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Early Tuesday morning, I got a call from my mother, and then minutes later another, then another, all with the same words: Oommen Chandy passed away. “
The news of the death of the former Chief Minister of Kerala after a prolonged illness is like losing a benevolent father, a man who never cared for himself but for the welfare of his people and those around him. Words are simply not enough to show the love and compassion he had for them.
My assembly constituency, Puthuppally, lost ‘Kunjunju’. No leader can replace him. Chandni’s presence there was only enough for the people of the constituency.
Across the city, the people I spoke to remember these qualities of Chandni, especially a man who never refused the needy, who never forgot his hometown. When he moved to Thiruvananthapuram, he carried the place with him, naming his home there ‘Putthupally’.
It was like Oommen Chandy was to Puthuppally and Puthuppally was to Oommen Chandy. I grew up hearing the words around me: “If Oommen Chandy exists, your problem will be solved.” We also grew up seeing it around, at social gatherings, weddings, and events like funerals, even if it’s just for a few minutes.
Almost every Sunday, he would travel to Puthuppally from Thiruvananthapuram to attend early morning Mass at St. George’s Orthodox Church and then attend people coming to meet him. The only period when he was unable to appear frequently at his Puthuppally home was during the epidemic.
When my grandfather passed away, he couldn’t come down immediately, but he made sure to visit two days later.
Although his illness has kept him away from Puthuppally in recent years, he has made sure that the doors of his home are open to those who need help.
Then there were his social schemes, such as the Karunya Charitable Fund to provide financial assistance to poor people suffering from serious illnesses, especially cancer. My mother was one of his beneficiaries.
It was no surprise, then, that hundreds of Congress workers, including women, staged a demonstration outside Chandni’s residence in Puthupalli in 2021 after reports emerged that the party might move him to Nimum in Thiruvananthapuram district to take over the BJP in the assembly elections. Many, including my relatives, were heard to say, “Why should we even vote for Congress if Oommen Chandy is not in competition with Puthuppally?” At the time, Chandni’s health was failing, but Puthuppally wanted him to remain its captain regardless of whether he won or lost (he ended up winning). This is the love he earned for himself. Puthupalli and Kerala have lost a mass leader whose void will be difficult to fill.
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