KOCHI: "I liked to travel through villages and tribal areas," 'Chintha' Ravi once said in an interview. Perhaps it was his desire to experience first hand the varied struggles of the ordinary citizen that made K Ravindran, one of the most influential figures in Kerala's cultural and intellectual landscape, in the last few decades. Be it travelogues, criticism, filmmaking, journalism and writing, he cut his own distinct path in each field rooted firmly in an ethical philosophy."I never felt like writing about cities. Cities have a common nature. They are not the origins of a society or lifestyle. They are the places of immigrants and 'nomads'," he had noted once.
Born into a literally emancipated family in rustic Kannadikkal, Kozhikode, he had in fact begun his travels into the lives of distant people long before he could think of writing a travelogue."Books, and the friendships related thereof" had moulded his thoughts that culminated in reams of writing. Although he was not too politically active during his school and college days,
Nampoothiripad's 'Marxism: Oru Padapusthakam'.
His association with 'Kalakaumudi' led him to the world of travelogues with "Ente Yathrakal".The definitive turning point in his life came during his life in Mumbai as a journalism student when the waves of student movement the world over influenced Ravindran to shift from fiction to serious and political literature.
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