Su. Kaveriammal (82) from Kaliappa Gounden Pudur near Athupollachi in Coimbatore district followed in the footsteps of her husband Na. Subramaniam in her last journey. According to her wish, her body was donated to the Coimbatore Medical College for medical research on Sunday.
In 2015, it was Kaveriammal who took the lead in donating the body of her husband, who died at the age of 75, to the medical college as per his wish
“Mother had told us that her body should be donated to the medical college. We, three sons, did not have any difference of opinion and fulfilled her final wish,” said Ka. Su. Nagarasan, one of the sons and State organising secretary of Dravida Iyakka Tamilar Peravai.
Kaveriammal, spent the last one month in a private hospital at Ambarampalayam due to age related ailments and she breathed her last on Saturday morning. Her eyes were donated.
An ardent follower of Periyar E.V. Ramasamy, Kaveriammal used to attend public meetings where Periyarist and Dravidian leaders spoke. She attended a public meeting at Anamalai in May this year in which Dravida Iyakka Tamilar Peravai leader Suba Veerapandian spoke.
“She had actively involved in protests and movements for the cause of the public in the locality. She was once arrested by the police during a protest”, Mr. Nagarasan recalled.
A condolence meeting was arranged at Kaliappa Gounden Pudur on Sunday morning before the body was donated to the medical college. Those who spoke at the meeting created awareness on organ donation and donation of body for medical research. In a departure from the normal custom, a group of women carried the body of the octogenarian to the ambulance in a procession.
“Being followers of Periyar, we do not follow any rituals. It is usually men who carry the body of the deceased to crematorium or cemetery. But, women carried the body of my mother to make a difference,” added Mr. Nagarasan.
