala entry controversy. He resorted to an old communist trick and mentioned that Bhagwan Krishna had 16008 wives. For someone who hated entering temples, he wanted to take the Sabarimala pilgrimage along with his wife and daughter!
In June 2019, the same author faced public ire with his statement that people would notice a book if the author were beautiful. Mukundan accused many celebrated women writers of gaining attention for ‘non-literary’ reasons.
The author has scripted a few Malayalam movies. At 80, Mukundan is entering the screenplay field. He is preparing the story, screenplay, and dialogues for ‘Autorikshakarante Siva’. The movie is scheduled for release later this year and features Suraj Vasudevan Nair alias Suraj Venjaramoodu.
During a comedy event, Suraj commented about a sacred thread worn by his co-anchor Ashwathy Sreekanth that did not go well with Hindus. The thread is seen as a symbol of protection and devotion in Hindu Dharma. Thus the actor purposely offended religious feelings. Suraj can be heard remarking on the holy thread on Ashwathy’s hand.
“Despite wearing a sari, she is well-dressed and has a touch of glitz. Everything is fine, save for some knotted cords on the arm that resemble those on some banyan trees. It makes one think of the banyan tree in Saramkuthi, which has ornaments like knots. Aren’t they ugly? ” he stated. (Sabarimala’s banyan tree is called Saramkuthi.)
It soon became apparent that Suraj was a blind pro-Left activist who believed in insulting Hindu Dharma to sound and appear intelligent. He is pushing the Islamist propaganda of thrashing Hindu rituals and traditions through Malayalam movies. Adv. Mahesh Ram from Pathanamthitta has filed a complaint against Suraj for hurting Hindu sentiments.
Incidentally, Suraj is a jester who made a name for himself, performing mimicry acts at temple functions. This incident perhaps explains Mukundan’s sudden urge to visit Guruvayur.
Mukundan’s guru Sartre was a chain-smoking amphetamine-using self-proclaimed “special kind” of anarchist. After his close friend Che Guevara’s death, the Frenchman Sartre declared him the “era’s most perfect man”. Ironically, Sartre is said to have had a drastic change of mind about the existence of god and turned a believer on his death bed.
