In Kaumudi Weekly’s ‘Ask Editors’ question column, ‘Are you the best editor?’ The answer given by K Balakrishnan to the question is as follows; ‘Oh no, there is only one newspaper editor in Kerala. He is Ekalangan (one of Kampishery’s lungs was surgically removed) and is sitting in the office of Janyuga in Kollam. RK Karanjia, the editor of Blitz, is not qualified to tie his shoes. I don’t know if K Balakrishnan’s words are exaggeration or not. But one who analyzes the multifaceted personality of Campisheri can say that it is a correct assessment.
Campissery made his debut as a journalist by reporting the news that the statue of Sir CP in front of the CP Inn in Thampanoor, Thiruvananthapuram had been smashed and tied up in sacks. To give a piece of news affecting Travancore Adakiwana Sir C. P., that too requires an extraordinary swagger for a beginner. As soon as the news came out, the newspaper ‘Yuvakeralam’ owned by Congress leader KK Chellappanpillai was shut down. The editors went into hiding. It was only after Sir CP left Travancore with a cut nose that he was able to start the paper again.
Also Read: My editors
Campissery later worked as a correspondent in early newspapers like ‘Rajjabhimani’, ‘Vishwakeralam’, ‘Pauradhwani’ and ‘Keralam’. Joined Janyuga in 1954. By that time ‘Jana Yugam’ had changed from a political column to a daily newspaper. ‘Jana Yugam’ weekly was started in 1958. Its first editor was Vaikom Chandrasekaran Nair. When Vaikom stepped down in 1963, Campishery took over the position. During the next 14 years (1963–77), Kerala witnessed the boom of the Jana Yuga.
The words written by C. Achyutamenon in the introduction to the works of Kampisseri about the newspaper editor Kampisseri are noteworthy. Those who have had to deal with it in any way say that running a newspaper, and that too a newspaper like the Communist Party, without sufficient capital and equipment and with prohibitions and restrictions on everything it touches is a very demanding thing. Outsiders can guess a little. We must not forget that Campissery wrote most of his articles during this engagement.
Famous logician and writer Edamaruk said – ‘Kampissery is one of the unique journalists that Kerala has seen. He managed to mold a weekly in a unique style in Kerala where there are hundreds of weekly and magazines. It’s hard to find anyone else who knows the pulse of readers like this. That eye must have gone to every article and note in Janyuga Varika.
Famous critic KP Appan said – ‘Kampissery is a tower built on top of a hill’.
Campisseri’s philosophy on journalism is explained in the article ‘Patrathile Nunagall’. It is a matter of discussion since the beginning of newspapers in Bhumukham that whether the newspaper should be run according to the reader’s sense or whether the reader should be raised according to the perspective of the newspaper. It doesn’t matter if you hold it at both ends, the wise thing to do is to move forward with a compromise’.
Janayugam Weekly had a print run of 1,27,000 copies. At that time, Janyugam Press did not have the capacity to accept more print orders. There were people watching jealously from outside the gate where bundles were tied for distribution in the tinna of the Janyug office. The publishers of that time were curious to know what was the magic of Campissery behind it. The weekly content is undoubtedly behind this growth. It was Kampisheri himself who often wrote and prepared the ‘Chodyothara Pankti’ that was coming in the Jana Yuga. ‘Ask the Doctor’ and ‘Vatsala Chechi’ had a lot of dust from Campisheri. Many of the older generation must be amused by the way Campisseri treated the couple who came across the sea to meet ‘Vatsalachechi’. It should be understood from this how deeply these lines have penetrated in the minds of the people. The famous doctor Ramakrishnan Thambi started the line ‘Ask the doctor’.
The special edition published in the name of Premnazir created history. A first class reference book, this edition was published to commemorate Premnaseer’s 300 films. When it sold out, a second edition had to be printed. That too was new at that time.
Artist Gopalan’s role in curating the weekly is worth mentioning. Gopalan’s lines were full of grace and beauty. These lines did little to make the Jan Yuga attractive. It seems that perhaps there is no other person who has read the mind of Campissery as much as Gopalan. Gopalan remained in the Jana Yuga until the end of Campissery’s life.
After the weekly, the publication of ‘Cinerama’, which contributed significantly to the film industry, began. Cinirama contributed significantly in molding many talents like Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Sreekumaran Thambi, Bichu Tirumala, Vayalar, Toppilbhasi, P Padmarajan, Bharnikav Sivakumar and others who were prominent in Malayalam cinema. Cinerama also played a big role in introducing foreign language films to Malayalam. Prof. said that ‘Cinirama’ was the only Malayalam film publication that was published regularly at the Poona Film Institute. As John Shankaramangalam once said.
This was followed by the beginning of the children’s magazine ‘Balayuga’. For this, the cartoonist Yesudasan, who was drawing in Shankar’s Weekly in Delhi, was called back to the Jana Yuga and given the task. Earlier, Yesudasan was the staff cartoonist of Janyuga. The first ‘pocket cartoon’ started in Malayalam was the Jana Yuga. How quickly the cartoon series ‘Kittummavan’ became popular. A staff cartoonist was also permanently appointed to a Malayalam daily. Campishery was also instrumental in contributing the idea for the series. Later, Yesudasan got a job in ‘Shankar’s Weekly’.
The idea of Janayugam novel version was also Campissery’s. As the number of novels received for publication increased at the press office, the novel edition was started as an incentive. It also became very popular as a novel for one rupee. The category ‘Jana Yugam Books’ was also started later.
Many prominent Malayalam writers were the discovery of Kampishery. Topil Bhasi’s ‘Memories of Oliva’ was published in the Jana Yuga. Sreekumaran Thambi’s first novel ‘Kakkathampuratti’ was published in the Jana Yugam Onam Vishal Prati. It was published by Janayugam Books. Sreekumaran Thambi himself has written that when Sreekumaran Thambi got a job and went to Madras, he was made the Madras correspondent of Cinirama and interviewed Sivajiganesan with the help of Premnaseer. Similarly Jana Yuga and Campissery played a big role in nurturing many writers. Perumpadavam, Padmarajan, Kakkanathan, MD Ratnamma, Sarah Thomas and others will be among them.
It was the discovery of MN Satyarthi Kampissery, famous in Malayalam as a translator. Satyarthi’s words about it can be mentioned here ‘I have no ability to write a single sentence or a paragraph in Malayalam language without mistake, I translated the latest Urdu story and sent it to Janyuga. I did this because I knew that the unpublishable matter would end up in the dustbin and the editor would not be able to take police action on my behalf. What a miracle Janyuga published the translation I sent. The editor also sent me a card asking me to translate the best new stories in as many languages as he knew. And so my adventure grew. The Guru who taught me to write Malayalam is Jan Yuga. I would never have written in Malayalam if my translation had not been first published by Janayugam’. Satyarthi, who had lived in Bengal for some time, realized that Bengali was a good thing for him. Campishery commissioned him to translate Bimal Mitra’s novel. It was a novel that captivated Malayalam readers. Deepankuran, Lakshmiettathi, Sati and Ghoshal in it won a place in the hearts of the people. Soon after, ‘Twentieth Century’ was also published. The publication of the novel ‘Vilakuvangam’ was completed after a period of two and a half years. Janayugam Books itself published ‘Vilakuvangam’ in two parts. Janayugam weekly also introduced prominent writers Kishan Chander and Yashpal to Malayalam.
Janyuga Onam was a particularly big event. Its printing and distribution created a festive atmosphere. It can be said that Vishal Prati was one of the most valuable contributions of the Jana Yuga.
It is a history that the editor of the handwritten magazine ‘Bharata Praveho’, which started with Vallikunath Thopil Bhasi and Pudusheri Ramachandran, later became a leading editor in Malayalam. Toppil Bhasi has written that Campissery single-handedly handled everything from the design of the manuscript magazine to the layout and proof. That start was never wasted. The Jana Yuga enriched the writing pages of Thakazhi, Kesavadev, Ponkunnam Varki, Vayalar, ONV, Tirunallur, Topil Bhasi and others. K Balakrishnan and Kottarakkara Sreedharan Nair also had a special prize for Kampissery. He also paid particular attention to encouraging new writers by clearing their shortcomings in their writing and giving them fair remuneration. Cartoons by PK Mantri, Somanathan, Yesudasan etc. made the Janayugam weekly popular.
Also Read: Kittummavan, Yesudasa and Jana Yuga
The life stories of the marginalized in the society shined in the pages of Jana Yuga. The Jana Yuga was the first to introduce Moose the thief, Putli Bhai as the bootlegger and so on.
Children’s Pankti (Jana Yugam League Balletan), Falitabindukal (One Moment Jikki), Mr. Kunju (PK Mantri), Vratashilpa Vicharam (KK Wadhyar), Through Kerala Villages (Kattakkada Divakaran), Bandits of Madhya Pradesh (TC Antony), Martyrs (MN Satyarthi) etc. attracted a lot of attention. The Jana Yuga raised its voice against superstitions and superstitions, giving great importance to the articles of AT Kovoor and Edamaruk. Jana Yuga fought a constant struggle against the gods. Once AT Kovoor came to challenge Sathya Sai Baba and as part of that challenge MN Govindan Nair said that he would be a mediator is an event that excited the readers of Janyuga. His series of articles on K. Venu’s Life and Origins and Bhagavad Gita in the 20th Century were published in the Jana Yuga to satisfy the scholarly readership.
The lines like ‘Kalki’ and ‘Ketilayo Kinchana Vartamanam’ written by Kampisseri in Janayuga Danapatram were very impressive. These lines were meant to convey seriousness and humor to the readers. We are surprised when we remember that the epic life of Campissery, who carried his innate sense of humor till the end of his life, was only 55 years.