Babu lives on

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The cheerful presence that would await at the entrance of the YMCA Hall to welcome the guests was missing. Still, the routines went on, without change, without failing. The wooden chairs inside the hall were all occupied. The scheduled time was 6 pm and the function began at the first stroke. The hall heard no welcome speech and no vote of thanks.Thus did his friends pay Charcha Vedi Babu their tribute as they commemorated him on a soggy evening here on Thursday. The entire function proceeded in the same manner as Babu used to organise his programmes.Nearly 200 people gathered at YMCA Hall in memory of the man who, if alive, would have organised the birth centenary celebration of K P Kesava Menon on the same venue and at the same time. The proposed programme, however, gave way for a much graver occasion to mourn its organiser.Babu, who seldom appeared on stage for the programmes, was seen as a  smiling, curly-haired portrait on a glossily printed flex that hung facing the entire gathering. Except for this, nothing else went contrary to his customs.  Babu never gave printed invitations for the programme and so did his friends. If Babu’s handwritten cards could fill the hall without a single vacant seat, his friends could do the same even without a card. They decided to gather and the gathering happened for a cause. Nobody spoke long and loud. The speeches were confined to small recollections. Forty long years of activities of Charcha Vedi and the man behind it were praised. Also, the need to protect the family of a man who engaged himself in an inspiring cultural pursuit for a long time without expecting anything in return was focused on.During the function, it was announced that Abhaya Foundation would take care of the educational expenses of Lakshmi Chithra, the daughter of Charcha Vedi Babu. A committee was also formed with Chief Minister Oommen Chandy as the patron. A bank account was also opened in the name of Lakshmi. Puthuserry Ramachandran made the first contribution with a sum of Rs 5,000. The account has been opened at the Poojapura branch of SBT and the account number is 67157486243.