Thousands brave rain for final glimpse of fav comrade

ON a rain-swept Wednesday, the lanes filled up with red flags and slogans as V S Achuthanandan returned home for the last time.

- VARSHA SOMARAJ @Alappuzha

The sky wept through the day. But it didn't matter. The people came anyway. Some on foot, some in private vehicles, some in crowded buses that had started long before dawn. From across the state, they came to Velikkakath house. Not out of duty but affection for the man who stood by them.

"I travelled from Pala. We are a group of 25 people," said Geethamma, standing in the slow-moving queue outside the leader's home. "Our children have never seen VS in person. I told them they must see the man who never bent. Not even to age. He was someone who understood our homes, our struggles. That never changed."