Kozhikode: Former Naxalite A Vasu takes shelter under umbrella unit

Kozhikode: Former Naxalite A. Vasu or Grow Vasu, as he is popularly known, is gainfully employed now. He manufactures ‘Maarivillu’ umbrella from a small congested shop at Pottammal here. The umbrella has a history shrouded in the glorious past of the Communist Party of India (CPI). The umbrella production unit was formed in 1955 for the members of the band set of the CPI, which was the first in Kerala in the history of the party under the Nellikode branch.

Later, post-CPI-CPM split, the band set became part of the CPM and an organ of the volunteer group it formed in 1965, a prototype of the present red volunteer brigade. “The umbrella unit was formed using the fund collected through chits. We have planned to expand the unit as a full-time earning income for the cadres during monsoon,” said Grow Vasu. He was then one among the five volunteer core captains of CPM in the state. The umbrella meant for men was named as ‘Hero’ and that for women as ‘Maarivillu’. Vasu learnt the umbrella manufacturing skill from a friend, Koyatty, who was an employee with Sait Nagjee Purushotham umbrella manufacturing company, Kozhikode. The unit became defunct after the parting of ways between the CPM and Vasu and his subsequent leaning towards Naxalism.

The revival of the unit occurred in 1977 when Grow Vasu was out of jail after his sentence for his Naxal activities and was in search of a job to eke out a living. “I decided to make use of the skill. That year we produced 700 umbrellas and all were sold out,” he recalled. The employees of erstwhile Commonwealth tile factory were the known customers of the umbrella. Requests for ‘Maarivillu’ pour in from regular customers from distant places like Ernakulam and Pallakad. The umbrella produced with German cloth is available in different sizes and the three-fold type costs Rs 240.