From Global To Local: Ecological Consciousness In Kallen Pokkudan’s Self-Narratives

Abstract

The study focuses on the imagination of the global and the ethical commitment to the local environmental issues. The new order has turned the world a global village and human beings in all their spheres of life are heavily connected to environment. The basic working premise of my paper centres on two self-narratives of Kallen Pokkudan – Kandalkkadukalkkidayil Ente Jeevitham (Malayalam) -My Life Among the Mangrove Forests (2007) and Ente Jeevitham(Malayalam) -My Life (2010). The paper attempts to read these self-narratives as the reflection of his ecological sensitivity. Pokkudan’s attempt to intersect with the ecological imperialism in the specific context of Kerala which is embroiled in environmental and ecological menace, gets unraveled in the narratives. He places premium on the relevance of wet land conservation and thereby the sustainability of a biotic community.