Kandanadu: The rustle of ripened paddy and the rhythm of sickles marked a harvest touched by memory, as farmers in the Kandanadu polders came together for a festival steeped in gratitude and loss.

The paddy fields witnessed their first harvest festival on Tuesday in the absence of the great man who loved the soil. Everyone who gathered spoke affectionately of Sreenivasan, the beloved actor and filmmaker in Malayalam, who is no more. This was the first harvest festival to be held on this land without him.

Earlier in the day, the farmers visited Sreenivasan’s house to seek the permission and blessings of his wife, Vimala. Only after this did the harvest begin. He had also missed the previous sowing festival due to ill health. It was Sreenivasan who had revived farming in these polders a few years ago by cultivating paddy on two acres of fallow land. Since then, cultivation has expanded to over 60 acres.

This season, the farming initiative was led by his son, Dhyan Sreenivasan, though he was unable to attend the harvest due to his shooting schedule in Dubai. The harvesting was carried out by local residents and farmers Manu Philip Thukalan and Saju Kurian Vaishyamparambil.

The inaugural function was attended by Udayamperoor panchayat president Juban John; district panchayat member Sona Jayaraj; block panchayat members Nisha Babu and Merley James; panchayat members M.K. Vineetha and Binu Joshy; former block panchayat presidents Shaji Madhavan and Raju P. Nair; farmers Manu Philip Thukalan and Saju Kurian Vaishyamparambil; George Kulangara; Mulanthuruthy Assistant Director of Agriculture B. Indu; Udayamperoor Agriculture Officer Vidya Soman; and Assistant Agriculture Officer K.V. Udayan.

To honour Sreenivasan, friends and local residents are planning to install a statue of him in the paddy field. The land for the memorial is being provided by Manu Philip.