Santha Kuvumbayi | Photo Credit: Facebook

Kannur: Yash Chopra’s 2004 blockbuster Veer Zaara has come to life courtesy a married couple from Kerala who reunited for the first time since 1947

EK Narayanan Nambiar and Sarada were forced to part ways nearly 72 years ago due to socio-political turbulence in Kerala, writes Santha Kuvumbayi in a novel that is centered around the peasant uprising against feudalism in 1946.

Santha is the niece of Nambiar, and with the help of her brother, she was able to reunite her uncle and aunt.

"When I wrote the novel, which also talked about the separation of my uncle and his wife amid the historic struggle, I never had any inkling that they would meet again,” Santha told the Times of India.

"They were separated within months of their marriage because my uncle was part of the struggle against landlords and British rule. In him, we have the living martyr of Kavumbayi farmers' rebellion," she added.

Santha Kuvumbayi is the niece of EK Narayanan Nambiar. (Image: Santha Kuvumbayi/Facebook)

Santha said Nambiar was just 18 years old when he married to 13-year-old Sarada during the freedom struggle.

On December 29, 1947, Nambiar and his father gathered at a hill near the house of a local feudal landlord to avenge the brutalities meted out to the poor families by the land owners. However, their plan was foiled by the Malabar Special police who later raided Nambiar’s home and tortured the women in the family for information.

Nambiar's wife, Sarada, was spared, but the atrocities forced the family to send her back home.

On Feb 11, 1950, Nambiar was shot 16 times but survived miraculously. His father, however, succumbed to his bullet wounds.

"Aunty had no idea that her husband had survived. She was compelled to marry another man. Uncle too married another woman once he was released from prison," said Santha.

The couple met each other for the first time since 1947 on December 26.