MASS FAREWELL

For many, this was not just the passing of a leader, but of a beloved father figure who had walked with people through their struggles

- BIJU E PAUL @ Alappuzha

THE narrow stretch of Old Nadakkavu road in Alappuzha, where the Velikkakathu tharavadu stands as a silent witness to history, was transformed into a river of people on Wednesday afternoon. As the mortal remains of V S Achuthanandan were brought to his ancestral home, emotions overflowed among the thousands who had gathered to pay their last respects to the stalwart communist.