‘Vatican City’s’ immaculate roads are Sudheesh Kumar’s dream, not an electoral stunt

At dawn on a new day, Sudheesh Kumar would have finished his first work of the day—cleaning over 100 meters of the Panchayat road next to his home, a public service he has done for nearly five years—when Vakayar’s Vatican City, a quiet hamlet in Konni, awakens to another day.

The “cleaning mission” on Vatican City Road, which is situated in the Pramadom Panchayat’s eleventh ward, is only an overview of Kumar’s intriguing tale, which includes him doing significant social tasks within the bounds of the average person.

This might include anything from caring for sick or abandoned animals to supporting the mentally ill and those suffering from conditions like psoriasis.

Inspired by the vision of his late father Damodaran, who had retired from the forest department, Kumar has always loved the outdoors; in fact, he even has crows as pets in the neighborhood.

The 59-year-old said that after making his “special sounds,” a flock of crows land and are fed their favorite food, “Mixture.”

“People feed crows a lot in the area, but they eat anything they can get and clean the surroundings,” says Kumar, one of the many crow farmers in the area. In addition, he maintains as a pet an abandoned street dog that had suffered severe injuries.

Strong in the belief that love and service to other people are the most essential things a person can do or spread in their lifetime, Kumar emphasizes that he likes to be with what he acquired from his forefathers.

“I learned how to live with what I inherited from my father, practice simplicity, and handle my finances from him. I’ve never had any debt in my life, even though I’ve borrowed a lot of money from him and never received it back,” he said, not even taking his father’s advice and getting a passport to go overseas.

In addition to being a sports fan, Kumar led the Winners Club in the area in volleyball.

“I drove my car over 35,000 kilometers only to help the people in need and mostly carried injured people and patients who were in serious condition.” says Kumar.

Even after doing so much unselfish work for the community, he claims that no one gave a damn about politics or politicians.

This benefactor wants politicians to pursue social service without expecting anything in return from the poll-bound electorate.