Kottayam: 'Red Salute' has been the favourite and most popular song of revolutionary singer P K Medhini for decades. From now on, it will also be her home. A house, named ‘Red Salute', built by the CPI to honour the legendary singer, is also a salute of the party to the comrade.

Medhini currently lives in a rented house at Mannanchery in Alappuzha. The CPI is giving the final touches to the house the party built for her in Vaikom, the native place of Communist stalwart P Krishna Pillai, considering her request.

A plot measuring 5.5 cents was purchased in Medhini's name at Thottakam, Thalayazham in Vaikom, in June this year, as per instructions from the CPI state committee. Subsequently, a house with an area of 600 square feet was constructed within two months under the supervision of the party's mandalam committee. The housewarming is scheduled to be held on August 27.

As a singer, Medhini played a major role in making the Communist Party popular in Kerala. During the early days of the party, the notices issued to announce party meetings inevitably included the sentence, 'There will be a loudspeaker and songs by P K Medhini'. The masterpiece songs rendered by Medhini, who began singing at party meetings at the age of 11, included 'Red salute, red salute…rakthasakshi gramangalee…' (Red salute, red salute to the villages of martyrs…), 'Manassu nannavatte mathamethengilumavatte…' (Let the mind become good, irrespective of religion) and 'Punnapra Vayalar gramangale, pulakangale, veera pulakangale…' (Villages in Punnapra Vayalar…you give us goosebumps, goosebumps of valour).

Medhini also became a playback singer in the movie 'Vasanthathinte Kanalvazhikal', which was released in 2003 with Comrade P Krishna Pillai as the main character.

Medhini was born on August 8, 1933, as the youngest daughter of Kangani and Pappi, of Kanjiramchira House, Aarattuvazhi in Alappuzha. Her husband Shankunni, with whom she had two daughters, Smrithi and Hansa, is no more.

​During the split of the Communist Party in 1964, Medhini stayed with the CPI. Reacting to the party's gesture of constructing a house for her, Medhini said, "Who can give me a bigger award? I was once arrested and spent time in a lockup in Kottayam. Now, I will be having a house in the same place. The love showered on me by the party comrades is beyond measure."