Waking up with Manorama. Review on Malayala Manorama

I spent my first 22 years in Kottayam, Kerala, and Malayala Manorama was an integral part of my life. I remember when they started a weekly called Manorama Weekly featuring short stories, articles, a regular full page cartoon titled Boban and Molly, and serializing lengthy stories by such talented writers like Kanam E.J. Philip who happened to be my teacher also at the C.M.S. College High School in Kottayam during 1955-58

Manorama also started featuring a comic strip called 'Mandrake the Magician' and I used to cut and save them daily. I think in those days, its chief editor was Mammen Mappillai. After his death, they built a very nice hall in his memory in the park across from the Hospital.

When I entered the College, I came in contact with several staff at Manorama, and with the encouragement of Kanam E.J., I started writing articles on wild animals for the weekly, complete with my own drawings.

During those days,I enjoyed both Manorama and Mathrubhoomi, another popular Malayalam daily with its managing editor, K.P. Kesava Menon from Calicut.

I loved reading both the weekend edition and the weekly put out by Mathrubhoomi.The weekly editor was M.T.Vasudevan Nair. I came in contact with him when I started contributing articles to the weekly. Another gentle man who lived not far from my home was Aravindan, who became famous with his weekly cartoons to Mathrubhoomi titled 'Little people in a Big World'. In later years, I was told that Aravindan became a film director, but alas, died at a younger age. He was a brilliant man.

I left India in 1968 and was able to visit Kottayam only once in a few years. During a recent visit, I noticed that both Manorama and Mathrubhoomi are publishing from several

locations simultaneously. In Kerala, practically every one reads the newspaper. It is a habit, and they carry that tradition no matter where they go.

Our entire family enjoyed reading Manorama. My younger brothers and sisters were eagerly looking forward to see the latest adventures of Boban & Molly every week. It also stimulated them to get up earlier than usual.

I believe it is one of the oldest newspapers in Kerala, over 100 years at least, and no doubt it is going to be in circulation as long as there are readers. For those who live away from India, you can always go online and read most newspapers daily as I do.