KOCHI: At nine in the morning, MLA Hibi Eden’s house is buzzing with activity. The foyer, the gate and the entire house, are dotted with everyone from union members to college students. The MLA busily moves in and out of the house, talking to a few people, attending calls. “Our house has always been like that. My mother died when I and my sister were very young. But a lot of family members were always there with us at home. My dad’s sister came to live with us after our mother died. Her children were there. Then my friends used to be there around. It was always a full house,” says the Ernakulam MLA.Moreover, as the son of an ex-MP, Hibi started interacting with various people early on. But his interest in politics came about only when he joined college. “I never thought about entering politics till my pre degree. Initially, it was just about gaining some attention. But even at that time, a lot of people motivated me to get into serious politics. It helped me get over my fears, my inhibitions,” he says.He also cherishes his experience at the NSS. "It proved to be a very enriching experience. We went to Attapadi, to the Maoist affected Bastar. We went to a whole lot of remote places, tribal areas, very different cultures,” he says.Talking of his own constituency, he says balancing needs of people belonging to different economic conditions poses the biggest challenge. “On the one hand, there are people leading high-flying lifestyles. On the other, there are areas where even drinking water is scarce.” Hibi Eden continues this observation in the case of movies as well. The MLA is a huge movie buff, who watches movies in every language and is a regular at theatres. “People mourn the fact that we don’t have enough multiplexes, but imagine the cost of taking your family to a movie then! Buy a few tickets and some snacks and Rs. 1000-2000 is down the drain. That way our budget theatres are quite a relief,” the MLA says.
Comments
0 comment