Chandy's mortal remains reach his ancestral home in Kottayam after a 36-hour journey

Former Kerala chief minister Oommen Chandy’s mortal remains reached Puthuppally, the constituency he represented in the state Assembly for more than five decades, on Thursday (July 21) afternoon.

The remains were brought to Karottu Vallakkalil house, the ancestral home of Chandy in Puthuppally, close to 36 hours after leaving his residence in Thiruvananthapuram the previous morning.

A journey of around 150 kilometres, which normally should have taken about 3-4 hours, was considerably delayed due to thousands having gathered along the route for a final glimpse of their leader, for which the bus carrying Chandy’s remains was either slowed down or stopped at some places for more than an hour.

Paying tribute to Congress stalwart

Earlier, when the remains were brought to the famous Thirunakkara ground in Kottayam town, governor Arif Mohammed Khan, leaders of various political parties, cultural icons including film stars like Mammootty and Suresh Gopi, religious leaders, and thousands of others paid rich tribute to the Congress stalwart.

Chandy’s ancestral home Karottu Vallakkalil witnessed emotional scenes as the vehicle carrying his body was brought there, as it was the place where their “Kunjukunju”, as he was called fondly by the people of the area, used to address the grievances of the people of his constituency and in the neighbouring areas on weekends.

Also read: Former Kerala CM Oommen Chandy’s burial without state honours. Here is why

The doors of the house used to remain open for people to come at any time of the day or night to air their grievances before their leader. Many have flocked to his ancestral home since Wednesday to pay tribute to him, and it continued today also.

In addition to the thousands who were present at Thirunakkara ground here, there was also a thick wall of people along the route to his village Puthuppally.

After his remains are kept at the ancestral home for some time, they will be shifted to his yet unfinished new home nearby, where prayers will be held, and subsequently, the funeral procession would start from there to the Puthuppally church, where Chandy will be buried in a special grave prepared for him adjacent to those of departed priests.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will be attending the funeral and has already arrived in Kerala. The burial would be a simple one without any state honours, in accordance with the wish of the late Congress leader.

Also read: Thiruvananthapuram bids adieu to Oommen Chandy; remains taken to Kottayam

Final journey

Chandy’s final journey began on Wednesday morning at around 7.20 am from the state capital Thiruvananthapuram, where he had spent a major chunk of his life during his decades-long political career as a legislator, leader of the Congress party, and chief minister.

Chandy, who served as the chief minister of Kerala twice, breathed his last in a private hospital in Bengaluru on Tuesday at 4.25 am. He was 79. His end came while he was undergoing treatment for cancer, party sources said.

(With agency inputs)