The Tamil novel Mercury Pookal: the human stories behind Chennai’s trade union movement

“The police started attacking the 2,000 workers who were standing still and holding their flags. Some workers, hoping to escape, rushed through narrow lanes, crossed a drain and made their way to a small canal-like passage used to carry off excess rainwater,” says writer Balakumaran’s Tamil novel Mercury Pookal, which captures the tense moments of the crackdown on industrial workers in Madra that are planning a march.

Set against the backdrop of a strike at various units of Simpson & Company Limited in Madras, the novel chronicles one of the longest labor agitations in Tamil Nadu.

Balakumaran himself worked at Tractors and Farm Equipment Limited (TAFE), part of the Simpsons Group, now known as the Amalgamations Group.

His experience as an insider allowed him to observe developments at close range and to delve into the minds of workers, union leaders and their family members. It also explores the ambitions and aspirations of Rangasamy, an English-educated company owner who is driven by a passion for tractor manufacturing.

Writer Balakumaran. File | Photo credit: K. Pichumani

The strike began in 1971 and lasted more than a year, marking a time when strong unions articulated employee interests and shaped labor relations. While the riots were documented by union leaders and academics, Balakumaran immortalized an episode that has largely faded from public memory.

CPI(M) Politburo member G. Ramakrishnan places Simpson’s strike in the context of industrial workers’ rights in Tamil Nadu in the late 1960s.

“Four workers were killed in police firing at Wimco, one worker was killed at Neyveli Lignite Corporation and there were strikes by workers at the Aruvankadu Ordnance Factory and the Simpsons riot,” he recalled.

The shifting political landscape of Tamil Nadu—the erosion of the Congress and communist movements and the emergence of the DMK as the main political force that went on to form the government—also finds expression in Balakumaran’s narrative.

Although the author does not specifically name the then ruling party or its Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi, Mr. Ramakrishnan explains the DMK government’s intervention in the dispute. “After Gurumurthy’s resignation, Karunanidhi appointed party members Kattur Gopal and Pratap Chandran as union leaders, who found it difficult to lead the movement further,” he said.

However, the arrangement did not last long. Subsequently, in a secret ballot, R. Kuchelar and Vice-President Chinthan were elected as leader and deputy leader of the Simpson Labor Union. They led the strike.

R. Kuchelar | Photo credit: V. Ganesan

In the novel, Gopalan, the union leader, is based on Kuchelar, who joined the CPI(M) after a split in the Communist Party of India. He was no longer a member of the CPI(M) at the time of the strike, but continued to enjoy the party’s support. He later gravitated towards Naxalism before founding the Workers’ Union Council (WPTUC).

The protagonist, Gopalan, steadfastly upholds Maoist ideals. When taken into police custody and interrogated and tortured for his union activities, he unflinchingly declares that he was groomed by Mao Zedong and belongs to the People’s Republic of China.

The novel also describes the visit of a “righteous and bald leader” to Ganesan’s house. The description apparently refers to Chinthan, a CPI(M) leader and renowned trade unionist.

Ganesan is one of the workers who was stabbed to death by Arivukkarasan. Arivukkarasan too comes to a violent end in an episode that seems to echo the actual killing of Pratap Chandran.

Chinthan, the architect of the struggle tactics, drew the ire of the state government and the ruling party, paying a heavy price for his role in the labor movement. He was stabbed in a bus while traveling to address workers at a dairy farm in Madhavaram.

DMK trade unionist Pratap Chandran was killed in a clash between workers at Simpson’s Sembiam unit. His killing may have inspired the episode involving Arivukkarasan’s death in the novel. “There was violence and tension. Our leader P. Ramamurti entered the society’s compound and stood with them,” Mr. Ramakrishnan said.

VP Chinthan | Photo credit: Special arrangement

Sankaran, an employee of the company in the novel, is based on Balakumaran himself. Sankaran, a supporter of trade union activities and a follower of Gopalan, is brutally beaten by the police. The novel even credits Sankaran as its author. Towards the end, he decides to document the lives of workers and their families, the impact of labor unrest and their confrontation with the police.

“Every life is special. Only a few get written about. How about we write about this? How the family fell apart because of the company’s closure? About Ganesan’s family falling apart, Savithri’s widowhood, Gopalan’s tenacity, Rangasamy’s stubbornness and how Duraisingapperumal’s ego dissolved?” (police inspector)

Sankaran titles the novel Mercury Pookal, which becomes a metaphor for the beauty and fragility of human lives in an industrial world charged with political tension. Beyond the factory and union struggles, the novel explores intimate relationships and reveals their tenderness, love and vulnerability with considerable nuance.

Savithri and Ganesan are attracted to each other from the beginning and make an ideal couple, while Shyamali and Dhandapani are distant from each other. Dhandapani’s neglect of Shyamali and his inability to recognize her personality and beauty makes her seek love and understanding in Sankaran.

After the death of her husband, Savithri initially retreats into darkness. However, she gradually discovers that it attracts her to the union. Meanwhile, Shyamali asserts her individuality, gives wings to her romance with Sankaran and plans to elope with him.

Balakumaran demonstrates remarkable sensitivity in portraying his female characters and their innermost thoughts, conveying their desires, longings and frustrations while capturing the complexity of their lived experiences.

Through his nuanced narrative, Balakumaran shows how industrial conflict reaches far beyond the workplace, changing relationships and leaving traces in the most intimate corners of human life.

Chennai is often called the ‘Detroit of Asia’ because of its automobile manufacturing plants and associated industries. But the city’s industrial growth overshadowed the history of its labor movement and the workers who helped shape it. Unions can no longer have the influence they once had.

Mercury Pookal is a reminder of a time when workers collectively asserted their rights and their struggles shaped not only industrial relations, but also the lives of families far beyond the factory gates.