KOTTAYAM: At 95, freedom-fighter and singer P K Medini, whose revolutionary songs became closely associated with the Communist movement in Keralam, is set to spend her twilight years in a home of her own. Medini, who had lived in rented houses for several years, is finally seeing her long-cherished dream of owning a house come true.
The new home has been built at Thottakam in Vaikom, close to the birthplace of Comrade P Krishna Pillai, one of the founding leaders of the Communist movement in Keralam. The initiative followed a directive from the state leadership of the Communist Party of India (CPI), following which its Vaikom Mandalam Committee took up the project. CPI state secretary Binoy Viswam handed over the keys to Medini at a function held on Thursday evening.
The house has come up on a 5.5 cent plot at Thottakam, close to the Vaikom-Vechoor Road. The plot was purchased for Rs 10 lakh, while the CPI spent another Rs 15 lakh to build the 600 sq ft house, which was completed in 62 days, said V B Binu, CPI state committee member.
“It was after Medini Chechi, who had been moving from one rented house to another for several years, expressed her wish to live in the land of P Krishna Pillai that the state committee decided to fulfil her desire. We purchased the plot and completed construction of the 600 sq ft house in just 62 days,” Binu said.
Painted in red and white, the house has red flower pots lined up outside and a bamboo fence around it. Medini has named it ‘Red Salute’, a tribute to the revolutionary song that has been closely associated with her for decades.
Medini will live in the house with her younger daughter Hansa. Hansa’s husband, screenwriter Shaji Pandavath, died five years ago, after which she has been living with her mother. “This is the biggest award the Communist movement has ever gifted me. I regard this as a memorial to the Communist Party and wish to develop it into an art and cultural centre. I am happy to accommodate anyone who is struggling for food here,” she said.
Medini’s association with the Communist movement goes back to her childhood. She began singing on stage at the age of 13 and became a party member when she was 26. Her songs soon became an integral part of party meetings and election campaigns, helping take the Communist message to the masses.
There were times when merely announcing that Comrade Medini would perform was enough to draw crowds. When the Communist Party split in 1964, Medini stood with the CPI. She later made her playback singing debut in the 2003 film Vasanthathinte Kanalvazhikal, based on the life of P Krishna Pillai.
