POTHERA EZHUTHACHAN-THE POET REBORN

Pothera Raman Ezhuthachan was a contemporary of Thunjath Ezhuthachan whose celebrated work 'soorya sthuthi' is reckoned as a classic work in Malayalam. The poem is an invocation to the mighty sun, the creator and preserver of all life forms on earth. There is a strange story regarding the creation of this charming verse in Malayalam. He contracted the deadly chicken pox and as there was no treatment for the highly contagious decease he was abandoned by his wife and relatives. They left him to die in a forest . But his disciples who loved him deeply were not ready to part him. With the help of the tribal 'karimbalars' they tried to rescue him. Ezhuthachan asked them to put him on a hammock made up of 51 coir strings (symbolizing 51 letters) hanging from the branch of a tree above a violent river overlooking a treacherous valley were he could see the sun through the entire day. He penned the verses from there and at the end of the verse staring with 'aa' he cut the first string of the hammock. Then he penned the verses starting with the succeeding malayalam alphabet one by one. After completing 51 verses all the 51 strings had been cut and he fell down deep into the river. His disciples who were witnessing the scene from the river bank thought everything over. But miraculously he rose up from the river unhurt. When he swam back to the shore everyone was astonished to see that he had been fully cured. He had completed the celebrated 'sooryasthuthi'. When the news of the miracle spread everyone including his wife returned. He proved that sun bath is a treatment for all ailments.