It’s often said age is just a number. At 90, M.P. Govindan Nair, a former Minister of the R. Sankar Cabinet (1962- 64), may have slowed down a tad, but his mind is razor-sharp, sifting facts and presenting arguments with conviction born of long experience.
He misses little and believes mediation is the key to solving the recent controversies that have catapulted the State to national headlines.
Mr. Nair, who lives in Kottayam, was here on Saturday to attend a function. His wife Sarada Devi passed away four years ago, but he keeps himself busy practising law. “There are always people around, and I don’t feel lonely,” he says in a matter-of-fact manner.
Quizzed about what else he likes to read besides newspapers, he replies without missing a beat, “Anything that I can lay my hands on.”
He involves himself in social work too. Raising funds from the public, he has helped build an air-conditioned two-storey marriage hall where the indigent get a discount on the charges. He is also part of a club that has provided beds and sheets to a hospital, paid fees for students, and is sponsoring the studies of three medical students.
Mr. Nair who belonged to the last batch of Government Law College to function on the current AG’s office premises in the city, reminisces about the R. Sankar Ministry and the formation of the Kerala Congress.
He recalls how he and R. Balakrishna Pillai, his room mate at the MLA Quarters, claimed to be the youngest members in the Assembly and eventually, Mr. Pillai turned out to be younger by six months.
“However, I was the youngest Minister at 29,” Mr. Nair said.
R. Sankar, he says, was an exemplary Chief Minister noted for his humility. He recalled how press persons who went to meet him after he had retired, found the former Chief Minister washing utensils. “He also cooked, and would invite my wife and me to come over for dinner on Sundays.”
