'VS was a man who devoted every moment of his life, from the beginning till his death at the age of 100, to the struggle against the injustices inflicted upon land, nature and the common man.'
On the 21st of July 2025, a chapter in Kerala politics ended.
Velikkakathu Sankaran Achuthanandan, known as just VS, passed away at the age of 101.
When he became the chief minister of Kerala at the age of 82, he was the oldest person to be CM. But he was one of the most sharp, agile and physically active persons at 82.
Shobha Warrier met him during the 2011 assembly election campaign and listened to his fiery speeches as he campaigned in Palakkad.
He told Shobha then that there should be no retirement age for politicians. He was 87 then.
When Shobha met him at his residence in 2014 in Thiruvananthapuram, he was 90 years old and the oldest Communist in India.
K V Sudhakaran, a former journalist, served as VS' press secretary. He is the author of Oru Samara Noottandu, VS' biography, published when the Marxist turned 100.
"At the age of 90, VS started learning Hindi from a university professor. The only thing he failed in was learning to operate a computer," Sudhakaran tells Shobha.
You worked very closely with VS as his press secretary and also wrote his biography. Do you remember when your association with VS started?
That was in the early 1990s when I worked as the news correspondent of Desabhimani (the CPI-M's Malayalam daily newspaper) from Alappuzha.
VS was also living in Punnapra in Alappuzha then.
I was just an ordinary news correspondent while VS was a (CPI-M) politbureau member and a tall Opposition leader.
His image was that of a very strict, no-nonsense political leader. Naturally, I could look at him only with respect and trepidation.
Because we were in the same place, I got the opportunity to cover a lot of his public meetings.
In those days, he used to speak for at least one-and-a-half hours at his public meetings.
It used to start with an international issue about which he spoke for half an hour, then he moved to a national issue, and finally an issue connected to state politics. This was the pattern he followed.
After each meeting, I used to write a report giving stress to one issue he spoke about.
Though I was a bit scared of him, I used to check with him whether I could highlight a particular issue. Sometimes, he agreed and sometimes, he wanted to highlight another issue.
That was how we grew closer.
I must tell you something here. In our conversations, he insisted that I called him VS and not Sir or Sakhavu (comrade).
This instruction was not just to me, he wanted even children also address him as VS.
He was happy when people called him VS. He believed as VS, he was closer to people. The same closeness, he didn't feel when he was Sir or Sakhavu.
How did you get the opportunity to be his press secretary?
Our close association continued even when I worked in various bureaus in Kerala.
In 2010, I was posted as the news editor in Thiruvananthapuram.
When his press secretary left in 2013, I got a call from his son, Dr Arun Kumar.
He said VS wanted to speak to me and gave the phone to VS.
The only thing he said was can you come to Cantonment House (the leader of the Opposition's residence
I took an auto and reached there in no time. I had no idea why he called me.
When I met him, he said I want you to be my press secretary. What is your opinion?
I replied, 'If VS took such a decision and the party agreed to it, I am ready to take up the job.'
At the June 2nd party meeting, they took the decision to appoint me as VS' press secretary.
On the 5th of June 2013, I joined duty.
What was your first assignment?
The Kerala assembly was in session then. In those days, assembly sessions started at 8.30 am.
So, my first duty was accompanying him to the assembly.
He asked me to come straight to the assembly. He asked me whether I was aware of what happened in the assembly.
Because I had covered the assembly proceedings as a reporter, I was aware of what happened there.
VS was known for the way he attacked his political opponents with his wit and sharp words. How was it for you to witness his days as the Opposition leader?
Oommen Chandy was the chief minister then. VS was in top form especially when he attacked Oommen Chandy in the Solar case.
As his press secretary, it was my duty to prepare his speeches and update him about what was happening in the state.
I used to read out the speech I had prepared, and while I read, he would sit there with his eyes closed.
Initially I thought he was sleeping but it was his way of concentrating, with his eyes closed.
He would absorb every word I read out, and he would speak based on the input I gave.
I was bowled over by his memory and concentration.
When you observe his speeches, you will see that he not only used his face and voice but every part of his body.
That was why he could make his audience, thousands and thousands of them, go crazy.
During election time, there would be many public meetings and I used to give him inputs while we travelled from one place to another in the car.
IMAGE: K V Sudhakaran.
I can only compare his public speeches to that of a dancer who mesmerises his audience by telling a story while dancing to the music.
It was a performance, maybe that of a Kathakali artist.
As he performed, he could make the audience also move along with him as he could efficiently connect with any audience.
And that was the VS magic.
It was quite a memorable experience for me to associate with him as a small part of some of his speeches.
VS did not have much formal education, but he was extremely aware of what was happening in the world...
Yes, he couldn't study beyond the 7th standard because of poverty but his grasping power was astounding. He picked everything from his close association with people.
In fact, it was from people that he absorbed all his energy.
Can you believe it was he took the steps to bring in open-source Linux to all the government departments in Kerala when he was chief minister when Microsoft ruled everywhere?
Also, the language he used was not that of a person who had studied only up to the 7th standard.
I have not seen anyone who could use such beautiful Malayalam to communicate with people.
He also showed great desire to learn new things all the time. At the age of 90, when he was the Opposition leader, he started learning Hindi from a Hindi university professor.
After going to Delhi quite often as a politbureau member, he felt it would help him if he learnt Hindi.
I have seen VS saying, 'Namaskar! Aayiye' to the professor when he came to the Cantonment House to teach him!
The only thing he failed in was learning to operate a computer.
IMAGE: Oru Samara Noottandu, the VS biography.
When did you decide to write his biography?
I used to talk to him about his life and took notes when I was his press secretary, but I could not go beyond the notes at that time.
From 2018 to 2023, I was the state information commissioner and naturally, writing the book got delayed.
But when VS was turning 100 in October 2023, I thought it was high time I wrote his biography.
Unfortunately, he could not attend the book launch as he was bedridden after a stroke in October 2019. He was not conscious till his death, for six years.
I feel sad that VS could not read or comment on the book I wrote about him.
How do you think future generations will remember VS?
Here was a man who had devoted every moment of his life, from the beginning till his death at the age of 100, to the struggle against the injustices inflicted upon land, nature and the common man.
Photographs curated by Manisha Kotian/Rediff
Feature Presentation: Rajesh Alva/Rediff
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