You are familiar with the adventures of Robinhood of the Sherwood Forest, aren't you? He lived in England hundreds of years ago robbing the rich of their money and giving it to the poor. In Kerala, not so long ago, there lived Kochunni who held a grouse against all rich people, especially those who flaunted their wealth and went about harassing the poor. True, Kochunni did some thieving, but he never used whatever he stole for
his own personal use. He gave away everything to the poor. While he befriended such people, the very mention of ‘Kayamkulam Kochunni' was enough to scare those not so poor. Kayamkulam in south Kerala was his area of operation.
There was this landlord who used to lend money to people who would pledge their jewels and ornaments as surety. Of course, the heavy interest he charged from them made him extremely rich. Many borrowers would also not be in a position to pay back the loan in time and then he would simply retain the items pledged and later convert them into money.
Using a part of this wealth, he built a house; in fact, it was almost like a small fortress, as the walls had been built with two layers of bricks. If his friends were to ask him why he spent so much money on the house, he would say, almost in whispers, "One can't be so sure about Kochunni! Who knows he might not attempt a housebreak! I've to safeguard the jewellery pledged with me. Now, I can sleep in peace; even if ten Kochunnis come, they wouldn't be able to enter the place."
His boasting had reached the ears of Kochunni who waited for an opportunity to teach him a lesson. One day, he approached the landlord for a loan. His plan was, if the man were to refuse the loan, he would find a way to get into the house and rob him. Contrary to his plans, the landlord readily gave him the loan! Now, Kochunni was in a dilemma; it would not be proper to rob the landlord. At the same time, Kochunni really wanted to bring him down by a peg or two.
A few days later, one Krishnan Nair borrowed a thousand rupees pledging his jewels. Kochunni came to know of this and went to the landlord's house one evening when it was quite dark. As he had already watched the movements of the landlord, he knew where he would be at that time and what he would be doing.
