Right off the bat, Ezhuthachan refused to be referred to as anything but his penname. Malayalis who have found themselves scrolling through social media over the past two lockdowns must be familiar with the Instagram page that delivers sweet thoughtful poetry from an anonymous writer. And for this interview, he insisted on maintaining the shroud of mystery around his identity, giving away only the fact that he is a fifth-year degree student in an institute in Kerala.
“I started posting on this page last lockdown,” he says, “I chose this name because I first started writing with pen and paper. I felt like I needed a name that would reflect how important the Malayalam language is to me. Thunchaththu Ezhuthachan is known as the father of modern Malayalam and a beloved poet. The name also means the father of language. I like to think of this as a second coming.”
The main idea behind the page was to find an outlet for his own writing. But as soon as he started, inspiration started spreading like wildfire. Readers responded with their own writing on everything in life like the differences in perspective, friendship, love, failure, family and school lives. Some posts have a generous sprinkling of social purpose and they are all equally reflective of people and how they deal with life through words.
Ezhuthachan says, “It is something that is related to all our lives. It feels like people are coming forward and sharing a piece of their lives with us. I thought I’d use the platform for others as well, those who have beautiful words to spare. Thanks to this page, I feel like I understand people better and feel understood myself.”
The posts are shared in colourful graphics with a thoughtful background that represents the writing itself. The writer himself has never spoken about politics or religious issues in his writing because he does not believe that the page represents that. He says, "I believe that my beliefs, my points of view, my religious ideas are all things I need to keep with myself. I never want to use this stage to speak highly of another faith or culture while doing the opposite for another.”
But social content has found a lot of space on the page. When the state faced disasters like the floods of 2019, when the people of Chellanam suffered and throughout COVID-19, the page has also used words to call people to action. The admin himself believes that social media has been a boon among platforms that has helped people like him get a simple idea across to a large audience with a lot of ease.