While people mourns V.S. Achuthanandan, his sister watches in silence

As thousands pour in to pay their last respects to veteran communist leader V.S. Achuthanandan, his only surviving sibling, Azhikutty, remains a mute witness to the farewell.

Now 96 and bedridden, Azhikutty lives in a paralysed state at her home, Venthalathara, in Alappuzha. Time and illness have dimmed her once-vivid memories. The once-spirited sister, who used to proudly call her brother Annan (elder brother), can no longer grasp the gravity of his passing or respond to those around her.

“There was not much response on her face when we informed her that her beloved brother had passed away. She has been bedridden for the past several months,” says Akhil Vinayakan, Azhikutty’s grandson.

The family said the last time Azhikutty and Achuthanandan saw each other was in 2022 in Thiruvananthapuram. Whenever he visited Alappuzha, apart from going to Velikkakathu, his house at Paravur, Achuthanandan would also visit Venthalathara house, located about a kilometre away. He used to gift his younger sister Onapudava every Onam.

Achuthanandan also had two brothers- V.S. Gangadharan and V.S. Purushothaman, both of whom have passed away.