KOCHI: If it was his steely will that made Karun Nair the first Indian to convert his maiden Test match hundred into a triple century on Monday, it was a huge slice of luck that gave him a second innings in life nearly five months ago.
The incident,which could have so easily turned fatal, occurred on July 17 when the pallioydam (snake boat)carrying Karun capsized in the Pampa. The young cricketer was partaking of the Vallasadya at the famed Sree Parthasarathy Temple at Aranmula on the fateful Sunday. It was an offering by his mother Prema Nair, who hails from Keezcherimel in Chengannur. Karun was accompanied by his father Kaladharan Nair of Maliyekal family in Malakakara near Aranmula as his mother could not attend the function as she was in the ICU following dengue fever.
Karun along with his relatives boarded the Keezcherimel Palliyodam from MLA kadav as part of the offering. While the skipper of the boat attempted to turn the vessel near the steps of the temple, it overturned due in the strong currents in the river and wind.
Karun, who was thrown into the water, tried to swim to safety. “However, someone advised him not to do so since it was not safe to swim in the cold water. Instead he was asked to latch onto the boat. Though he was saved by the locals, Rajeev Kumar, his close relative, and a friend and an IT employee Vaisakh alias Vishnu lost their lives,” said Rajeev Chandran, a relative. The accident took place at 11.45 am and the rescue boats carried the survivors to safety.
Karun is named after his maternal grandfather Karunagiri T K Karunakaran Nair, an engineer with Travancore Devaswom Board(TDB), who had put in several years of service at Sabarimala.