My parents passed away when I was very young. I gave up school to join the Aspinwall Company. Trade unionism was buoyant in Alappuzha and the coir workers’ union had successfully boycotted work. Their most important demand was an increase in wages by one anna. Some of our demands went unmet, and the union was divided about discontinuing the strike. However, the union president, Krishna Pillai, taught us that we should withdraw the strike, strengthen the union and then take up the other demands. He taught us how to deal with situations. I first heard ems speak at a public meeting on the Alappuzha beach in 1938. When akg was hiding in Muhamma, it was my responsibility to take secret letters and newspapers to his hideout. I knew him well. When I was 17, in 1940, it was my duty as a party member to organise the many unions—like the toddy tappers’ union, coconut-tree climbers’ union and so forth, and work among them as a leader. Three years later, I resigned from my job, established a Communist party chapter and became the secretary. We would eat what was given to us, bathe in the temple ponds and sleep wherever we could. In the mornings, we would set out for the paddy fields and speak to the workers there. We would go to their homes and understand their problems. We would invite them to join us at the party meetings. Many workers became cadres, and a strong paddy field workers’ union was created. We founded similar unions in other areas too. For three years, I was totally dedicated to this sort of work. We worked towards eradicating caste intolerance and because of the presence of the unions it gradually declined.