THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Wearing a trademark beard and a smile on his face, sometimes making it shiver with anger, P K Narayana Panicker was always an enigmatic personality, though he rated himself far below the legendary NSS founder leader Mannathu Padmanabhan. “I’m nowhere near my predecessors,” was the refrain of Panicker whenever someone ventured for comparisons.A family man, Panicker was always keen to remain as a fatherly figure, simple at his home and always accessible to people of all hues. Once out of his hectic office and travel schedule, he could be seen lying in an easy chair in the grilled frontyard of his house at Vazhapally, Changanassery, always with something in hand to read. He was never demanding on any personal matter and was content with his daily prayers and frugal lifestyle, beginning with a morning walk till a few days ago. “I believe in destiny and God,” he asserted once while explaining the dynamics and scientific aspects of a ‘rudraksha’ chain, which he always wore, to this reporter. He tended a rudraksha plant in front of his house with utmost care, the seeds of which were brought from the foothills of the Himalayas.His deeply religious moorings and knowledge of the holy texts as well as keen interest in ottanthullal and other traditional art forms were always evident in private sessions. With the demise of his wife a few years ago, Panicker slowly began to withdraw from active organisational matters. An Astute StrategistAs treasurer of the NSS for nine years from 1974, and ascending to the powerful post of general secretary after the stepping down of his mentor Kidangoor Gopalakrishna Pillai, he never looked back and held the reins for a record 28 years. Panicker had established himself as a successful lawyer in the mofussil court, before deviating to community work and social service. Though Kidangoor returned after a gubernatorial posting in Singapore, facilitated by the then chief minister K Karunakaran amid the pressure politics of NDP, the political outfit floated by NSS which was tented in the UDF, Panicker had established himself on his own by that time and continued as the general secretary. Owing to critical illness, he took leave from his duties two years ago.
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