I am a member of India’s oldest Christian family, the “Paklomattam Grand Family.” Its history began in the year AD 52, when a follower of Jesus Christ named Thomas traveled to Kodungallore in Kerala and baptized three Brahmin priests, the first of whom was my forefather.
1973 saw me graduate from the esteemed Maulana Azad Medical College in New Delhi with a master’s degree in medicine. Discarding all my better possibilities, I committed the entirety of my 46-year professional life to the welfare of the rural populace in the rural region of Onattukara in central Kerala. As a physician, I started working at St. Thomas Mission Hospital in Kattanam with the goal of raising the health standards of the rural populace. From 1974 till 1985, I worked there. I worked until late at night with great effort and dedication. I played a key role in establishing the hospital as one of Kerala’s top mission hospitals. The hospital evolved into the rural community’s rescue hub. At St. Thomas Mission Hospital, I established the first ICCU in the surrounding rural area in 1977. Back then, the popular belief was that the god of death, Kalan, also known by the name “Maadan,” was responsible for cardiac arrest deaths. With the establishment of the ICCU, the impoverished residents of the rural area discovered that heart attacks could be prevented and controlled. Thousands of cardiac patients could have their lives saved by me. Since I had personally overseen the care of heart patients hospitalized to the ICCU, I frequently experienced restless nights. During my eleven years at the hospital, I effectively oversaw the operation of six community health centers. These community centers were established in this rural region’s most impoverished sections.
Following my tenure at Kattanam, I moved to Kayamkulam, which is situated in the Onattukara rural region. In 1985 and 1986, I was employed at Ebenezer Hospital as a consulting physician. At Ebenezer Hospital in Kayamkulam, I spearheaded the establishment of the first Intensive Care Unit. I was a successful cardiac patient care provider for many. I began independent service in 1987 so that I could provide each patient with the individualized care they needed. It was effectively extended till March 2020. Each patient was inspected by me in person. I treated the rich and the needy equally. Patients might place any fees they want in the box I had placed on my table. Patients in need got free medical care. The Kerala State government honored me as the Best Doctor of Kerala in 1997.
What do you cherish most about the place you call home?
The small town of Kayamkulam is located in a rural area. Here, the majority of people are basic, modest, and incredibly loving Hindus and Muslims. Despite the lack of sophisticated facilities here, I was nonetheless able to make and publish several unique clinical observations—seven of which are the first of their kind in the field of medicine. I could write and publish multiple novels in Malayalam, my mother tongue. The Arabian Sea is just a few kilometers away, and the backwater flows alongside Kayamkulam.
What ignites your creativity?
I’m a really unique individual. I lived a life of trying to find maturity. After decades of relentless searching, I could finally discover the truth about my life. The reality of my life now serves as my guide. I often experience insight. It is a great fact that my creative writing is entirely intuitive, as is the way I treat and invent. It might not be absorbed by others. It is a great reality, though.
Do you have a favorite word and could you incorporate it into a poetic phrase?
Love is one of my favorite lyrical words. I consider myself to be a believer in soul love because it is an eternal love.
Soul love is extremely rare and extremely challenging to find. Occur, but they do so perpetually in people who Acknowledge God and life in their entirety. The inferiority of temptations from this world and Passions, being well-aware of and savoring the Love of the soul is superior between two They are selected by the Almighty, chosen by the Almighty, with divine insight and knowledge; This love transcends the physical form of the human They are seldom touched by hearts, but human spirits Do you constantly engage in divine blissful activity? The intense sense of pleasure alone is what Spreads its fragrance of affection and permeates Everlasting sweetness; love never fades; it endures following the actual physical division of the soul and body.
What is your pet peeve?
I detest lying, being dishonest, being insincere, and having other people chat when I’m trying to focus.
How would you describe the essence of K. K. Mathew?
The truth of my life is Jesus Christ, with whom I have spiritually united. Decades of searching later, I discovered Him. The search consists only of dissecting the intellect using the razor blade of unwavering faith in God. My internal senses are open, I can see and hear with them on, the worldly is broken down, and the wall separating me and Jesus was torn down. I solely utilize my outward senses to survive. Finally, I realized that everything in me is Jesus alone, and that I am nothing. I am the most obedient follower of Jesus Christ, to put it in one word. He is and always will be my closest friend. I just have one task to complete, and that is to follow Him.
Dr. K. K. Mathew is a renowned physician, a medical scientist, and a poet of repute from India. He is a reputed philosopher, and noted novelist in Malayalam. He has published many original clinical observations in national medical journals and been quoted in reputed international medical journals. Some of them are the first of their kind in medical science. Dr. Mathew has dedicated the whole of his professional life (46 years) in a rural region of India and served the rural population. He has written and published 62 books, of which 42 are poetry books in English. The International Higher Academic Council of English Literature conferred Dr. Mathew with the global genius award "Living Legend of the 21st Century" in May 2019. The international poetry group in the U.S., 'The River of Poetry' awarded Dr. Mathew with the title "The Champion of the World." Dr. Mathew is one of the prize winners of the prestigious Naji Naaman Literary Prizes for 2021.
