Thiruvananthapuram: The sight of a person who has rather made himself ‘a walking shop’ on the streets around the Pazhavangadi temple in Thiruvananthapuram is sure to evoke curiosity and trigger sadness at the same time. The ‘man’ is actually a familiar face. His name is Santhosh Kaala, state president of Youth Congress (S) and a member of the Youth Welfare Board. The man had also served as office assistant of Kadannappalli Ramachandran in the minister’s previous term. 

These days, Santhosh gets out of the revered ‘Khaddar’ in a bid to meet both ends. He then wears the ‘dreadful’ attire that is symbolic of the miseries affecting his life. Literally he carries all the items including combs, safety pins and miscellaneous items which are usually pushed around in carts by the vendors.

Santhosh said that under Kadannappalli, he learned that ‘politics’ is not a way to earn money. The only steady income that the man has now is the Rs 3,500 pension that he receives every month ever since he had retired from the personal staff of the minister. These days, Santhosh can be seen in the streets from 5 AM to 9 PM. But the man never forgets to attend party programs amidst his tough life. Despite his hardships, Santhosh had given away 25 cents of land to the CMRF fund to help those who had lost their homes in the devastating floods in 2018. That is the height of magnanimity! Apparently, the particular strip of land in Kasaragod was the only savings in his life. 

Santhosh is a native of Kaduthuruthy in Kottayam. Currently he is staying in a rented house along with wife Bindhu and three children.