Not many from Kumily, really know about the person behind this initiative called, “Kumily Calling”. This post is my own way of introducing myself to you all. My name is Benjamin Noah Suresh and I am just an ordinary guy who has been active in the Communication and Development sectors for over thirty five years.
Having resided in cities and being housed in apartments all my life and having spent a major part of my life in Madras, the capital of Tamuzh Nadu, I wanted to break free from the shackles of city life and move to a quiet place with access to my basic needs. My spouse of thirty three years, Lydia who retired as a Government School Teacher in Tamuzh Nadu shared my desire and when we both retired we decided it was time to move out of Madras city.
I therefore commenced my search for the ideal place to spend my sunset years. It took us over a year and many false positives before we could finally decide that Kumily was the right place for us.
A chance visit to Kumily along with a friend from Cumbum where I was then scouting around for land led me to stumble upon a small house with a small garden in Attapallam which was both budget friendly and offered the quiet I longed for. As a result we moved lock, stock and barrel to Kumily and have been here for a year now.
Many of my friends and relatives were surprised at our decision. “Why Kumily of all places?” they demanded. First of all Kumily is a place filled with greenery and brings us into closer contact with nature. Having lived in the extreme heat of Madras, we found Kumily the ideal climate for us since it was neither too hot nor too cold.
Kumily is also a border town on the Tamuzh Nadu – Kerala border and has quick access to Tamuzh Nadu for I still have family in Tamuzh Nadu and I can have speedy access to visit them if the situation demanded.
Most importantly, I could now own a small piece of land – something which I could not dream of in Madras due to the skyrocketing prices there – and now follow my Mother’s example and take interest in gardening; something which had not caught my fancy earlier.
The House we now own in Attapallam has a small garden filled with a Mango tree, a Jack-fruit tree, an Egg Fruit tree, a Rose Apple tree and two Teak trees; not to forget the Mehendi, the Sapota, the Gooseberry and Pomegranate shrubs as well as Passion Fruit vine which are in the process of maturing. I have added a few flowering plants to the garden and I enjoy looking at the flowers and admiring their beauty whenever the mood strikes me.
In addition to all this Kumily also allowed me an opportunity to fulfil a long standing dream of setting up a community media initiative. Having been a champion and supporter of community media during an earlier phase of my professional life, I now found Kumily providing me an opportunity to fulfil what I had then championed.
Thus was born “Kumily Calling”, a start-up community e-zine aiming to provide a meaningful space for the people living in Kumily to know about what is happening in their town and participate in its growth and development. Unfortunately, my initiative which I named, “Kumily Calling” has not really taken off due to various reasons.
People ask me why I chose the name, “Kumily Calling” and I must confess the reason may sound strange to you. I have been passing through Kumily ever since I was a little boy of eleven, when I used to visit my cousin and stay with her in the estates around Vandiperiyar where her husband was a manager. My relationship with Kumily continued when as a young man I used to travel around Idukki, trekking and exploring the hills.
However, it was only when I visited Kumily last year that I had the strange sensation of the Hills were calling me and asking me to come live here. It may sound strange but it is true. I believe that it was divine will which brought me to Kumily and I therefore named the e-zine “Kumily Calling”
As the first phase in this initiative, I have created the e-zine and am sorting out the early stage teething issues that I come across. The most striking realisation that I have had since I created the e-zine is that no such initiative can succeed unless it has the support of the local community.
I therefore seek your support in this endeavour and request you to participate actively by contributing news about yourself and other aspects of the town which you consider are newsworthy
“Kumily Calling” looks forward to working with you all for the welfare and development of the Town.
