Most writers have an inherent distrust towards critics. Oscar Wilde did not hide his mistrust when he said: “The critic has to educate the public; the artist has to educate the critic.” Rarely does a critic strike up a lasting relationship with a writer. T.V. Kochubava and literary critic Balachandran Vadakkedathu had one such.
Fourteen years after Kochubava’s death, Mr. Vadakkedathu has written Janmasradham , a book on his friend.
Kochubava had authored 23 books, including novels, collections of short stories and translations. He received the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award in 1996 for his novel Vridhasadanam , the most popular one among his works. He was considered an important post-modern voice. He died on November 25, 1999, at the age of 44.
“Memories crowd in on me as I think of Kochubava. He was one of my closest friends. I was a part of his literary life. Often, I was the one who read the first draft of his stories. Or I would listen to him as he read them aloud. Then, there would be long discussions. He was one of the most receptive writers and human beings I have ever come across,” says Mr. Vadakkedathu.
Kochubava looked at human relationships through new eyes. As Marcel Proust stated, the real voyage of discovery exists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.
“In most of his stories, women seek out men. Most of the love tales he told were about socially illegitimate relationships. In understanding and accepting relationships, he was far ahead of his time. He was kind of delivering a message to hide-bound Malayalis that the world had gone much ahead in redefining human relationships and individual freedom.” There is a sense of foreboding in Kochubava’s works such as Soochikuzhayilu Oru Yacob , Ningalkkoru Karutha Ila , Virunnu Mesayilekku Nilavilikalode , Perunkaliyattom and Vridhasadanam .
Kochubava’s greatest quality was that he picked up only themes that he was familiar with. Once critic M. Krishnan Nair wrote that Ithoru Nissara Prasnamanu , a short story by Kochubava, was a copy of one by a writer in a foreign language. “Kochubava had not even heard the name of that writer,” Mr. Vadakkedathu avers.
