Kerala Congress (M) chairman K.M. Mani (L) and his wife Kuttiyamma (file photo)The Karingozhaykkal house in Pala is in festivities. The birthday boy is jubilant at 84. K.M. Mani is not used to his own birthday parties but the Kerala Congress party is celebrating the landmark with charitable activities in 1,000 institutions including orphanages, old age homes and palliative care centers. After all, the supreme leader has witnessed a thousand full moons.
In fact, Mani turns 84 on Monday but the party and family have chosen to celebrate it on Sunday.
The veteran is all smiles. He cracks jokes and bursts into hearty laughs that often end up in a bout of cough. The former chain smoker dismisses the persisting cough. This was far worse when I used to smoke, he says.
His wife Kuttiyamma is not worried either. She has not seen him suffering from a headache in the 60 years they were together. He seems to be unaffected by the vicissitudes of public life.
Mani throws some valuable insights into his life in an interview with Onmanorama on the eve of his 84th birthday.
* Do you see P.T. Chacko as a model worth emulating when you forgive your opponents and try to take everyone with you?
I went with P.T. Chacko to a retreat at Yercaud the year before his death. The Congress was then riddled with factional fights. AICC general secretary K.P. Madhavan Nair was staying in Ooty.
Chacko confessed after the retreat. He came to me after that and said, “We have to patch up with our opponents. We have to forget our differences and forgive them. I have some differences of opinion with Madhavan Nair. Nothing personal though. Are you coming with me to see him?”
Both of us went to Ooty. I waited outside Nair’s house while Chacko talked it out with him.
* You wrote a book about the spiritual side of P T Chacko. Who will write about your spiritual side?
Anyone can write it. Whoever knows me personally, knows about that side of me.
* You have said that you were working on an autobiography. That is sure to contain the major developments of Kerala politics. What is holding you back?
I have to write but I do not get enough time for it. I am always working overtime.
* How do you remember your childhood?
That was a wonderful period. My father had a ginger plantation at Kunukkumpara. I used to join the workers in harvesting ginger. I would hide all the ginger roots I had plucked in a pit. After all the workers have left, I would scratch them out and take them home to surprise my father. He would let me sell them. I would get my pocket money by washing and selling ginger. After all I had put in some hard work. It is fun thinking of those days now.
*And what about your early days in politics?
I was in high school when Travancore witnessed an agitation for responsible rule. We the students of the St. Thomas School hit the street with a call to boycott classes. On the way, we were told that the agitation was met with a favorable decision. We cheered and celebrated. Those moments are still fresh in memory.
* Back then, you wanted to be a priest.
Yes, when I was in the upper primary school. Brothers from Coonoor used to come to our school to recruit whoever was interested in becoming a priest. I wanted to go to Coonoor but did not. Had I went, I would have been a brother now.
(Then you could not have married me, Kuttiyamma intervenes.)
* What are your expectations about son Jose K. Mani? Did you want him to be in any other field but politics?
I did not have any concrete plans for him. I let him choose his interests. He is planning his own career. He has not goofed up so far. He is able to do stuff without any directions from me.
* Your daughter-in-law Nisha Jose K. Mani is also interested in politics?
Nisha is a talented girl. But she does not have to be in politics to prove herself. People will have different interests. We do not plan in advance.
* You waived off agricultural income tax and introduced welfare measures such as Karunya lottery as a minister. How do you rate your political career? Any regrets?
It is very important what you have done for the country and society when you had an opportunity. I could lessen the tax burden of farmers. Rs 100 crore was set aside for rubber farmers in the budget. The price stability fund was an important idea. The central and state governments can help rubber farmers by fixing price at Rs 200 per kilo. I am happy to have felicitated these measures and programs like Karunya. I have added whatever I wanted to while preparing the budget. I have not left out anything.
* You have many records to your credit in your political career. You have been a minister for long. Do you regret not getting a chance to be the Chief Minister?
I never dreamed of becoming the Chief Minister. I am not against the idea though. But I never planned for it. I do not have to struggle for it. I will get the post if I deserve it.
* You entered politics by campaigning for former High Court judge P. Govinda Menon in a municipal election. P.T. Chacko encouraged you to be an active politician. You could have become a lawyer had you chosen another career. Were there some other plans too?
