Tearful adieu to master musician
In the presence of thousands of mourning music lovers, Padma Shri K Raghavan Master, the patriarch of Malayalam film music, was cremated with state honours on the Municipal Centenary Park on the shores of the Arabian Sea here on Sunday afternoon.
Master’s elder son Muraleedharan lit the pyre after the police gave the guard of honour. Minister for Cultural Affairs K C Joseph, Minister for Agriculture K P Mohanan, Union Minister Mullappally Ramachandran, MLAs K K Narayanan and Abdussamad Samadhani, KPCC president Ramesh Chennithala, CPI assistant secretary C N Chandran, former ministers P K Sreemathy and Kadannappally Ramachandran, CPM district secretary P Jayarajan, Congress leader M M Hassan, singer V T Murali, film maker Ranjith, actor Mamukoya, writer N Prabhakaran, poets P K Gopi, P P Sreedharanunni, artist K K Marar, president of Kerala Film Producers Association Liberty Basheer, film producer P V Gangadharan, municipal chairperson Amina Maliyekkal and others attended the cremation.
Later a condolence meeting was held at the park which was chaired by K C Joseph. The minister announced that a school of music in memory of Raghavan Master will be set up in Thalassery with the support of the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi.
Joseph added that the State government would provide all assistance to the proposed memorial to be built by Thalassery Municipality in honour of K Ragahavan.
Mamukoya said that the occasion of Raghavan Master’s demise was not the one to mourn because the great musician had left hundreds of unique immortal songs which would remain with us forever.
Earlier, thousands of people had queued up to get a last glimpse of the master musician when the body was kept for public viewing at the BEMP HSS. The body was taken to the Centenary Park in a procession.