Every year, through the Cuckoo Movement for Children, we are giving ‘Mugam Virudhu’ to the witnesses who have done their best in social activities. Accordingly, the ‘Mugam Virudhu’ for the year 2022 is presented to Mr.Anburaj, for his dedication to the fundamental rights of the tribal(indigenous) people and the welfare of the prisoners through various field activities.
The word ‘repentance’ has a very deep meaning. Only someone with a strong mind can face it head-on. Anburaj is a living example of a person who lives his life according to the meaning of that word. Therefore, he can be considered a role model for the youth without hesitation as a contemporary personality to follow. The life of this person, who was accused of major crimes and received a prison sentence by law, was later freed from it, and doing social work, creates hope in every person who knows it.
He has been involved in forest life since his childhood. Anburaj is portrayed as an honest person who traveled on a deviant path in his youth, recovered himself from it, came back without any hesitation, and set his life in the right direction. At a time when the alarm of ridiculous philosophies that alienate fellow human beings is resounding, he is a teacher for us who carries out positive action with the silence of the mountain.
Anburaj was acquitted after spending almost two decades in jail (in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka jails) after serving as Veerappan’s accomplice for three years and helping him in some of his crimes. He went to jail with only a seventh-grade education and completed his diploma in jail. After serving 20 years of imprisonment, he devotes his entire life to the cause of inmates and tribal(indigenous) people. Married to a fellow inmate, he lives with his wife and children in the forested area of Anthiur.
Anburaj has many big dreams. Setting up a cooperative honey center for forest-dwelling villagers, like the Marthandam honey farm; Revival of Tribal Musical Instruments; Carrying dreams of various ventures, including a rehabilitation center for prison inmates, he spends every day making them come true. Every action taken by him is directly related to the improvement of the standard of living of the tribal people. All of his activities are centered on the basic rights of the people, economic development, and education for children.
VP Gunasekaran who dedicated his life to the hill tribe people; Premavathi, who worked for the education of the children of folk artists; Mr. Nagarajan who planted thousands of trees; Vantumama, the pioneering personality of juvenile literature; Scholar Venkatachalam who conserved and documented traditional rice varieties and traditional seeds; Aasan Subbed, who teaches children to make toys from waste materials; Asian Coordinator Nagarajan, who has trained and sent a large number of disabled persons for the Paralympic Games; Mr. Murugaswamy, Founder of Tirupur Deaf School; Miss. Vadipatti Ponnuthai Ammal who did education service; Azhisi Srinivasa Gopalan, who has been searching for and retrieving many rare books that are not in print in Tamil, has been given the Face Award so far. We are very happy to reach Mr. Anburaj for this award this year in this crowd.
Anburaj is the contemporary descendant of left-wing VP Gunasekaran, who spent his life working for the restoration of the tribal people, and whom we consider and believe to be the embodiment of Sir. Moreover, he has taken Marxism and Gandhism along with their shortcomings and integrated them into the platform and initiated various alternatives.
The first thing that comes to mind when thinking of Anburaj, is what an art form transforms into a person! How can a man who has had so many tragic experiences approach life so positively and honestly? The drama of Kasturba Gandhi, which he saw while in prison, had a great impact on his life. That Gandhian influence may have given him immense morale. He has acted in numerous plays with the drama troupe ‘Sangalpa’ which performs plays in prisons. Through a continuous reading of literature and contact with faculty members, he discovered his inner passion. He performed more than a hundred plays before his release.
Can art redeem a person? To the question, “Yes, Redemption! I have changed. I feel pity for any prisoner who approaches him. Most prisoners, even if they have planned a crime, are unconscious when doing it. This mentality is a subject to study. The basis of art is to consider the internal consequences, not just the external ones. “Reality is not art. It’s the monotonous drama that has driven me all these years,” he says.
It is impossible to embrace people of all philosophies and make actions possible without contradictions. Anburaj makes it a reality with his pure inner self. He is doing all these social activities without any financial or organizational background. Any one of us can point to Anburaj without any fear when it comes to the question of what kind of people this society should follow in their footsteps. His story will make any pessimist cling to this life.
The award ceremony will take place on Sunday, December 4 at the Siddhartha School in Erode, with a crowd of senior Asians who will lead us in the direction of action. A clay sculpture made by painter and sculptor friend Govilpichai Prabhakar and the prize money collected by friends will be presented along with the ‘Mugam Virudhu’.
“To reach faith, one must overcome the cauldron of unbelief”… this is the line of Fyodor Dostoevsky. Anburaj has overcome such a crisis in his life and found his art and life. Seeing Anburaj in the face of the Cuckoo Movement of Children award is heartwarming. We also gain confidence by holding the arms and dreams of an incomparable man.
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With thanks,
Cuckoo Movement of Children