KOCHI: The bullets fired by terrorists at Pahalgam brought to a tragic end a friendship that spanned 37 years. For Sajith Padman, an amateur photographer who works for an oil and gas company in Qatar, the news that his dear friend and brother N Ramachandran is no more came as a big shock.
“We have lost our leader,” says Sajith. “I had met him at the Srambikkal temple on Saturday. But I could not speak to him since I was in a hurry. I just waved at him. Never in a million years did I think that it would be the last wave. A final goodbye!” Sajith told TNIE outside Ramachandran’s house after paying tributes to the latter’s mortal remains.
He reminisced about the days when Ramachandran started a kalari school at his house. “He loved kalaripayattu and was an avid practitioner. He learnt kalaripayattu under Mani Asan at Edappally Srambikkal Tharavadu. In 1987, he opened a kalari at his house. Around 60 students, including me, enrolled.
The school lasted for around two to three years. But some issues with the person with whom he set up the school led to it being discontinued,” he says. But that didn’t break the friendship which developed between the him and Ramachandran.
“We used to go to his house every other day and Sheela chechi would serve us tea. Ramachandran chettan’s son was three and his daughter an infant at the time,” says Sajith. As a group the friends visited various places, including the Edamalayar tribal colony. “We trekked through the forests to reach the camp. He led the group and was a person who could hold it together. He had people from every strata of society in his friend circle,” Sajith adds.
He remembers how they did a kalaripayattu video and photoshoot at Iringole kavu. Ramachandran has even performed at events. The friendship that started at the kalari continued in the sandy environs of Qatar where, later on, Sajith and Ramachandran arrived for work. Even their wives had a WhatsApp group.
“Somebody posted the news of Ramachandran chettan’s death on the group. But deleted soon as the news hadn’t been broken to Sheela chechi. But my wife saw the message and alerted me. We have lost the pillar of our community,” says Sajith.