â€œIt wasnâ€™t them who killed Madhu, it was you, who stood by and did nothingâ€

26 Feb 2018
Nikhil
Features

The youth of Kochi brings out a new light to one of the most brutal and unforgettable moments in Kerala’s history, the murder of the young man named Madhu.

“Yes, what if he is a thief. Should it give you the right to take his life?” screams Hamza Vallithode during the enacting of the whole incident that shocked the world. A young man named Madhu was brutally beaten to death as he was accused of stealing food out of hunger. Madhu belonged to a tribal group from Attapady and this incident was greatly highlighted by the social media and the news media for the last few days. “There had been many protests regarding this incident, and as a responsible youth, we wanted to make people aware that it wasn’t those people who beat thrashed Maddhu that killed him, but the people who stood by and did nothing about”, says Vishnu Ravi.

The street play took place near High court Junction, with Vishnu Ravi, Ajith Jose, Ponnan Varghese and Hamza Vallithode playing the main characters. Vishnu says “Street play was not the first thing we had in mind. We were in search for the best medium to connect with the public and that’s how the idea of doing the street play came into action.”

I was bearing witness to the street play, the emotions that flowed through my mind was just indescribable, I felt so much anger, sorrow and helplessness as I stood there and bore witness to the whole event. When Ponnan ( Madhu) stood up and said it wasn’t those people who beat him and thrashed him that killed him, it was me who stood by and did nothing, it was all of us.” says Navaneeth Saju, one among the large group of audiences who bore witness to the street play.

The street play gave out a strong message to the public that we could have saved the life of Madhu, if we had only took the decision a bit early to interfere in the commotion, rather than protesting and conducting rallies after the unthinkable happens. Here is the video of the street play .Let’s stand up and work together so that another life does not get thrown to the valley of death. Let’s unite and pledge for change.