ALAPPUZHA: As thousands pour in to pay their last respects to V S Achuthanandan at his Velikkakathu house in Alappuzha, just a kilometre away, his only surviving sibling, Azhikutty, is a mute witness to the farewell.
Age and illness have blurred the memory of the 96-year-old, while paralysis has rendered her bedridden for the past few months at her residence in Venthalathara. Once a spirited sister who proudly recalled her brother’s revolutionary days, Azhikutty is now unable to respond to relatives or register the news of his passing.
“Amma didn’t say much when we relayed the news,” says Parameswaran, her son-in-law. “She just made a faint sound.”
With both confined to their homes due to age-related ailments, their contact remained sparse, especially in the last few years. Yet, in 2022, Azhikutty managed to visit ‘Annan’ – as she fondly called VS – one last time, on his 100th birthday.
The last time VS visited his native Velanthara was during Onam in 2019, when he arrived bearing gifts. His health declined shortly after, and the outbreak of Covid further prevented any personal meetings with his sister. Azhikutty is now the last living link to the turbulent past of the family.
Recalling what her mother once said, Parameswaran narrates, “She used to say ‘Annan’ survived a treacherous attack by the police during the Punnapra-Vayalar uprising. He was jailed and brutally tortured. It took months for him to recover.”
The stories of VS’ early days still echo in the family lore.
As a young man, he left home for Kuttamangalam without informing his brother Gangadharan, who owned a textile shop in Paravoor. He started a tailoring business and, during his time there, became deeply involved in political activism. “That journey turned him into the revolutionary he would become, Amma once recalled,” points out Parameswaran.
VS also had two brothers, V S Gangadharan and V S Purushothaman, who both passed away years ago.