Bugles sounded, uniformed police personnel gave a gun salute and silence fell over the crowd as Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] leader Kodiyeri Balakrishnan’s mortal remains were consigned to the flames at the Payyambalam crematorium here on Monday evening.
His sons Binoy Kodiyeri and Bineesh Kodiyeri lit the pyre as cries of “You have not died, you will live in us” reverberated in the air, piercing the sombre silence.
His body was cremated in the middle of the memorial tombs of former Chief Minister E.K. Nayanar and former State secretary Chadayan Govindan. Both were formerly party State secretaries.
