Thyagi Bu.Bu Falls Short of Century, Had Razor Sharp Wit

A man, who played an active role in the Quit India movement, the 99-year-old freedom fighter ‘Bu.Bu’ Ramu breathed his last at his home in Ondipudur.
A file picture of Bu.Bu Ramu at his home in Coimbatore | EPS
A file picture of Bu.Bu Ramu at his home in Coimbatore | EPS

COIMBATORE: A man, who played an active role in the Quit India movement, the 99-year-old freedom fighter ‘Bu.Bu’ Ramu breathed his last at his home in Ondipudur on Friday night.

The nonagenarian, who joined the labour union founded by noted freedom fighter Thiagi NGR  actively took part in the two landmark protests of the freedom struggle in Coimbatore - the derailment of a train at Singanallur and torching the Sulur Aerodrome.

“When the English judge sentenced Ramu to life with a term of 47 years, a man, known for his wit and humour, he told the judge that he just wanted to go through his Jaadhagam (horoscope) and ensure whether he could live that long on earth!” recalled C S Ramakrishnan.

It was a judge from AP , for the first time, referred Ramu as ‘Bu.Bu’ Ramu. Since the magistrate could not follow Tamil, Ramu demonstrated his role in freedom struggle by making a ‘cone’ out of paper and crying ‘Bu.Bu’ through it. By doing so, he made the judge understand that he used to make announcements of protests through a megaphone!

“When I was arrested, the cops at Singanallur police station immersed my hands in water and pierced needle between my nails and flesh forcing me to disclose the names of my comrades. They made me lay nude on the floor and thrashed me from head to toe with lathis. When I asked for water, they made me drink my urine,” Ramu once recalled in his interview to Express in 2013.

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