Kerala polls: An unsung ‘influencer’ with a harmonium & coins at his feet

In an age of digital campaigns and data-driven outreach reshaped politics, older residents in parts of Thiruvananthapuram recall a very different kind of campaigner—a man who carried a harmonium on his shoulder and the Left movement in his heart.Born in Palarivattom in Kochi, ET Baby, fondly known as Malabar Baby, came of age in the charged political atmosphere of the 1960s and 70s and turned dusty street corners into stages and passersby into audiences.With a harmonium slung across his shoulder, he moved from town to town, lending his voice to the Left movement. His journey into southern Kerala became especially memorable during the 1967 assembly elections, when he arrived in Kovalam and drew crowds across the stretch from Parassala to Thiruvananthapuram city.He lived simply, often sleeping in waiting sheds. In evenings, people gathered across party lines to listen to his theatre songs and revolutionary ballads—Baby gave them all. Coins would gather at his feet; a cup of black tea would keep him going.His performances were unmistakable. With portraits of EMS Namboodiripad, AK Gopalan and Krishna Pillai pasted on his harmonium, Baby sang with unrestrained passion, often with his shirt unbuttoned, drenched in sweat under the scorching sun.

He sang theatre favourites too, hits like “Balikudeerangale...”During the Emergency years, his songs questioned power and spoke of excesses—and paid for it. Political rivals attacked him on more than one occasion. Once, they smashed his harmonium.In a gesture that remains etched in family memory, former chief minister E K Nayanar stepped in to help, personally buying Baby a new harmonium. The first song played on it, an emotional tribute to AKG and EMS, was performed before Nayanar himself.

It remains one of the family’s most treasured memories Despite offers from rival parties, Baby never wavered. He sang only for the Left, raised six children with his wife Kamalamma.His youngest daughter Minimol remembers accompanying him to meet EMS as a child, the thrill of it still vivid. “He personally knew those leaders,” she says quietly. “But I sometimes wonder if any of them remember him at all.”As political campaigning evolved, voices like Baby’s were gradually drowned out by modern methods. He spent his later years singing songs in schools to make ends meet. On Aug 19, 2007, at the age of 72, Malabar Baby passed away after a brief illness, slipping into obscurity. His harmonium, left behind at a shop in Marthandam shortly before his death, was never recovered.