If writing letters to the editors of newspapers and magazines is an art, Jacob Sahayam can be considered one of the most prolific practitioners of it.
By the time he passed away at the age of 91 early this week, he had written more than 7,000 letters to various publications over nearly three decades.
It all began after his retirement as an Assistant Divisional Manager from the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) in the late 1980s, according to his grandson Martin Gladstone.
“Before his retirement, he used to write letters occasionally to newspapers under our grandmother’s name, because he was scared whether his opinions would affect his job. But after his retirement, he began writing letters to multiple publications on every possible subject. He had also got his articles published in some of them,” says Martin.
Methodical
At Sahayam’s house in Golf Links Road in Kowdiar, where he stayed during his last years, his caretaker Velayudhan Pillai brings over a diary, inside which all the letters that he sent to newspapers and magazines in recent years are stuck neatly, with numbers and dates.
A wide range
The number on the last letter in the diary reads 7,407, a comment on India’s foreign policy published in a business magazine.
He has written regularly to the BusinessLine, The Hindu, Frontline and several other newspapers and magazines, ranging from science and environmental magazines to niche ones on architectural design. The diary shows that his letters on different topics were published in multiple publications on the same day.
Tool of self-expression
“His main area of interest was business and economy, but he used to write extensively on politics and several social issues. He made the letters to the editor column a tool of self-expression. We have found only the latest diary yet. The old ones must be stored somewhere,” says Martin.
A 2006 souvenir of the Mateer Memorial Church says that Sahayam was felicitated after he got a mention in the Limca Book of Records for his prolific letter writing.
Sending letters by post
In recent years, he had reduced his writing after being affected with Parkinson’s disease and bone-related issues.
“Earlier he used to type the letters in the computer. For the past few years, he used to write the letters on paper and send them by post. Even though he has had issues with his memory, he used to write till recently,” says Velayudhan Pillai.
