THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Rairu Nair has finally lived his dream. He met Chief Minister Pinarayi on Wednesday and presented him with the sandal garland he had kept. ‘Express’ had reported earlier of this cameo comrade, who hobnobbed with the likes of Gandhiji, Subhash Bose, EMS and AKG, awaiting the arrival of Pinarayi the chief minister.
“I have only one wish left in life, to see Vijayan as chief minister...,” 94-year-old Rairu Nair had told ‘Express’ in an encounter at the residence of CPM leader P Sathi Devi in Vadakara during an interaction with her brother and party Kannur district secretary P Jayarajan.
“Yes, I knew he would make it, had kept this garland ready two months ago,” he said. Daughter Preetha had brought it from Bengaluru. His son Pradeep also had come down from Malaysia to witness Rairu Nair’s dream come true. “I met Vijayan, wished him luck and told him to carry on like Jyoti Basu did in West Bengal. I also promised him that neither me nor my children would ever approach him for any favours.”
“It is indeed a good beginning (for the new ministry). K K Shylaja (health minister) too sought my blessings and advice. I told her there was no need for any advice. Neither of my children are in the health service or government service. So no need to worry about me seeking any favour. I asked her to perform her duty with people’s interest in mind,” he said.
Rairu Nair, Rairuettan to friends and well-wishers, is a folk hero who dared to barge into Jawaharlal Nehru’s ancestral home Ananda Bhavan as a teenager. He had also spent time with personalities like Gandhiji and Subhash Bose at the Wardha and Sevagram Ashrams. He later returned to his hometown Thalassery, getting involved with the Communist movement. His home had been shelter to many a Communist veteran during the early days. It is also documented that when he faced expulsion from school for organising a protest, local leaders had come to his rescue and prominent among them was Mundayil Koran, Pinarayi Vijayan’s father.