Thiruvananthapuram: It is not just in his name that newly anointed Speaker has a Krishna. Like Lord Krishna, P Sreeramakrishnan too has two mothers. And both were present when he took over as the Speaker of the 14th Kerala Assembly on Friday.
It was in 2011, when he won from Ponnani in Malappuram, that Sreeramakrishnan was virtually adopted by Kunnathuvalappil Fathima Aboobacker. Since he was from Perinthalmanna, it was important that Sreeramakrishnan found a base, in Ponnani. He soon found a house there. Local CPM leader Aboobacker had a vacant house but this was daughter Waheeda's, away in Germany with husband.
Soon Sreeramakrishnan’s mother Seethalakshmi made a recce, liked the house. But she was happier for the mother next door. “I was so relieved after the visit. I knew he will be looked after well,” Seethalakshmi said. The mother’s instinct was bang on.
Fathima took the busy young MLA under her wings and soon the families bonded. Both mothers started seeing each other. Sreeramakrishnan’s family celebrated Eid and Fathima turned Onam into a jamboree.
To cap it, Fathima graced the Assembly on Friday to witness the election. This was the first time she had travelled alone, unaccompanied by close family. She had been to Germany, Qatar, Saudi and Mumbai to visit her children but never alone. Sreeramakrishnan’s family took a detour, via Ponnani, picked Fathima, and reached Thiruvananthapuram; Fathima’s first-ever visit to the capital city.
