Trudging with the help of a walking stick, it wasn’t easy for Indira, an elderly woman, to find her way into the crowded path outside the Puthuppally House in Thiruvananthapuram. Hundreds were already there, milling around the house, waiting for the mortal remains of the late Oomen Chandy, a beloved Congress leader and two-time Chief Minister of Kerala, who died on the morning of July 18. By Thursday noon, the house in Thiruvananthapuram and the way leading to it from the airport was thick with crowds.
Indira, like many others who came to the house or stood on the streets to pay their last respects, too had a story to share about the late leader and how he helped her. The woman, who sang a song praising Jesus to the media microphones before her, said she came all the way from Kattakada because she had to see the man who had helped her in many ways.
Screams of sorrow, loud sobs and sentimental slogans rose from the yard as the casket bearing Chandy’s body finally reached the house. People also waited along the roads, leading from Thiruvananthapuram to Kottayam, through which the bus carrying Chandy passed, to catch one last glimpse of the late leader.
Watch: TNM speaks to mourners reaching Puthuppally House
Oommen Chandy’s house in Puthuppally of Kottayam too witnessed a steady flow of visitors who wanted to pay tributes to him from the morning of Wednesday, July 19, hours before the hearse would reach. An elderly man from Vaikom, who found a spot in Oommen Chandy’s home in Puthuppally wailed, asking, “Why wasn’t I taken instead of him? Even God doesn’t want me.” He was with disability and Oommen Chandy had helped him with a vehicle to make a living selling lottery tickets.
A crying old woman said the former CM had helped to get all her children married off. Another said he was open to hear their complaints even if it was late in the night.
Among the crowd were many who benefitted from the mass outreach programmes organised by Oommen Chandy when he was Chief Minister. During the programme he would listen to complaints of people and would try to resolve them on the spot if possible. A man who identified himself as Albin Thomas said that he got financial help for the treatment of his parents, both of whom had cancer.
Most requests Chandy received as a legislator were seeking help for buying medicines. All of them, who came to his house in Puthuppally, were directed to the nearby Manarcad Medicals, with a note asking to provide medicines for free. It went on from the 1980s till about 2021, until Oommen Chandy became too unwell. The owner of the medical shop fondly reminisced the deal they had with Chandy: sometimes they would be funded and at times they too saw it as a charity mission.
Oommen Chandy also didn’t seem to check for political affiliations before offering help. Susheela Velayudhan, a Left supporter from Kalliasseri in Kannur, spoke of how he never asked her about her political leaning or caste or religion when she made a desperate call many years ago. She urgently needed money for a cochlear implant surgery for her son with a hearing disability.
“He listened patiently to my problem. I told him I am a widow and had a son who cannot hear or speak. I said I failed in my life and asked what I would do. He said he would help raise the money and soon after the call, made arrangements with the NIMS hospital to have the surgery done. After it was over, I wanted it to be his voice that my son first heard. They said hello to each other,” Susheela said.
KC Kunhiraman, a former Member of Legislative Assembly belonging to Congress’s main rival party CPI(M), also received unexpected help from Oommen Chandy. When Kunhiraman had an accident eight years ago, Oommen Chandy, who was the CM then, came to visit him at the Kozhikode Medical College and spoke to the doctors. Even as the doctors were ready to discharge him, Chandy insisted that he be taken to Vellore for further treatment. “He also gave a letter addressed to Doctor George in Vellore, saying that the expenses will be met by the government of Kerala. After my treatment, when I came back home, he visited me again and stayed for several hours. I am not even a senior politician, and that too, from an opposition party. I can never forget him,” Kunhiraman said.