A special tomb for Chandy in his Parish church at Puthuppally

The mortal remains of Kerala’s two-time Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, who died in Bengaluru on Tuesday, will be laid to rest in a special tomb which is being built in an exclusive area reserved for departed priests of his village church.

Preparations are in full swing for the funeral ceremony after a decision was taken to lay Chandy’s body to rest in the exclusive priests’ burial area inside the church premises instead of his family vault in the cemetery.

As a mark of respect for Chandy, the authorities of the St George Orthodox Church at Puthuppally decided to change their decades-old practice of burying deceased non-priest church members in the cemetery or in their family vaults.

Church vicar Varghese Varghese said the decision was taken considering the immense contributions made by Chandy to the parish and to the church for decades.

”The decision was taken to lay him to rest on the church ground where the remains of the late priests were buried, considering his virtues and the contributions he made to the parish and the church,” the vicar said.

As per the common practice, the mortal remains of ordinary believers are buried in the cemetery and those of priests in an exclusive area located north or south of the church, he said.

”The tomb for Chandy is being readied adjacent to that of the priests. The general feeling of the parish is that his tomb will remain a permanent memorial on the church premises,” he added.

Recalling Chandy’s contributions to the parish, he said the former chief minister is one of the persons who have contributed the most to its modernisation and development.

Since his younger days, Chandy was very much active in the youth movement, Sunday school activities and prayer meetings in the church, and it had paved the way for his growth as a public activist, MLA, minister, and the Chief Minister of the state, the vicar added.

The mortal remains of Chandy were being taken in a procession by road on Wednesday from Thiruvananthapuram to Kottayam, the stronghold of the Congress stalwart.

His body was taken in a specially modified low-floor bus covered in garlands and pictures of Chandy and packed with party leaders and workers. Arrangements have been made at the Thirunakkara Ground here for the public to pay homage to Chandy and thereafter, his body will be shifted to his home in Puthuppally. Chandy had been representing the Assembly constituency of Puthuppally, where he is affectionately called ‘Kunjukunju’ by the people, for the last 53 years and locals recall that the doors of his home were always open for anyone to walk in and discuss matters with him at any time of the day.

Chandy, who served as the Chief Minister of Kerala twice, breathed his last in a private hospital in Bengaluru on Tuesday. His end came while undergoing treatment for cancer, party sources said. He was 79.