When television journalist Biju Muthathi filmed the 350th episode of his travel-documentary show Kerala Express , little did he expect what followed. Since its telecast on Kairali People TV on September 17, his phone has not stopped ringing. He has been receiving death threats and abuses.
Sangh Parivar outfits have launched a protest against the title of the show Thendikalude Deivam (God of the Destitute). The Hindu Aikya Vedi took out a march to the channel’s office on Wednesday.
The journalist maintains that there is no title more apt for the episode on Oachira Parabrahma temple, known as the home of the destitute, homeless, and beggars.
The temple in Kollam district does not have a built-up structure with a roof. The vast open ground of 50 acres with two banyan trees, under which pujas happen, is home to hundreds of homeless.
Negative connotation
“Those who abuse and threaten me have not understood what that temple stands for. It is a shelter for those who have been abandoned, and those who have nowhere to go. The temple administration provides food and medical care to those who stay here. There are people from every religion at this place,” says Mr. Muthathi.
The word thendi also has a negative connotation, meaning scoundrel. The groups opposing the show’s title have used this as their rationale for targeting it. But the journalist points to the Malayalam movie Paadhamudra , released in 1988, in which the protagonist played by Mohanlal uses the phrase thendikalude deivam to refer to the deity at Oachira. In the television show, he uses clips from the movie to explain its context.
“I did talk to some of those who called to abuse and threaten me. When I asked them, I discovered none of them had watched the episode. The title of the show, and the phone numbers of the channel and my own were shared on WhatsApp and social media, asking believers to protest against those who have disrespected Hindu gods. If any of these people had seen the show, they wouldn’t have abused me,” he says.
The journalist and the channel, affiliated to the CPI(M), have lodged a complaint with the Kerala police chief. Many of the threats came from abroad as Internet calls.
Following the threats, the channel withdrew the episode from YouTube too.
