KOTTAYAM: Former Kerala chief minister Oommen Chandy by frenzied masses evoking memories of one of his highly-popular mass contact programmes lasting for several hours at a stretch. He would stand amidst the teeming throngs, patiently listening to their woes.
But this time the moos was more sombre as the leader lay there in silence. The massive crowd of mourners who thronged the route refused to go away and were keen to catch a glimpse of their beloved leader on Thursday.
Thousands, including Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan, movie stars Mammootty, Suresh Gopi and Dileep along with senior politicians cutting across party lines, paid tribute to former Kerala chief minister Oommen Chandy after his mortal remains reached Kottayam.
After paying tribute to Chandy, the Governor also spent a few moments with his family members.
‘Athivegam Bahudooram' (Fastest, Farthest), was a coinage that proved synonymous with Oommen Chandy. He was however never able to stick to his schedule in public life, as he would always be engulfed by the public. In both life and death, Chandy stayed true to this. His funeral procession took hours to inch forward. People thronged all along the MC Road to pay their last respects to the beloved leader.
The procession carrying the mortal remains started from ‘Puthuppally house’ at Jagathy in the state capital at 7.15 am on Wednesday, and reached only at 11.15 am on Thursday at Thirunakkara maidan in Kottayam, taking 28 hours to cover 150 kilometres.
In his final journey too, Chandy made it a point to remain with the crowds. Tens of thousands of people are pouring into Thirunakkara from across the state, giving a tough time for the police in crowd management. Though the funeral is scheduled for Thursday evening, it is still uncertain when the mortal remains will be taken to Puthuppally for the funeral services.
A host of prominent persons such as actors Mammootty, Dileep, Harish Piasharadi, senior Congress leaders Ramesh Chennithala, Vayalar Ravi, V D Satheesan, P C Vishnunath, T Sidhique, M Liju, Ministers V N Vasavan, Roshy Augustine, MPs Jose K Mani, Thomas Chazhikadan, Kodikkunnil Suresh and many others are at Thirunakkara.
Earlier, the KSRTC bus carrying the mortal remains from Thiruvananthapuram moved at a slow pace so as to let people waiting on both sides of the road to pay homage, marking it as an exceptional last journey of a political leader.
“We had travelled together many times from Kottayam to Thiruvananthapuram via Kottarakkara, right from our KSU days during the 1960s. However, this journey is intensely painful,” said senior Congress leader KC Joseph, a staunch loyalist of Chandy.
“People are giving back their love and affection to Chandy, who lived for them. People, including women and children with folded hands and weeping eyes, offered an unprecedented send-off to their leader. None of the political leaders had received such a kind of affection and warmth from the people,” he added.
After the public exhibition at Thirunakkara, the mortal remains will be taken to Karottu Vallakalil, Chandy’s ancestral house in Puthuppally by 2.30 pm and later to his new house which is under construction.
The police and Seva Dal workers of Congress as well as its leaders could barely control the sea of people who vied with each other to get a final glimpse of Chandy, who died in Bengaluru on Tuesday.
People offered flowers, wreaths, and prayers and even cried as they got one last glimpse of Chandy.
The organisers were forced to hurry along with the paying of tributes by the public due to the more than 24-hour-long delay in the hearse carrying his remains reaching Kottayam, the stronghold of the Congress stalwart, which had unravelled their entire schedule for keeping the body for display and the subsequent funeral.
The police also announced that everyone would get an opportunity to see the departed leader in order to control the massive crowd.
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According to the initial schedule, the body was to be kept on public display on Wednesday and as a result, thousands were waiting there since then till today morning for his remains to arrive.
He will be later buried in a specially prepared tomb adjacent to departed priests of his village church, bringing to an end an era in Kerala politics.
The burial would be a simple one without any state honours in accordance with the wish of the late Congress leader.
Nevertheless, being buried in the exclusive priests' burial area inside the church premises, instead of his family vault in the cemetery, is an honour in itself.
He is being accorded the honour as a mark of respect by the authorities of the St George Orthodox Church at Puthuppally considering the immense contributions made by Chandy to the parish and to the church for decades.
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As per common practice, the mortal remains of ordinary believers are buried in the cemetery and those of priests in an exclusive area located north or south of the church.
Chandy, who served as the chief minister of Kerala twice, breathed his last in a private hospital in Bengaluru on Tuesday at 4.25 am.
His end came while undergoing treatment for cancer, party sources said.
He was 79.
(With inputs from PTI)