Kazhakkoottam: C. Pankajakshan Nair may have been waiting for this day. The 75-year-old retired teacher returned to the school where he taught for 33 years on Teachers’ Day on Monday, moments before he died of a heart attack.
The Muslim Higher Secondary School at Kaniyapuram had organized the event to honor Nair who retired after a six-year stint as the head master in 1997. Nair’s wife Saradamani, who had also retired as a teacher from the same school, was also in the dais when Nair spoke.
Nair was honored at the school compound earlier in the day by the students and teachers. He proceeded to the stage to have a few words but felt unease and collapsed. He was rushed to the CSI Mission Hospital at Kazhakkottam but he could not be saved.
A large crowd gathered for his cremation.
He is survived by Rajeev (a teacher at the Pothencode LVHS), Rajesh (Youth Congress district secretary) and Radhika (teacher at the Government LPS Chengottukonam). B. Suresh Kumar (Federal Bank) is his son-in-law while Akhila (Kaniyapuram Co-operative Hospital) his daughter-in-law.