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Ghoshayathra
351 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 1970
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October 3, 2025
I first heard about TJS George's 'Ghoshayathra' at an event in Kerala around five years back, where he was the chief guest. One of the speakers talked at length about the book, as one of his best works. Since then I have been on the lookout for this rather elusive book in bookshop after bookshop, until DC books decided to release a new edition during the COVID-19 pandemic.
It indeed is a procession ('Ghoshayathra' in Malayalam) of people and memories, many of which so valuable, but which might not have been recorded anywhere else. The tone is irreverent in many places, which is something that can be said about the preface written by his friend and writer M.P.Narayana Pillai (Nanu). Yet, it was not a smooth entry for me into this book, right from the rather nasty dig at A.R.Rahman in the preface or George's negative taken on the land reforms implemented by the first Communist ministry, with respect to how they handled the takeover of the cultivated land in the backwaters from Muricken. George's stint in the students' Congress probably explains it.
And then I slowly began to warm up to the book, from his memories of his days in the Thiruvananthapuram University College, the stories of Kaumudi Balakrishnan and how he became popular with a speech against his illustrious father C.Kesavan, which then segues into Adoor Bhasi's story, of his early days of hardships, employment in a textile shop, stint at storywriting and his early days on the stage, with him preferring women character roles, earning the nickname of 'Bhasamma'. Not to forget his failed attempt at contesting in a local body election.
What is more interesting than Bhasi's story though is TJS's touching recollections of Bhasi's lesser known brother Chandrasenan, who became an assistant in Bombay film units and even an assistant to Bimal Roy. In sharing personal stories of people he knows intimately, TJS is not always sure of what to share and what to keep out. Character traits are always welcome, but not all personal life stories. For instance, in the part about Writer-poet Dom Moraes, we really don't need to know whether his second or third marriage was a failure or why they failed or whether his mother had mental issues, but his need for a bohemian lifestyle certainly is worth reading. TJS remembers how a 12-year old boy's cricket reports used to appear in the Free Press Journal, where he used to work in the 1950s, the boy being Dom. Another colourful character there was the founder Swaminathan Sadanand, who had earlier run the fiercely independent news agency Free Press.
It was also at FPJ that he met Bal Thackerey, who used to refer to the news desk there as 'Malayali Club'. But George writes that Thackerey never had any hatred towards South Indians during those days. He was then a quiet man with black framed glasses, who would sit at a corner and draw cartoons. He says that his father K.S.Thackerey was probably an influence in how he turned in his later life. Thackerey's communal side reveals itself with his articles and cartoons in the Marmik magazine. Shit hit the fan with a series of articles on South Indians heading industries in Bombay, with their names and salaries also put out in public, stirring up Marathi middle class anger. Apparently, one article even demanded pav bhaji and sev in Udupi hotels instead of idli. Thackerey had realised the potency of this brand of politics by this time, when he had turned against the trade unions too.
Many magazines and newspapers, long forgotten, get a mention here, like the 'News Day', with a focus on the working class issues for which labour unions pitched in with shares, but which folded up as soon as it began, or the 'Searchlight' newspaper edited by TJS himself. He was arrested on the orders of the Bihar Government, leading to a major outrage.
Among the journalists, one of the glowing accounts is about M.Sivaram, about whom I frankly haven't heard before. I wondered why, because here is a man who was a close associate of Subhas Chandra Bose, as a part of the Azad Hind Government, broke several stories with deep insights on many Asian countries, later settled in Thiruvananthapuram, headed the journalism institute and named his abode 'News House'.
Another one getting a chapter for himself is Nikhil Chakravarthy, who always stuck to being a reporter without swaying from his convictions. From his early days as a writer for the Communist Party's mouthpiece, the disciple of Eric Hobsbawm later set up the 'Mainstream' weekly, which he shut down in protest during the emergency. He also ended up rejecting the Padma Bhushan.
There are the not so glowing accounts too, like the take on Khushwant Singh, on how he ratted out on his colleagues at Hindustan Times during the emergency days and later secured even a Rajya Sabha seat, or the fall from grace of the Blitz editor Rusi Karanchia, who was once not against publishing articles critical of his friends, but swayed towards Hindutva and even godmen in his later years. Similar is the case of the once great journalist M.V.Kamath, who became part of the Moral Re-armament Movement (which played a part in the ugly Vimochana Samaram against the first Communist Government in Kerala) and later had associations with the RSS too. Another one is on J.C.Jail, on how he turned the Times of India into a newspaper which doesn't need an editor, with the manager being the face and the heart of the newspaper. He also takes a contrarian view on the celebrated cartoonist Shankar, who, he says, used to react with much anger when criticised, although he used to make fun of everyone else. He was also apparently very obsessed about his relationship with Nehru.
TJS sometimes makes quite a few elitist assumptions, like how he says corruption was less among the England-returned comrades of Bengal, unlike the "local" comrades of Kerala, without pointing out any name in particular. And of course his opinion about Nanaji Desmukh, whom he refers to as a "good person, even though he is an RSS leader" (Hahaha!).
The recollections from his stints in the various South East Asian countries are rich with valuable anecdotes and insights on the history and culture of these countries. For instance, in his chapter on his stint in Vietnam, he says "a chopstick divides Indo and China (of the former Indo-China), with the people of Cambodia and Laos eating with hand and those of Vietnam and the region eastwards eating with chopsticks. About Hong Kong, he says, "the problem of limiting a 5000-year old Chinese culture within a 500-year old British administrative system". Singapore has been a no-entry zone (for fear of his own safety), ever since he wrote a book on the former PM Lee Kuan Yew and the human rights violations under him. "I never went there again knowing the fate of many journalists who wrote about him," he writes. He also writes of a hilarious 'torn pants' moment with the former Filipino dictator Ferdinand Marcos and his family at their official residence.
When it comes to writers, Madhavikutty gets the longest account, about her earlier days as well as the post-conversion Kamala Suraiyya days. He writes about the exchange between her and RSS ideologue P.Parameswaran, who protested against awarding Ezhuthachan award to Kamala Suraiyya. "How can a person who rejected Hinduism be awarded!", he thundered, in a kind of communally venomous speech which was not as commonplace as it is today. And she coolly responds - "If Parameswaran is envious about the money that I am getting with the award, I am ready to give you any amount", and then proceeds to give him a lesson in Geetha Govindam and the sexually explicit elements in it.
His dear friend Nanappan, M.P.Narayana Pillai, also gets a chapter, with memories of his short term stay in Hong Kong and the doomed attempt to start a toothpaste company named 'Najoma International' (Najoma after the first letters of the three partners, none of whom had a clue on business). But, most interesting for me was the writing process behind his masterpiece 'Parinamam' (which I had read recently), of how he stayed in Ulloor in Thiruvananthapuram and hired two youths to listen to the developing story and respond. The narration used to happen during the night walks all the way to Thampanoor and back, with visits to thattukadas in between. Among the many tales of meteoric rise and falls, actor Leela Naidu's is an especially painful read.
At the end of what is a roller-coaster ride, rather than a mere procession, one is left envious of the wealth of experiences that he managed to have, despite some of the disagreements with his viewpoints in some places. And, he is still writing columns, at the age of 92!
It indeed is a procession ('Ghoshayathra' in Malayalam) of people and memories, many of which so valuable, but which might not have been recorded anywhere else. The tone is irreverent in many places, which is something that can be said about the preface written by his friend and writer M.P.Narayana Pillai (Nanu). Yet, it was not a smooth entry for me into this book, right from the rather nasty dig at A.R.Rahman in the preface or George's negative taken on the land reforms implemented by the first Communist ministry, with respect to how they handled the takeover of the cultivated land in the backwaters from Muricken. George's stint in the students' Congress probably explains it.
And then I slowly began to warm up to the book, from his memories of his days in the Thiruvananthapuram University College, the stories of Kaumudi Balakrishnan and how he became popular with a speech against his illustrious father C.Kesavan, which then segues into Adoor Bhasi's story, of his early days of hardships, employment in a textile shop, stint at storywriting and his early days on the stage, with him preferring women character roles, earning the nickname of 'Bhasamma'. Not to forget his failed attempt at contesting in a local body election.
What is more interesting than Bhasi's story though is TJS's touching recollections of Bhasi's lesser known brother Chandrasenan, who became an assistant in Bombay film units and even an assistant to Bimal Roy. In sharing personal stories of people he knows intimately, TJS is not always sure of what to share and what to keep out. Character traits are always welcome, but not all personal life stories. For instance, in the part about Writer-poet Dom Moraes, we really don't need to know whether his second or third marriage was a failure or why they failed or whether his mother had mental issues, but his need for a bohemian lifestyle certainly is worth reading. TJS remembers how a 12-year old boy's cricket reports used to appear in the Free Press Journal, where he used to work in the 1950s, the boy being Dom. Another colourful character there was the founder Swaminathan Sadanand, who had earlier run the fiercely independent news agency Free Press.
It was also at FPJ that he met Bal Thackerey, who used to refer to the news desk there as 'Malayali Club'. But George writes that Thackerey never had any hatred towards South Indians during those days. He was then a quiet man with black framed glasses, who would sit at a corner and draw cartoons. He says that his father K.S.Thackerey was probably an influence in how he turned in his later life. Thackerey's communal side reveals itself with his articles and cartoons in the Marmik magazine. Shit hit the fan with a series of articles on South Indians heading industries in Bombay, with their names and salaries also put out in public, stirring up Marathi middle class anger. Apparently, one article even demanded pav bhaji and sev in Udupi hotels instead of idli. Thackerey had realised the potency of this brand of politics by this time, when he had turned against the trade unions too.
Many magazines and newspapers, long forgotten, get a mention here, like the 'News Day', with a focus on the working class issues for which labour unions pitched in with shares, but which folded up as soon as it began, or the 'Searchlight' newspaper edited by TJS himself. He was arrested on the orders of the Bihar Government, leading to a major outrage.
Among the journalists, one of the glowing accounts is about M.Sivaram, about whom I frankly haven't heard before. I wondered why, because here is a man who was a close associate of Subhas Chandra Bose, as a part of the Azad Hind Government, broke several stories with deep insights on many Asian countries, later settled in Thiruvananthapuram, headed the journalism institute and named his abode 'News House'.
Another one getting a chapter for himself is Nikhil Chakravarthy, who always stuck to being a reporter without swaying from his convictions. From his early days as a writer for the Communist Party's mouthpiece, the disciple of Eric Hobsbawm later set up the 'Mainstream' weekly, which he shut down in protest during the emergency. He also ended up rejecting the Padma Bhushan.
There are the not so glowing accounts too, like the take on Khushwant Singh, on how he ratted out on his colleagues at Hindustan Times during the emergency days and later secured even a Rajya Sabha seat, or the fall from grace of the Blitz editor Rusi Karanchia, who was once not against publishing articles critical of his friends, but swayed towards Hindutva and even godmen in his later years. Similar is the case of the once great journalist M.V.Kamath, who became part of the Moral Re-armament Movement (which played a part in the ugly Vimochana Samaram against the first Communist Government in Kerala) and later had associations with the RSS too. Another one is on J.C.Jail, on how he turned the Times of India into a newspaper which doesn't need an editor, with the manager being the face and the heart of the newspaper. He also takes a contrarian view on the celebrated cartoonist Shankar, who, he says, used to react with much anger when criticised, although he used to make fun of everyone else. He was also apparently very obsessed about his relationship with Nehru.
TJS sometimes makes quite a few elitist assumptions, like how he says corruption was less among the England-returned comrades of Bengal, unlike the "local" comrades of Kerala, without pointing out any name in particular. And of course his opinion about Nanaji Desmukh, whom he refers to as a "good person, even though he is an RSS leader" (Hahaha!).
The recollections from his stints in the various South East Asian countries are rich with valuable anecdotes and insights on the history and culture of these countries. For instance, in his chapter on his stint in Vietnam, he says "a chopstick divides Indo and China (of the former Indo-China), with the people of Cambodia and Laos eating with hand and those of Vietnam and the region eastwards eating with chopsticks. About Hong Kong, he says, "the problem of limiting a 5000-year old Chinese culture within a 500-year old British administrative system". Singapore has been a no-entry zone (for fear of his own safety), ever since he wrote a book on the former PM Lee Kuan Yew and the human rights violations under him. "I never went there again knowing the fate of many journalists who wrote about him," he writes. He also writes of a hilarious 'torn pants' moment with the former Filipino dictator Ferdinand Marcos and his family at their official residence.
When it comes to writers, Madhavikutty gets the longest account, about her earlier days as well as the post-conversion Kamala Suraiyya days. He writes about the exchange between her and RSS ideologue P.Parameswaran, who protested against awarding Ezhuthachan award to Kamala Suraiyya. "How can a person who rejected Hinduism be awarded!", he thundered, in a kind of communally venomous speech which was not as commonplace as it is today. And she coolly responds - "If Parameswaran is envious about the money that I am getting with the award, I am ready to give you any amount", and then proceeds to give him a lesson in Geetha Govindam and the sexually explicit elements in it.
His dear friend Nanappan, M.P.Narayana Pillai, also gets a chapter, with memories of his short term stay in Hong Kong and the doomed attempt to start a toothpaste company named 'Najoma International' (Najoma after the first letters of the three partners, none of whom had a clue on business). But, most interesting for me was the writing process behind his masterpiece 'Parinamam' (which I had read recently), of how he stayed in Ulloor in Thiruvananthapuram and hired two youths to listen to the developing story and respond. The narration used to happen during the night walks all the way to Thampanoor and back, with visits to thattukadas in between. Among the many tales of meteoric rise and falls, actor Leela Naidu's is an especially painful read.
At the end of what is a roller-coaster ride, rather than a mere procession, one is left envious of the wealth of experiences that he managed to have, despite some of the disagreements with his viewpoints in some places. And, he is still writing columns, at the age of 92!
May 4, 2015
A unique book in Malayalam at least to my knowledge. To know a "Malayalee" who reached so high in the field of journalism lived in our times was a totally new information for me. I enjoyed every chapters of this book and gave me a totally new view about too many different things. I really hoped for the book to never end. Great. Thanks T.J.S George for sharing your experiences with us. If only we had more books like this.
January 19, 2018
An informative memoir of a journalist covering the rich and diverse experience of people and places.
June 5, 2016
A very enthusiastic book. Very energetic and informative work. He depicts his life mostly his active life as a journalist. But all other characters are given importance here. He took pain to explain their psyche also. Many of them were new to me. Really an informative one and surely a unique one. A thousand thanks to the author....
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews