Brothers spread the joy of knowledge through by giving newspapers free

Brothers spread the joy of knowledge through by giving newspapers free
Unni Krishnan giving Malayala Manorama to Sivan.

Thrissur: This give and take has been going on for 10 years. Puthuvariparambil Unnikrishnan and brother Umesh of Thrissur have been giving free newspapers to those who love reading but are forced to live by the street side, in return for the joy of seeing their knowledge grow.

The brothers, from Kunduwara in Chembukava, run a newspaper agency, distributing over 800 newspapers daily in the city.

They also give newspapers free everyday to about 10 people who are avid readers but don’t have a permanent shelter.

The free copies are from the newspapers kept for sale at the brothers' small shop in front of the Thrissur taluk office.

The joy obtained from being able to spread knowledge among people who are keen on reading counts more than the loss of income from 10 newspapers given for free, feel Unnikrishnan and his family.

Shiva is one of those 10-odd 'subscribers' of the newspapers from the agency. Shiva, whose limb movements are limited, can be found near Saroj Hospital on Shoranur Road about 7am. He then goes for his daily dose of newspaper, a habit just like his morning hot cup of tea, from the agency.

There are 10 such people, including Shiva, from all over the city who love reading and come to the shop for their copy of newspapers.

The brothers also give newspapers and periodicals as a present to the EMS library at Mayilipadam.

Unnikrishnan's newspaper journey started when he was just 12 years old after the death of his father.

He starts his day at 3 am and then goes about the city distributing newspapers for about six hours. He returns to his shop about 10am. He shuts it and goes home about 7pm.

Unnikrishnan, the area vice-president of Kerala Street Vendors Union (CITU), says he has earned the love and respect of many city residents by distributing all types of newspapers irrespective of their political leanings all these years.

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