Photos: George Abraham; KM George; Kunjamma; George Abraham with his extended family; with his wife and sons
After paying a visit to the home of George Abraham, former Deputy Resident Editor of the New Indian Express, Kochi, a desire arose in me to write about his life. I remembered what AM Chacko, the father of former Resident Editor Vinod Mathew, told him, “There is no point in talking good things about me after I die. Then I cannot hear it. So, better do it when I am alive.”
So here it is.
Marathon Man
George Abraham, former Deputy Resident Editor of the New Indian Express, Kochi, relaxes after his 40-year plus career
By Shevlin Sebastian
On the afternoon of November 5, I saw a slip near the door of my house. When I picked it up, I realised it was from the Speed Post. Since they could not meet me, they asked if I could collect the parcel from the Edappally office. I groaned to myself that now I would have to make the trip.
That night, as I watched the Spanish hit series ‘Velvet’ on Netflix, apropos of nothing, I thought of George Abraham, the former Deputy Resident Editor of the New Indian Express.
George Sir lived near the post office, on Chandrathil Road in Kochi. I sent him a message asking whether I could meet him. He replied, “Yes, please.”
So, the next day, at the appointed time, I arrived at his house.
On a low table, there were three newspapers. He pointed at the New Indian Express and said that the local reporting continued to be very good.
Soon, we were in full flow. We talked about the current political shenanigans in the state, the alarming drug use among youngsters, the isolation of the elderly, and news about former colleagues.
George Sir’s mind was curious, alert, intelligent and focused. “I was lucky to work for the Indian Express, which later became the New Indian Express for 40 years,” he said. “I worked till the age of 65, then had a five-year freelance online editing career. I am 74 now.”
In my career, the most interesting people I met were artists. The next group were journalists, who also have keen minds and lots of interesting experiences to recount.
George Sir was no different.
He lived in a large two-storey house. At 11 a.m. a maid came in. She stayed till 2 p.m., and then left. After that, George Sir lived alone.
The reason he lives alone is that on February 4, 2020, after a brief illness, his wife Molly, who had worked in a bank, passed away at 67. They had been married for 43 years.
Thereafter, George Sir experienced a deep sense of loneliness. “The loneliness is hard to bear for a person who has led a happy family life,” he said. “It struck me like a lightning bolt. I never expected my wife to depart so early, even though she had some health issues.”
He realised that this was the fate that strikes every person at one point or the other, with none of the family members nearby, including children who are far away at their workplaces.
What has sustained him is his spirituality.
“The biggest enlightenment comes when one’s mind reaches a higher consciousness and finds the essence of the all-powerful force that operates in the universe,” said George Sir. “It is a force that can lead one from darkness to light, from ignorance to knowledge, and from misery to bliss. It will enable one to see life and its forms in a better and truer light. I have understood that every person reflects God. One thinks of a higher purpose in life and the pursuit of it, instead of living for the moment or for momentary pleasures.”
But he admitted that to reach such a stage had been arduous. “It requires the shedding of the old baggage of thoughts and ideas accumulated over a lifetime, but the ultimate result is peace of mind and harmony with the world all around,” said George Sir. “When one can remove worries, anxieties and fears, it can lead to physiological changes, like normalising blood pressure and sugar levels.”
As George Sir embarks on a spiritual journey, his children are leading the practical life he had lived for so many decades. Among his two sons, the elder, Abhilash, is in Toronto. He is married to Ruby Shanker, whom he had met in Dubai, and they have a two-and-a-half year-old daughter Ziva. Anil works in Doha.
But in the past few months, Anil’s wife, Betsy Maria Josephine, and children, eight-year-old Anya, two-and-a-half-year-old Xavi, and Reya, six months, have been staying at George Sir’s house.
Anil had moved from Dubai to Doha. Authorities were not issuing family visas until the conclusion of the World Cup football tournament on December 18. So, Anil’s family stays with George Sir. The day I arrived, Betsy had gone with her children to visit her sister in Maradu.
After two hours of conversation, accompanied by cups of tea, George Sir came with me to the gate to bid me goodbye.
Just then, a car rolled to a stop. It was retired Professor S. Muraladheeran, who had a busy career as a guest lecturer. As soon as George Sir introduced me, we started chatting.
Prof. Muraladheeran said, “I am the only neighbour to whom George talks.”
This did not surprise me. In the office, we knew George Sir for his reticence.
For decades, George Sir managed the stress of the daily deadline calmly. But it can be a crushing pressure and doing it day in and day out for decades together can take a fatal toll.
George Sir’s long-time colleagues on the editorial desk have died in their fifties and sixties. They include V Vijaykumar, M Kesavan Nampoothiry and MS Rajan.
George Sir was a mentor to me. He encouraged and occasionally complimented me on my writing. Aware that I am sensitive, he always spoke in a polite and low-key manner. It soothed me to see his kindness and respect.
George Sir was also a superb writer, but he did not write often. Somehow, it was his shyness that prevented him from doing so. But when he did, he used clear, concise and crisp sentences.
This was clear in the two eloquent memoirs he wrote in which he mentions about his life and career.
In one book, he wrote that his six brothers and their parents were living a peaceful life in the village of Kumplampoika in Pathanamthitta district.
Soon, the most traumatic event of their life took place.
This was how George Sir described it:
‘It was the evening of a hot day in March 1959. The sun had disappeared from view over the tall hills surrounding our house and darkness was about to settle over the earth. A taxi drove up and stopped opposite our house on the metalled road that stretches up to Chengara Estate. In those days, cars rarely passed on that road.
‘In the car was our Achayan (KM George), who had lost consciousness while undergoing treatment in the Trivandrum Medical College, where he had been taken two weeks earlier during the last stages of his terminal disease—cancer.
‘Uthimoottil Uppappen had accompanied him as we were children. But few people, especially Amma, had any idea about Achayan’s disease. On the night before we took Achayan to Trivandrum, I saw Uthimoottil Kochuppappen crying alone in a room in our house. I did not understand why, as I was a fifth standard pupil. Many important people from the place, including Munshi Sir of Nirayannur, had come to our house that evening.
‘Amma was sure that Achayan would return fully healed as she was getting letters from Uppappen, that Achayan was getting better.
‘As soon as the car came to the road, Kizhakkekoottu Chedathi, wife of our neighbour Samuelchayan, came running and told Amma that Achayan had passed away. Amma was stunned, and she fell back, but Chedathi supported her and helped her lie on a bed. Joychen and I, who were playing in the courtyard of our house, heard the cries of Amma and Chedathi. Joychen was studying in the third standard.
‘Kunjoonju, a daily wage worker of our house, rushed in from somewhere, took a cot and went to the road. We too understood that Achayan was no more and started crying loudly, asking, “When will we be able to see Achayan again?”
‘Amma’s fortitude, courage and strong faith came to the fore. She stopped crying and told us we could see Achayan in heaven. Hence, we stopped crying.
‘Achayan remained in an unconscious state for two more days and attained eternal rest on March 18, 1959. Achayan was 45 and Amma 39.
‘Vellichachen (George Mathew), the eldest of seven sons, was 15. Achayan died on the day his SSLC exam was to begin. He did not write it but appeared for it in September and passed it.
‘Till Achayan’s death, Amma was living like his shadow. Amma, who was teaching in a government primary school, would hand over her entire salary to him. She was happy taking care of us, the children, and managing the kitchen, besides doing her work as a teacher.’
Eventually, it was their indomitable mother Kunjamma who kept the family together.
In his memoir, George Sir writes, ‘When Achayan died, she was the only earning member of her family and she could educate all of us just because of her job. And now in her nineties, she draws a respectable pension. I dread to imagine what would have become of our situation without a job at a critical period of our growing stage, her dedication and willingness to work hard’ (Kunjamma died on February 11, 2017, at the age of 97).
George Sir admits his father’s death had a profound impact on him.
One direct consequence was that he became silent.
His mother would call him German Kaiser, or a ruler who spoke little. After his father’s death, his mother taught in a school in Punalur (43 kms away). She would come home every weekend. When she had to leave, George Sir’s elder brother Kochachen would run after her, crying, “Amma, please don’t go.” As for George Sir, he stood at the door showing no emotion.
In his career, people knew him as a man of few words. In his memoir, George Sir acknowledges this trait. ‘I was soft and did not assert myself often,’ he wrote. ‘When other editors were mostly ruthless and stern, I had a very humane approach. This had its advantages too as I could win the trust of my colleagues. The editors who were successful in asserting themselves by pulling up everyone for anything and everything sometimes drew negative results too.’
George Sir elaborated on the editorial process, the emergence of women in the workplace, and how this led to romances and subsequent marriage break-ups. He lamented about how alcoholism destroyed the lives of many talented journalists. George Sir also highlighted the various events in our nation’s history, post-Independence.
George Sir also wrote about unusual events, like staffers writing anonymous letters to management.
‘Writing anonymous letters is a bad practice,’ George Sir said. ‘It is resorted to by persons who have some score to settle with someone but lack the courage for a direct confrontation. In many offices, such letters are sent without names or under some fictitious names to the top authorities against some members of the staff.
‘That happened in my office and against editors, including myself, by those who nursed a grudge against us for no reason or for some action, like issuing memos. But, mostly, such letters were ignored or sent back to the editor concerned.’
He also wrote about how people would come to the newspaper office in search of coverage.
“Once in the early nineties, a very handsome person walked into our office to meet the then editor,” said George Sir. “He was an upcoming young actor struggling to establish himself in the film world. He came in without looking at anybody and straightaway went to the editor’s room. He also left in the same way. Later, a feature about him appeared in the newspaper, which boosted his image.”
This was none other than Jayaram, who became a popular actor later.
Even politicians landed up for coverage. In 2012, a short man entered the cabin of George Sir holding a file. He wanted coverage for a Dalit conference he was organising in Kochi.
Neelalohithadasan Nadar had caused a scandal for his alleged advances towards a female IAS officer, Nalini Netto.
‘None of the political turmoil he had faced was clear in his behaviour,” wrote George Sir. ‘He appeared very calm, confident and pleasant. That showed what kind of stuff politicians are made of. They thrive, despite the worst setbacks, although they may vanish from public view.’
There are many such anecdotes in both his memoirs. Ultimately, George Sir reveals himself to be a man of kindness, honesty, sincerity, and magnanimity.
Kudos to you George Sir for a life well lived!
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