: Sreekumar has been living at Ward no. 9 of General Hospital here for the past two years, ever since his relatives refused to take him in.
But the spirit of Onam did not leave him untouched.
On Saturday, it was an emotional moment for Sreekumar as he received Onakkodi from Nirmala Bhavan school student Meghna Attoor.
Receive Onakkodi
As many as 45 men and 15 women residents of the ward received Onakkodi from Meghna, Chinmaya Vidyalaya student V.K. Niranjan Dev, and Sarvodaya Vidyalaya student Anamika J. Subhash at a function held under the aegis of the farm-friendly portal Thumbi and a collective of youth working in the software industry called Yatra.
Onam songs were rendered by students of the Music Department of Government Women’s College, Thycaud, led by M.A. student Rajalakshmi.
The children and the ward residents made a pookkalam in the courtyard.
Ward resident Gopinathan draped a ‘ponnada’ around retired government superintendent Radhakrishna Pillai who has been supplying the noon meals for the ward residents for the past 17 years, and resident Sasidharan presented him with an Onakkodi.
Writer J.M. Rahim presided over the function.
