"Don't call him Veer Savarkar"

Veteran Writer, political commentator, social activist Chinna Kuthoosi @ Thiyagarajan passed away on 22nd May. I have met this legendary writer a couple of times. Once with Marhoom Moulana M A Jameel Ahmed Sahib and many times with our own kavinjar Moosa Kaka.

He was very receptive. always to the point. I remember during a discussion I inadvertantly uttered the name Veer Savarkar. He immediately corrected me. "Don't say Veer Savarkar. He is just Savarkar. What has he done to be called Veer Savarkar? He wrote an apology letter to the British to reduce his prison term".

Then once when prominent cartoonist Irfan Hussain of Outlook was murdered by unidentified persons in New Delhi we had published a collection of cartoons of Irfan Hussain with a four line message at the end in Samarasam. Chinna Kuthoosi liked it. He admired the choice of the cartoons. They were all famous cartoons of Irfan Hussain ridiculing the hindutva ways of L K Advani, M M Joshi etc. He liked the subtle suggestion hidden behind the choice of the cartoons and the four line message. When I heard it I was at cloud nine.