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Enthusiast by choice, organiser by talent

Photo: S. Mahinsha

Organising wizard Putting together events had always been Charchavedi Babu’s forte

Although it’s half an hour before the scheduled start of the meeting, people have already started trickling in.

They know the meeting will start on time. At the door, stands the man who’s responsible for this congregation. He does not have a reputation of starting late, and he is not about to cultivate one now, either.

The meeting starts at six sharp and the organiser, Charchavedi Babu, stands at the back with a pleased expression. Another one of his infamous meetings has gone to plan. To the common observer, what is even more mind-numbing is the fact that he has put together more than a thousand such meetings in the last 38 years. And all that at his own expense.

Putting together such events had always been Babu’s forte. From his days as a college union president he had always relished the challenge of organising. So it was that a young Babu, working at the Secretariat, in 1970, got fed up of all the literary programmes that were being conducted in the city then. The functions would never start on time, he found. The guests would be late more often than not. The need was to organise an event that would start on time, he thought to himself.

On December 10, 1970, the first Charchavedi meeting was called to order at the YMCA Hall, Trivandrum, and the luminaries present reflected on the topic of ‘Ultra Modern Trends in Malayalam’ during the course of the meetings. After the success of the initial venture, Babu started organising meeting after the other.

“People thought I was crazy at first. But over the years, even the sceptics have come to realise the value of what I do,” says Babu.

Today, the meetings are mostly to honour musicians, artists, writers or poets on their centenaries or anniversaries. The gathered are given the opportunity to speak, read stories, and recite poems.

It is an occasion when some of the artistic talents of our time, come together under one roof and pool their thoughts together. It also doubles as a stage for budding talents to bloom, Babu adds.

The question that confuses most people when it comes to Babu is: ‘Why?’ Why spend his meagre pension money to rent a hall? Why hand write over 300 invitations to invite people to these meetings every month? Why can’t he just have been like anybody else?

Ask Babu any of these questions and he will reply with the same surety that he had when he was putting the first meeting together.

“This community; this society made me. And I’m obligated to give something back. I don’t know how to write stories, or poems. The only thing I know how to do is organise. So, I organise events where those who have the gift of creativity can grow at each others behest. ”

To date, Babu has supervised 1251 such meetings. The greats of the art world have come and gone. Whether it be Kumaranasan or Changampuzha or Narendra Prasad, their contributions will always be remembered by the art enthusiast.

But one name that also has to be added to this hall of fame is Babu’s.

Though he may not have written masterpieces or composed sublime poetry, it would be wrong to say that his resolve and conviction have not helped the Malayalam literature world.

The question is, will there be an adequate replacement for Babu when he decides to hang up his boots?

JITHIN KRISHNAN

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