For the 2000 batch of Sree Chitra Thirunal College of Engineering, Pappanamcode, there will not be a 20th anniversary get-together. Praveen Krishnan Nair was the glue that bound the engineering college friends together.
“Praveen was the one pushing us to hold our 20th anniversary get-together by the end of the year,” said Sandeep, one of Praveen's engineering college mates. They were part of the Year 2000 Automobile Engineering (BTech) batch of the Sree Chitra Thirunal College of Engineering, Pappanamcode.
Eight persons from two families died on Tuesday due to a possible gas leak in their room at the Everest Panorama resort at Damanin Daman in Makwanpur district of Nepal. The deceased has been identified as Praveen Krishnan Nair (39), Saranya Sasi (34), Sreebadra Praveen (9), Archa Praveen, Abhinav Saranya Nair (9); Ranjith Kumar T B (39), Indu Lakshmi Peethambaran (34), Vaishnav Ranjith (2).
Sandeep came to know of the tragedy from their college WhatsApp group. “I talked to the others. They just don't know what to do. I could sense what they are going through from the little they spoke to me. Fortunately, the Indian Embassy has come to their aid and people there has been helpful. The body will be released after post-mortem,” Sandeep said.
Four families had gone for the Nepal vacation and all the men were Sandeep's engineering college classmates. “It was the first time they had gone this far. It was usual for our college friends to have a one-day get-together in some hotel or resort almost every year,” Sandeep said.
He said it was Praveen who had mobilised the group. “He wanted all of us to come but eventually went with the four families he could collect,” Sandeep said. “He was the most loved in our group as he was always neutral. He never took sides. And whenever there were differences, he acted as the bridge,” Sandeep said.
Nepal was chosen because one of the friends, Ram Kumar, was working in Darjeeling, in Food Corporation of India. Ram Kumar's family was one of the four families in the group.
Praveen migrated to Gulf soon after completing his studies and was running own construction business. “He was highly ambitious but cared deeply for others,” he added.
Sandeep said Praveen was deeply attached to his family. “It was usual for him to fly down to Kochi and then to Thiruvananthapuram every two or three months,” Sandeep said. His wife and three kids lived in a flat in Kochi. Since his wife Saranya was studying pharmacy at Amrita Vishwapeetam in Kochi, Praveen wanted his kids to be with their mother and study in a school in Kochi. “Another friend had told me that Praveen had confided to him that he badly misses his kids,” Sandeep said.
Praveen's parents, Krishnan Nair and Prasannakumari, and his sister Praseeda live in their home near Chenkottukonam in Thiruvananthapuram.
Sandeep, who works in Kerala University, was found outside the home but he did not enter. He said he could not face Praveen's parents.
Praveen's mother was ailing and was too fragile to absorb something as devastating as the death of her son and his entire family. Neighbours tried their best to delay disclosing the truth. They even prevented media persons from going anywhere close to the home. However, the huge crowd that collected must have had aroused the suspicion of the family.
