Vennoorayi (Alapad) | interesting place

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Late Shankaran (Son of Kochappan) was the hero of the people who lived in this area. Father Kochappan sent him to school as children are supposed to know how to read and write Malayalam. In the school, they also taught to count 1 to 100 or 1000. This knowledge was also required for a coconut tree climber. So Shankaran who was called shankuru went to school, learned to read and write Malayalam as well as the counting.
He did not stop there. He surprised his elders by managing promotion into upper primary classes and even to the high school level. He however failed to finish his Secondary School education.

On dropping out from studies, he was promptly introduced to the traditional coconut plucking job. Obviously Shankuru accepted the job as his destiny. However, he also picked up the habit of reading periodicals like now defunct 'Chitrakaumudi' which was basically a film gossip weekly and 'Malayala Manorama' which published long stories (which normally told love stories at length with emotions described in minute detail to excite readers.). In his community he was the first man who spent money on reading materials. He worked with his father and sometimes on his own and earned money for reading materials and even went far away places to watch movies.

He enjoyed Tamil movies staring M.G.R. He was a source of information and an authority among his contemporaries in the village, on Timil film actors and the new films which are going to be released soon or are under production.

Shankuru was also introduced to Volley Ball playing and he was a member of the village team in the years of the game's introduction into the village. Later when more enthusiasts joined the group and Shankuru being not available always, he lost his place in the team.

Shankuru was also seen with the people who organised and played dramas in the village. He even played some small roles on stage.

Shankuru would have been a great example if only he had not taken up drinking and smoking. Like all other coconut pluckers in the village, unfortunately Shankuru also took up the habit of drinking toddy and smoking cigarettes. In those days, income he got from the traditional job was very high and he never thought of saving the money. As far as coconut trees are there and coconuts have to be plucked, the job was assured.

He was in the second half of his fiftees when the doctors detected mouth cancer on him.

It was also the time when the traders started importing palm oil and other substitutes of coconut oil to Indian market, bringing down the coconut oil price drastically. The farmers found the yield price and the wages, fertilizer cost and other costs did not match and in fact the maintaining coconut trees were actually draining their wealth in a small way. So, the services of the coconut pluckers were asked once or twice in a year(earlier it was once in a month) to make the cost bearable. Many coconut trees were affected by some pests which reduced the income of farmers further. As a result of these developments, coconut pluckers were rendered jobless for most of the days.

Medicines were very costly. Shankuru had to be admitted several times. Cost of treatment, conveyance etc. were unbearable. People had to collect donations from well wishers to meet expenses.

Shankuru in bed, realised how irresponsible he has been with the money he earned. He could have left after death a fortune for his wife and children only if he had not taken up drinking so heavily. At the age of 16 he started earning. Became a regular visitor at toddy shop when he was 20. Initially the visits were only in the evenings. After a period he started consuming in the noon also. Then again it was impossible to start work without drinking one or two bottles. A rough estimate gave him an approximate figure of Rs.15 lakhs which was the money he spent on alcoholic drinks. A good percentage of this Rs.15 lakhs, he said, were spent on friends. So he has not taken into account the cost of drinks he were given by friends.

Shankaran Kochappan of Vennoorayi died of cancer. He had better opportunities in life. He never saw them.