POOVACHAL UPPA: 100-YEAR-OLD BOOK SELLER
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| Poovachal Uppa, Arabic Book Stall, Poovachal, Thiruvananthapuram |
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For
the last 85 years, Poovachal Uppa has been a moving bookstall,
providing Arabic books to madrasas in Thiruvananthapuram and Kanyakumari
districts.
Uppa
who started his career at the Poovachal mosque, soon took to book selling
at the age of 15. Later it
became a career and a way of life for him.
The unlettered Uppa learned the alphabets and arithmetic from his
children. He has 17 children
from 2 wives. They include
labourers to teachers.
Though
100-years-old, Uppa appears to quite young and sprightly.
He has a sharp memory and can remember financial dealings of past
weeks without the aid of notebook.
While
his children and grandchildren numbering 62 are ready to help him, he
prefers to work and earn a living.
And
so his journey continues, from mosque to mosque and from town to town.
Courtesy: K.P.Sajid, Mathrubhumi, August 18, 2002
Contributed by: Administrator
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