Thirukkural with the Times explores real-world lessons from the classic Tamil text ‘Thirukkural’. Written by Tamil poet and philosopher Thiruvalluvar, the Kural consists of 1,330 short couplets of seven words each. This text is divided into three books with teachings on virtue, wealth, and love and is considered one of the great works ever on ethics and morality. The Kural has influenced scholars and leaders across social, political, and philosophical spheres.Motivational speaker, author and diversity champion Bharathi Bhaskar explores the masterpiece.Some documentaries inform us. Some disturb us. Others remain in our minds for long. A rare few quietly move us, not through dramatic scenes but through the
power
of a human life lived with purpose. Nilam + Needhi = Krishnammal Jagannathan, directed by Ravi Subramanian, is one such documentary.The last scene refuses to leave my mind. A 100-year-old Krishnammal walks barefoot across a farm field, not holding onto anyone. The camera rests on her wrinkled feet that have walked across villages and decades of struggle, in search of justice, so that landless labourers could live with dignity.Krishnammal and her husband Jagannathan lived a life that can only be described as relentless service. Their life was a continuous struggle — against govts, powerful landlords, industries and often against systems that refused to listen. Yet their methods were always Gandhian — walking, fasting, negotiating, persuading, and above all, believing that even those who oppose you may change their hearts.The documentary reaches its most emotional point when it narrates one of the darkest chapters in Tamil Nadu’s history — the Keezhvenmani massacre of Dec 25, 1968. Agricultural labourers who demanded higher wages were seen as a threat by powerful landlords. At the height of the conflict, 44 labourers, including women and children, took shelter in a small hut belonging to a man named Ramayya. The hut was locked from outside and set on fire. 44 human beings burned alive. It remains one of the most gruesome and painful incidents in Tamil Nadu’s history.The first accused, a landlord, was arrested and later released. A few years after his release, he was murdered. Violence and hatred continued.The very next day after the massacre, Krishnammal and Jagannathan rushed to Keezhvenmani. Not merely to protest, but to obtain justice to the families of the deceased. They realized that nothing other than ownership of land will bring dignity to those poor families and thought it was natural justice that the same landlords part with some of their land to the families of the slain labourers. This was no easy work. It took more than forty years of dialogue, persuasion, patience, and forgiveness for the landlords to give 286 acres of land to the families of the deceased labourers. In an emotional gathering, the landlords placed the land documents at the feet of Jagannathan and Krishnammal with teary eyes. It was not victory. It was reconciliation.When Krishnammal turned 100, both the victims’ and the landlords’ families came together to celebrate her. Those once divided by violence stood together in gratitude before a frail woman who had spent her entire life reducing hatred and building dignity. That moment itself feels like a miracle — proof that dialogue can heal what violence destroys.When the documentary ended, I thanked Ravi Subramanian, for reminding us that the bravest people are not those who unleash wars, but who spend their lives preventing them. Courage is not always loud. Sometimes it walks barefoot on a field at the age of 100.Thiruvalluvar writes in the chapter on mercy:“Mannuyir ombi arulaalvarkku Illenba Thannuyir anjum vinai”One who protects all living beings with compassion has nothing to fear in this world.Krishnammal’s life is perhaps the living explanation of this couplet. Those who live only for themselves fear everything. Those who live for others fear nothing.
