Be Afraid of Being Unaware
The lack of knowledge of possibilities can keep you tied to a life that is tiring and depleting. Imagine entering a small, dark room where you cannot see anything and the only thing available is one bottle of liquid. You keep drinking it, hoping it will quench your thirst. However, soon someone steps up and opens the door, handing you a fresh bottle of water. Now, you realize the importance of clean and quenching water, appreciating it more. This is similar to the role of light and right guidance in life. You keep trudging down a path until someone shines a light and shows you the right one.
The Guiding Light for Marottichal
For a group of alcohol addicts in the Marottichal village of the Thrissur district in Kerala, that light arrived in the form of Charaliyil Unnikrishnan. In this village of 6,000 residents, when you enter a teahouse, you see a crowd around a table. Phones, wallets, and tea cups are set aside as two people engage in a game of chess while the crowd watches avidly. One player might be older, while another could be a teenager venturing into the game with a blindfold, visualizing the board and his moves to up the stakes.
Inside India's Chess Village
In the early 2000s, Marottichal came to be known as the 'Chess Village of India' because at least one person in every household here is believed to be chess-proficient. Outside grocery shops, under the shade of a tree, and at bus stops, you can find two people playing chess at any time and place in the village. Gowrishankar Jayaraj, one of the players from the village, was ranked in India's top 600 active chess players in February 2025, as per the World Chess Federation (FIDE). He also received the FIDE Candidate Master (CM) title in the same year. Like him, many chess grandmasters are in training in this small village. However, this bright and futuristic present comes after a dark and scary past.
A Dark Past
About four decades ago, the entire village of Marottichal was gripped by an alcohol addiction and gambling crisis that pushed many families to the verge of ruin. In the 1970s, three Marottichal households were brewing nut-based alcohol for personal consumption. But by the early 1980s, the village had become a regional hub for illicit alcohol production. "People weren't just drinking, they were brewing and selling liquor in their houses every night," said Jayaraj Manazhy, a resident of the village, to Al Jazeera. Soon, farming families began to neglect their livestock and crops. With diminishing resources lost in card games, income decreased and addiction increased. "Young children were left without clothes to wear and others were starving," said another local.
The Return of a Rebel
That was until Charaliyil Unnikrishnan, a local resident turned exile, returned to Marottichal in the late 1980s. Unnikrishnan had been shunned by his family for joining a Maoist movement in his youth. He gave up the movement and returned to the village to set up a teahouse in its heart. The influence of alcohol on his village troubled the rebel, and thus he decided to act. Unnikrishnan soon assembled a small group of friends he had known from his teenage years and began networking with the wives and mothers of the liquor producers, who were angry at their sons and husbands for spearheading production. Over the course of months, the group would receive tip-offs and raid the houses where alcohol was being produced and stored.
Chess as a Tool for Change
After the raids, Unnikrishnan would invite members of the community to play chess. "The game brought us together. We started talking about it more and more, and people would meet to play rather than drink," says John, who secured funding from other villages to create regional tournaments and successfully campaigned for chess to become part of the curriculum in both the lower and upper primary schools in the village. At his shop, Unnikrishnan served the villagers not just tea, but also a future and vision that was alcohol- and addiction-free. Soon, people engrossed in a game of chess became common in the village, while the number of alcohol addicts decreased. Unnikrishnan taught chess to almost 1,000 villagers and has himself competed against grandmasters internationally. Several young players from Marottichal are competing internationally and within India regularly.
Recognition and Legacy
In 2016, Marottichal was awarded a Universal Asian Record by the Universal Records Forum for the greatest number of amateur competitors (1,001) playing chess concurrently in Asia. The tale reached so far and wide that in 2023, Marottichal's redemption attracted the attention of filmmaker and writer Kabeer Khurana, who directed a 35-minute film, The Pawn of Marottichal, recounting the village's struggle from addiction to recovery.
About the Author
The TOI Lifestyle Desk is a dynamic team of dedicated journalists who, with unwavering passion and commitment, sift through the pulse of the nation to curate a vibrant tapestry of lifestyle news for The Times of India readers. At the TOI Lifestyle Desk, we go beyond the obvious, delving into the extraordinary. Consider us your lifestyle companion, providing a daily dose of inspiration and information. Whether you're seeking the latest fashion trends, travel escapades, culinary delights, or wellness tips, the TOI Lifestyle Desk is your one-stop destination for an enriching lifestyle experience.
