PALAKKAD: Shivashankar Menon’s appointment as the National Security Adviser has made the Palat family of Ottapalam proud. He is a thirdgeneration diplomat from the family and just one more from the long list of IAS officers, diplomats and administrators hailing from Ottapalam, in erstwhile Valluvanadu, who strode the corridors of power in Lutyens’ Delhi.
Menon is the grandson of wellknown diplomat K P S Menon (Senior) and nephew of K P S Menon (Junior) of the Palat family.
His father P N Menon was also a diplomat. Both K P S Menon (Sr) and K P S Menon (Jr) were foreign secretaries and coincidentally Shivashankara Menon also served as foreign secretary before retiring a few months ago. He succeeds M K Narayanan, who is set to take over as West Bengal Governor. Narayanan is a member of the Thottakara Mayankottu Kelath family in Ottapalam.
Currently, Shivashankar Menon’s aunt Janaki Nair resides at the Palat family here in Ottapalam.
His mother Malathy Menon often stays here along with her elder sister.
However, when the news of Menon being nominated to the NSA post came, no one was present at the Palat house. Janaki, along with Malathy, had gone to Chennai to spend a few days with their sister Parvathy.
“We feel elated. After P Chidamabaram took over as Home Minister, the NSA has been stripped of some powers. But Menon with his vast experience is an apt person for the job,” said poet P T Narendra Menon, a family friend.