It was following the release of sound tracks of Kunchacko Boban-starrer Valliyum Thetti Pulliyum Thetti (VTPT) that young music director Sooraj S. Kurup became popular in the Malayalam film industry. The singer-musician, who also wrote lyrics for the six songs in the film, made many followers from the industry. Now, the musician is again in the news not because of his compositions, but as a survivor of the recent train accident at Karukutty near Angamaly. Sooraj was on his way to Kozhikode in the Thiruvananthapuram-Mangalore Express along with his family members and close-relatives.
“We were going to attend a family function in Kozhikode which was to be held on Sunday morning. I was travelling with my parents, brother, cousins and other close relatives. We got in the train by 12 pm from Kottayam station and our berths were in S7. Though majority of the people in my team started sleeping before the train reached Ernakulam, my cousins and I were awake. A few hours later, suddenly, we started moving and losing balance. Our heads hit the seats and windows. It was then we sensed that the train had derailed,” narrates Sooraj.
“Suddenly, lots of dust entered through the door and the windows and within minutes, water also started flowing inside. We panicked thinking that our compartment had fallen into a river as we had no idea where the train had reached. It was only later we discovered that the water was coming from the pipe connected to the toilet,” says Sooraj, who is still in shock. Once the train came to a halt, Sooraj and his cousins opened the door and helped all others to get out.
“By then, we realised that we were near Karukutty station. Once everyone left the compartment, we pulled all luggage out and started searching for my phone, which was lost somewhere under the seat,” he says. When he found his mobile phone, he passed on the information to his friend sound engineer Binil Eldhose and music director Jim Jacob (Oppam fame) for help.
Sooraj and family left the spot at 3 am. “We resumed our trip in a Traveller arranged by Jim chettan. We also offered a lift to four others, who were heading to Kozhikode.” Sooraj, who has composed the background score for Midhun Manuel Thomas’ Ann Maria Kalippilanu, is now all set to debut in Kollywood with Vidharth’s next movie.
