Kochi: On the sprawling backwaters of Kochi’s Kadamakkudy, a small island measuring just under three acres sits wrapped in mangroves and backwaters. Murikkal Island, once home to a few families, now records a rare democratic statistic: 100 per cent voter turnout in every election for the past 25 years. The feat is fairly easy to compute, because Murikkal today has only one voter, and he has never missed casting his vote.

That lone voter is 74-year-old KC Joseph, known locally not by name, but by place as “Joseph Murikkal.”

“Ask anyone in Kadamakkudy for KC Joseph, and they won’t know,” Joseph laughed. “But if you say ‘that old man living alone on a Thuruth [island] with his dogs’, they will easily guide you here,” he said while cuddling one of his dogs.

Murikkal is in ward 13 of the Kadamakkudy panchayat, and for a quarter century, he has lived entirely on his own on the island he refuses to abandon.

Murikkal once had 19 voters, including Joseph, his wife, sons, brothers and extended family members. But as transport difficulties grew, and with no road access or basic amenities, families slowly shifted to Kadamakkudy and neighbouring mainland pockets. The remnants of their abandoned homes have been swallowed by thick undergrowth. 

Joseph stayed behind while his sons now live in Kothamangalam and Manjummel. His wife resides in Kadamakkudy. He now owns around 1.15 acres of the island, the rest being filled with mangroves, old fish farms and the crumbling remains of houses.

What began as a stubborn attachment to his birthplace gradually turned into a life of self-reliance. “My ancestors lived and died here. I was born here, and my marriage took place here. Why should I abandon it?” he said.

 His wife and two sons visit him occasionally. “This land is part of my identity. My family may find it difficult to live here, and I won’t blame them, but I cannot walk away from it,” he said.

Joseph lives in a tiny shed he assembled from sheets on the island’s western edge. Alone, except for his four dogs, led by their leader, Kaiser.

“They are not just guards, they are my companions,” he smiled while patting Kaiser’s head. Most of the dogs were abandoned on the island by people who rowed across and left them there,” he said. 

These dogs follow him everywhere, across the mangroves, past the ruins of old homes, and to the Chinese fishing nets, which he is slowly building.

Murikkal’s very existence is tied to history. According to Joseph’s family, until 1924, Murikkal was connected to Kadamakkudy by a narrow wooden-plank crossing. But the great flood that year washed away a major stretch of land, including his ancestral house, cutting off the island almost completely. That is how the place got its name - Murikkal - meaning “cut away.”

Today, the gap between the island and Kadamakkudy is roughly 70 metres, but the channel is deep and has strong undercurrents. Over the years, tides have eaten into the outer bund, and Joseph fears that without immediate measures, the island may slowly vanish. 

“The waters have become polluted too due to discharge from factories. Sometimes the water turns brown, and the fish die. These waters hold all my childhood memories and I hope it remains the same,” he said. 

Joseph once depended on a kerosene lamp and a transistor radio, his only link to the world beyond the mangroves. Now he has electricity, drinking water from a public tap, cooking gas and a smartphone. He was once a painter, but now he splits his days between fish farm labour, fishing on his small boat, and taking care of his dogs. He goes fishing in his small boat, selling part of his catch and keeping some for his meals.

He begins each day by rowing to Kadamakkudy to pick up newspapers, groceries and meet friends at the teashop. “From those little chats at the tea shop, I get to know what’s happening in our locality. Once I am back on my island, I have fresh air, peace, and my dogs. I never feel lonely and bored,” he said.

Murikkal may have only one voter now, but Joseph, despite his isolation, prides himself on ensuring that the island’s polling record remains perfect.

“From the time I turned 18, I have never missed a single election. Earlier, when my relatives lived here, candidates used to come campaigning. Now nobody rows here for just one vote, but I have no complaints. They know I will vote anyway,” he said.

With tourism expanding in Kadamakkudy and two new Water Metro terminals - Paliyamthuruth and Kadamakkudy - coming up near Murikkal, several people have approached Joseph with purchase offers for the island. But he has refused them all.

“I will not sell this land. After me, my children can decide. But I hope they preserve it. This land has value far beyond money,” he said. 

When asked if he was scared of living alone on a remote island, Joseph said, “Scared? Of what? I have lived here my whole life. This place raised me. This place protected my family. The wind, the trees, the waters - the island is my home,” he said.