Thiruvananthapuram: In two heartbreaking incidents, the retirement day became the last day of their lives for two school teachers in Thiruvananthapuram.

While S Prafulan (56), a Hindi teacher at Government HSS, Bharathannoor, collapsed and died during the send-off function organised for him in school, V Aji Kumar (Podiyan – 56), the head teacher in Adayamon UP School, succumbed to a heart attack in a hospital, where he was undergoing treatment for a kidney-related ailment.

Prafulan, belonging to Poykavilayil, Alappuram Kunnu, Chembakamangalam in Korani, had delivered his reply speech at the farewell function in school and returned to his chair around 11.30 am on May 31 when he experienced breathlessness and collapsed. Though he was rushed to a nearby hospital, Prafulan could not be saved. Prafulan is survived by his wife, K Sindhu, a teacher at Government UP School, Anachal.

Meanwhile, Aji Kumar, who resided at Gowreesam, Vettiyittakonam in Kilimanoor, died on the day of his retirement at a private hospital in Kollam. He was admitted to the hospital on Tuesday last and was subjected to dialysis on Friday. Unfortunately, he had a heart attack around 6.30 am on Saturday, the retirement day, and breathed his last. Aji Kumar is survived by his wife Durga and children Gowripriya and Gowrinandan.

Prafulan leaves his songs behind
Prafulan, who taught Hindi, was also a reputed exponent of ‘vilpaattu’, a traditional art form of the state. His sudden death has created a big loss not only for his teaching colleagues and students but also for the art lovers in Kerala.

During the farewell function in school, the other teachers had told Prafulan that they would garland him and accompany him to his house. But, Prafulan told them, “No! I don’t want the garland; because people will think I have married again.”

It was a very sad occasion for his colleagues to witness Prafulan collapsing on stage a few moments after delivering a speech filled with such light-hearted comments.

While concluding his speech, Prafulan recited a few lines from ‘Rani’, a famous poem by Thirunelloor Karunakaran which went, “From where; from where; did this woman receive such beauty…” It was one among his favourite poems.

A leading vilpaattu artist in Kerala, Prafulan, had performed on hundreds of stages. However, he temporarily stopped performing after a heart surgery a few years ago.

As a teacher, Prafulan worked for around 10 years in Wayanad. Five  years ago, he was transferred to a school at Chettachal in Thiruvananthapuram and two years ago, he joined the Bharathannoor school.

Prafulan fatally collapsed a few moments after completing his speech, and a large gathering, including students and parents, reached the school to offer condolences.

A dear teacher departs
V Aji Kumar, who served as a teacher for 29 years and head teacher for two, had always earned the love and respect of his students and colleagues.  His major achievements included involving all students in agriculture by making them work in the paddy fields and setting an example for the entire state by opening a science park in school.

Though Aji Kumar taught mathematics, he was adept at science and social studies also. His colleagues remember Aji Kumar as a calm person who never became angry with anybody. But, he put in maximum efforts to realize things which interested him.

Recently, Aji Kumar wrote devotional songs on the deities Kottarakkara Ganapathy and Sreekandeswaran and uploaded the videos on YouTube. Aji Kumar, who was fondly addressed as ‘Podiyan’ by local people and his friends, was the younger son of the late Vasudevan Nair and the late Santhakumari Amma of Puthenveedu, Poykavial, Attayikonam in Pappala.