Kaumudi: A symbol of renunciation

The girl who moved Gandhi

- Prof Dr Ram Ponnu*

Kaumudi

Mahatma Gandhi lingered on two very sacred illustrations, Kaumudi in Malabar and Annapurnamma¹ in Andhra in discarding their jewellery for a cause so sacred as the Harijan welfare. Kaumudi popularly called Kaumudi teacher, an ardent Gandhian follower and freedom activist from Kannur (Cannanore) in Kerala. She was born in a royal family to A K Ramavarma Raja and Devaki Kettilamma on May 17, 1917, at Vatakara in Kannur. She was well-known for voluntarily donating her ornaments at the age of 16 to Gandhi when he visited Vatakara.

For the upliftment of the so-called untouchables, Gandhiji took all India tours to create awareness among the people about the sinful act of untouchability and collect funds for the Harijan welfare activities. During his trip of Southern India, on 13 January 1934, an incident took place in Vatakara in Malabar which visibly moved Gandhiji. As a part of his campaign, he addressed a public meeting at Vatakara, which is at present a part of Calicut.

He talked about the cause of his visit in general and the Harijan welfare fund for which he is collecting. His speech inspired the audience, and once he finished his speech, the people approached him one by one to donate whatever little money or jewels they had for Harijan cause. When Kaumudi, the 16-year old girl walked up to the stage, Mahatma looked curiously. She removed all the gold ornaments she was wearing and voluntarily handed over to him. He asked her, have you the permission of your parents to do this? Her father, who was present there ratified her action. Gandhi then said that she should not to get her ornaments replaced, to which she readily agreed.

He asked her again, "Then what will you do if you give me all this"?

She replied, "I will wait till someone comes to marry me and not my gold."

He then voiced "what if no such person comes",

She said, "I wouldn't marry".

He gave her his autograph, "Tumhara tyag hi tumhara bhushan hoga"! (Your sacrifice will be your best ornament!)²

He blessed her and appreciated her faith in the ideology. Kaumudi pledged to not wear ornaments after her act of renunciation for the cause of Harijans. Kaumudi's contribution of jewels touched Gandhi who spoke and wrote the name and fame of kaumudi on several occasions.

In his speech at a women's meeting in Calicut on 13 January, Gandhi said: 'I see that all of you are seized with a peculiar fear lest I might induce you and you might feel irresistibly tempted to part with all your ornaments. Some of you have already begun to give your trinkets. I propose to give you tonight a beautiful story of a girl called Kaumudi. I saw her for the first time this morning at Badagara(Vatakara) and in response to an appeal I made to the ladies to give their jewellery, and, if they had the desire, all their jewellery, this little girl Kaumudi—I call her "little" comparatively — I suppose she was about 20 years, probably 21³ — and she came forward and began with her two beautiful bangles, the only bangles she had on her wrists. I was more than satisfied, but not she. Out she came with her very beautiful necklace. I thought she would stop at that. But she would not. Her hands involuntarily went to her ears, and she suddenly remembered there was something in her ears also and was delighted to give her ear-rings. I was very deeply touched, but I suppressed my emotion at that time. I straightaway enquired whether she was an independent girl or whether she had obtained her father's consent. And I immediately learned that she had done this in her father's presence because he was on the platform, helping me get my addresses and other trinkets. I then realized that the father was also entirely with his girl in her giving everything that was on her person to the Harijan cause. All she wanted was an autograph for her two bangles. Of course, I gave her more than my signature.

I wrote there in Hindi that her great sacrifice would be a truer ornament than her gold and jewel things. She went very delighted. And I had her definite promise that she was not going to ask her father to replace those articles of jewellery. She has enough and more articles to wear and jewellery also. Of course, for a Malabar girl, this is not a fantastic performance. Because so far as my knowledge goes, Malabar girls are the simplest of all the girls in the world. Somehow or other they have left on my mind the impression that they have the least desire for jewellery. I may be wholly mistaken. Anyway, that is the impression that they have moved on my mind.⁴

On January 15, 1934, in his letter to Vallabhbhai Patel Gandhi stated, 'Another Annapurna, named Kaumudi, came into the limelight. She gave all her ornaments. "Who can harm him whom Rama protects?" So we will live as He ordains, do His bidding and dance as He wills'.⁵

Again in Harijan, her sacrifice was acknowledged by Gandhi in his article titled 'Kaumudi's renunciation'. It had been later translated to all Indian languages and made part of the school syllabus.⁶ Gandhi wrote, "It has been my privilege to witness many touching and soul-stirring scenes during a busy life packed with a variety of rich experiences. But at the moment of writing this, I cannot recall a scene more touching than that of the Harijan cause. I had just finished my speech at Vatagara. In it, I had made a reasoned appeal to the women present for jewellery. I had finished speaking and was selling the presents received when gently walked up to the platform Kaumudi, a girl 16 years old. She took out one bangle and asked me if I would give my autograph. I was preparing to give it when off came the other bangle. She had only one on each hand. I said, "You need not give me both; I shall give you the autograph for one bangle only." She replied by taking off her golden necklace. This was no smooth performance. It had to be disengaged from her long plait of hair. But the Malabar girl that she is, she had no false modesty about performing the whole process before a wondering public counting several thousands of men and women. "But have you the permission of your parents?" I asked. There was no answer. She had not yet completed her renunciation. Her hands automatically went to her ears, and out came her jewelled ear-rings amid the ringing cheers of the public, whose expression of joy was no longer to be suppressed. I asked her again whether she had her parents' consent to the sacrifice. Before I could extract any answer from the shy girl, someone told me that her father was present at the meeting, that he was himself helping me by bidding for the addresses I was auctioning, and that he was as generous as his daughter in giving to worthy causes. I reminded Kaumudi that she was not to have the ornaments replaced. She resolutely consented to the condition. As I handed her the autograph, I could not help prefacing it with the remark, "Your renunciation is a truer ornament than the jewellery you have discarded." May her renunciation prove to have been an earnest of her being a true Harijan sevika".⁷

After completing her matriculation, she studied Hindi and got appointed as the first Hindi teacher in Malabar, at the Government Girls High School. She worked in several schools in the Malabar region. She later devoted herself to the propagation of khadi and teaching Hindi and decided not to wear ornaments. A disciple of Vinobha Bhave, she had also been associated with the Bhoodhan Movement. She retired from service in 1972 and worked in the ashram of Vinobha Bhave in Thiruvananthapuram. She was also a frequent visitor to Sewagram and Paunar ashrams. Kaumudi Teacher's heroic sacrifice has been included in textbooks as well. She remained unmarried and has been honoured by various Gandhian organizations.

Kaumudi Teacher died at her brother Prabhakaran Nambiar's residence at Kadachira on 4 August 2009 in Kannur at the age of 92, due to her failing health. On the day of the funeral, thousands of people gathered to pay their respects to her. A contingent of police personnel also offered a gun salute before the body of the 92-year-old Gandhian was taken for cremation. Her voluntary act of renouncing her gold ornaments to Mahatma Gandhi elevated her to an inspirational figure in India's freedom movement. Gandhi hailed her as a symbol of renunciation, but she also became a symbol of sacrifice.

References

1. True to her promise, she also would not replace those rich articles of jewellery. She had wealthy parents, who would gladly have given her all their jewellery to replace hers. But from that time up to the time of her death, she never wore an article of jewellery.
2. Speech at Women's Meeting, Calicut, January 13, 1934, CWMG, 56:481
3. At that time her age was only 16.
4. Speech at Women's Meeting, Calicut, January 13, 1934, CWMG, 56:480-81
5. CWMG, 56:493
6. 'Eminent Gandhian Kaumudi Teacher Dead', Outlook,04 August 2009
7. Harijan, January 19,1934,CWMG,57:18-19

* Former Principal, Govt.Arts College, Surandai, Thenkasi, Tamil Nadu | Email: eraponnu@gmail.com.