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| Gopinatha Kurup, Alappuzha |
He was one of the frontline soldiers who fought Chinese aggression in 1962. In that battle, at high altitudes, he was separated from the troop and had to wander in the snow for 16 days with nothing to eat except toothpaste. With numb legs he dragged himself to an army camp only to realize that it belonged to the Chinese. However, the enemies treated him with honour and medicine and handed him over to the Red Cross.
Back in India, his legs had to be amputated. So at the age of 28, Gopinatha Kurup came back to his native land of Alappuzha. He did not let the indifference of the men who matter cripple him further. With a soldier’s gusto he took to agriculture, his early passion.
Kurup got farm implements fabricated to suit his bodily condition. People watched with wonder as the legless farmer did the farm activities all alone. His cultivation then included banana, tapioca, sugarcane and vegetables.
It was during this time that he heard of M.K.K.Nair, who then headed FACT. His letter describing his experiences elicited a prompt action from the thoughtful corporate leader. Nair made enquiries and appointed him as Filing Assistant in the company. Even there, he did not forget his roots and won prizes in farming.
After retirement in 1996, he again returned to his native land, only to take up farming with renewed vigour. With the addition of 4 cows, he enhanced the scope of his activities.
A single man, he was now faced with another challenge. The doctors diagnosed that he had 90% block in the heart and even a surgery was of no avail. But to him who had faced much tougher test in the snowfields of Himalayas, this was nothing to be perturbed.
12 years after that he still works in the farm with usual vigour. According to him, farming provides vitality to life.
Courtesy:
Anil Kavuvilayil (text), Kerala Karshakan, January, 2009
Contributed by: Administrator
