V.S. Achuthanandan: Kerala's Fidel Castro visited home turf Alappuzha every Onam, heard out neighbours at Velikkakath house

The late communist icon V.S. Achuthanandan's legacy was deeply intertwined with Kerala's Alappuzha district. Born on October 20, 1923, in the Velikkakath house of Paravoor in Alappuzha's Punnapra, within the 'Venice of the East', he immersed himself in the communist movement starting in 1940.

 

Coincidentally, V.S. Achuthanandan's birthday falls in the same month the anniversary of the Punnapra-Vayalar uprising is observed. The peasant revolt, a glorious chapter in the anti-colonial history of Kerala, took place from October 24 to 26 in 1946.

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His remarkable political journey began in this agrarian district, where he rose through the ranks as division secretary and later district chief before the CPI split led to the formation of the CPI(M). He was only 29 when he became the district chief of the Communist Party in Alappuzha—a region that, at the time, was considerably more expansive than its present-day coastal confines.

 

Over the decades, VS worked alongside generations of CPI(M) cadres in Alappuzha, who cherish the memories of having walked alongside the popular leader whenever he visited his hometown. Paravoor-native Satyakeerthi is one such man. His father worked with V.S. in his youth, and he, as a party member, was similarly closely linked to the former Chief Minister whenever he was in Punnapra. The area committee member of the CPI(M) was among the cadres that worked closely with VS during his last visit to his native in 2019.

 

"The Velikkakath house is now home to the family of his wife's sister's son," Satyakeerthi told THE WEEK. "Whenever he was in Alappuzha for public programmes, he made certain that he went home. His neighbours would come and see him with letters of requests."

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Given his stature and the necessary security, coupled with a lack of time, it wasn't possible for him to visit his neighbours. Instead, people would come to him to talk. "These were not always pleas and requests; some locals simply came to meet and greet. Most of that generation who arrived just to exchange pleasantries with him are now gone," Satyakeerthi said.

 

During election seasons, VS used to be the star campaigner of the LDF across the state. When campaigning in constituencies in and around his home turf, VS used his home as a basecamp. He sometimes even attended committees during the polls, local CPI(M) cadres recollected. "If he had any programmes in Alappuzha or nearby districts like Ernakulam, he would arrive at his home to rest before resuming his journey back to the state capital," they said.

 

Each year, like a homecoming tide, the Punnapra-Vayalar commemoration week and the Onam festivities drew V.S. back to the embrace of Alappuzha.

 

Every Onam season, he used to spend two days at his family house accompanied by his entire family without fail. He made it a habit to arrive in Alappuzha on Uthradam afternoon, the ninth day of Onam celebrations. He would then share lunch with his family on Thiruvonam day, before leaving the following day. Despite Onam being an auspicious occasion that most Keralites love spending with their kin, many people from all over the district used to arrive at his residence.

 

"There were always people to see him when he arrived. You can't expect him to come and say hello to us given his age and busy schedule. We could tell he was home by the number of people at the courtyard," Manoharan, one of his neighbours recollected.

 

"His demanding responsibilities never swayed this Onam routine; he maintained this tradition both as the opposition leader and as Chief Minister," Satyakeerthi recollected.

 

In fact, the final public event that VS attended was also in Alappuzha. It was the 2019 Punnapra-Vayalar commemoration in the district that happened to be the final public outing of the leader of the masses.

 

He never missed the yearly Punnapra-Vayalar commemoration. He would be at the "battlefield" in the morning to pay homage to the fallen comrades before attending the events that follow. He used to inaugurate the public gathering in the evening the same day before retiring for the day.

 

His last public event was the 2019 edition of the week-long annual programmes. "He left for Thiruvananthapuram the following day and needed medical assistance the day after."

 

V.S. Achuthanandan will be laid to rest in Alappuzha on Wednesday afternoon.

India