The Eternal Love Story of Kanchanamala and Moideen
How much do you sacrifice for your love?
A Malayalam movie named Ennu Ninte Moideen, loosely translated as Yours sincerely, Moideen, released in 2015. The film became an instant blockbuster in Kerala, the southern state of India, as the audience glued to the screens watching the love, hope, and tragedy of a couple named Kanchanamala and Moideen.
Many left the theatres with a heavy heart because everyone knew that what they saw on the screen was based on a real-life story — the tragic love story of Kanchanamala and Moideen, which happened in the 1960s in Mukkam, a small village in Kerala.
In this love story, there are three characters. The one is Moideen, the son of a prominent Muslim planter. The other one is Kanchanamala, the daughter of a Hindu landlord. And lastly, a river named Iruvanjipuzha, which witnessed the romance of Kanchanamala and Moideen.
Moideen and Kanchanamala were childhood friends. They went to the same school in the same canoe people travel to the nearest town. Later they joined the same college. Initially, they were just friends.
Moideen used to lend books such as novels and poems to Kanchanamala. One day, he handed her a collection of romantic poems. She noticed that Moideen highlighted many romantic lines of the book. That was how he expressed his love interest in Kanchanamala. Through the poetic lines, Moideen swam into her heart.
That was the beginning of an epic love story. Their romance blossomed in the banks of Iruvanjipuzha. They loved each other without letting know others about their relationship.
In a time when email and instant messages were not born, they communicated through hidden love letters placed inside the books they exchanged. Books were the ambassadors of their relationship. Through love letters, they exchanged their hearts.
It was an ultra-conservative society then. Two persons marrying from different communities was unthinkable at that time. The society was narrow-minded. Helming from different religions, the romance of Kanchanamala and Moideen was infinitely risky.
One day, Kanchanamala’s mother accidentally found out the love letters sent by Moideen from her books. Two families came to know about the affair. As expected, the reactions were explosive.
Kanchanamala’s family prevented her from going college and put her under house arrest. She was unable to communicate with anyone other than her family members.
Things weren’t different in Moideen’s home. His father was so furious that he tried to kill him, once with a gun and the other time with his knife. Moideen was thrown out of his house.
Even though Kanchanamala and Moideen weren’t able to see each other, the bond between them was getting stronger and stronger.
Somehow, Moideen found another way to communicate with her. He passed letters to trusted servants of Kanachanamala’s home, and they delivered the messages to her. This time, he wrote letters in a cryptic language so that only he and she could understand the content of the letters.
This continued for more than ten years. Kanchanamala’s family tried to force her to marry a relative, but she resisted bravely. Moideen’s father kept him out of his home and didn’t give any deserved property share to him.
In between, Moideen and Kanchanamala only managed to see once, but their love was everlasting. They tried to flee multiple times, but the family members caught them.
Kanchanamala and Moideen hoped their love story would have a happy ending, in spite of all resistance from their families and society. They waited for the day they could live together.
One day in an autumn season, a canoe full of passengers was coming to Mukkam through the Iravanjipuzha river. Moideen was the one among them. Due to heavy rain and wind, the canoe overturned. The passengers fell into the ferocious water.
Many were drowning in the river. Being a good swimmer, Moideen saved the lives of many passengers. But…the river which witnessed the love of Moideen and Kanchanamala took had cruel intentions. Moideen drowned when he was attempting to save a drowning person. The accident took the life of Moideen.
Kanchanamala came to know about this tragedy only after three days. She was devastated by hearing the death of her beloved Moideen. Her love, her hope, and her dreams drowned in the Iruvanjipuzha river.
At the time of death, Moideen was 43, whereas Kanchanamala was 41. After Moideen’s death, the heartbroken Kanchanamala made six suicide attempts. One day, when she was in the hospital, Moideen’s mother visited her. Later, Moideen’s mother brought Kanchanamala to Moideen’s home, and there, Kanchanamala decided to become the widow of Moideen.
Kanchanamala and Moideen weren’t married, but she only wanted to live her remaining life with the memories of Moideen.
Kanchanamala, now 80, still living in Mukkam as the widow of Moideen. She continues the social services started by Moideen in the village. She runs a charitable trust named BP Moideen Seva Mandir. She also runs a center which teaches swimming to children for free.
There is one thing she never did in the last 31 years; she never went to the spot Moideen died. She never wanted to see the Iruvanjipuzha again. Even though society and families were the obstacles, it is the river erased her last glimpses of hope permanently. She is not going to forget that.
In the movie I mentioned first, there is this scene — Kanchanamala romantically watching the rain showers of autumn through the windows, at the same time Moideen struggling to breathe while drowning in the river.
