Keshavante Raathrikal The Nights of Keshavan is about a communist leader who became the Chief Minister of Kerala. He is in his 90s and still going strong because of his Stalinism indoctrinated by the late E.M. Shankaran Namboodhiripadu or E.M.S. E.M.S. and his followers thought that as Karl Marx predicted the whole world will be communist. Keshavan did not have the opportunity to travel to Stalinist Russia because by the time he was someone in the party, Russia had collapsed. Gorbachev had come to power and democracy and democratic socialism was established in Russia.
The Nights of Keshavan brings out the evil genius who was E.M.S. who wanted to create martyrs enough of them in Vayalar-Punnapra. E.M.S. asked the cadres to defeat the canon fire of Dr C.P. Ramaswamy Iyer by using areca nut poles as weapon. Thousands of people were killed while E.M.S. was holidaying with his family in the nearby village. Keshavan who believed in E.M.S. himself led a large number of cadres to Vayalar-Punnapra. But somehow he survived.
P. Krishnapillai was also a communist along with E.M.S. P. Krishnapillai did not like opposing the guns of Sir C.P. with areca nut poles. At present a lot of controversy is raging about P. Krishnapillai Memorial in Vayalar-Punnapra. P. Krishnapillai loved his followers and he never wanted them to face Sir C.P. Ramaswamy Iyer with areca nut poles as weapon. Because P. Krishnapillai opposed E.M.S. plan, it seems, he was poisoned by a cobra brought in his hut for the purpose by E.M.S. followers. Sir C.P. Ramaswamy Iyer wanted an independent Travancore when the power was transferred to India by the British. We all know that Sardar Vallabhai Patel, the man of steel who took over as Home Minister saw to it that India remained a united country. At this time I was studying in Union Christian College and was at the head of the Student Movement against Sir C.P.’s independent Travancore. I remember when Sir C.P.’s car came from North Paravur and was speeding to Trivandrum. We tried to stop him with slogans like Independent Travancore in the Arabia Sea. A friend of mine who was very emotional cut his veins and shed his blood on the road. I remember we called him Theepori Chandran i.e. Fiery Chandra.
