At 80, retired KSEB engineer scales coconut trees in Palakkad

Retirement has done little to drain the `power' of Rajan Narayanan. At 80, the former Kerala State Electricity Board employee has shown that age is no barrier to vitality, sharing a video of himself effortlessly climbing a coconut tree.

Rajan Narayanan, a retired Deputy Chief Engineer of the KSEB, lives at ‘Sreevasam’ in Ezhakkad. He took up coconut tree climbing as part of his effort to remain actively engaged in farming even after retiring from service in 2001.

The one-acre plot adjoining his house is dominated by coconut palms. Faced with the difficulty of finding labourers to harvest coconuts, he purchased a climbing device and became self-reliant. When a video of him scaling a coconut tree using the device was shared on social media, a former colleague of the same age commented, “I am in a wheelchair. My best wishes to you.”

Rajan maintains his health through a disciplined daily routine, with yoga forming a mandatory part of it. In addition to spending four hours a day working on his land, he follows a strictly regulated diet. As a result, lifestyle diseases have stayed far away. He is also keen to share the secrets of his good health with friends.

In 2004, he became the first person in Kerala to use an electric car, which he brought from Bengaluru. Using his own funds to repair houses for the poor and to concrete rural roads are among the notable examples of his earlier interventions in social service. Rajan Narayanan is married to Ratnamma.