KOCHI, OCT 17: For the common Mumbaiite, the recent killing of the `Malayali brothers' might have been just another incident. But the bloody act shattered those who knew the deceased duo, especially those, who had at some time or the other enjoyed the Kurups' hospitality at Harismaran Lodge.Though the Kurups were known for their `Madras Cafe', a restaurant on the L B Shastri Marg adjacent to Bhandup rail station, the Harismaran lodge was a favourite perching place for the job-hunting Malayali.``Mainly because it was a home away from home,'' says CA Kurian, who was closely associated with the Kurup family during his five years in Mumbai. ``Those days, when a clean room at an affordable rent was a far-fetched dream, the lodge was heaven for us.''``Kuruppammavan, the father of Krishnadas Narayana Kurup and Haridas Narayana Kurup, made it a point to maintain cleanliness and change the bedspread thrice a week,'' recalls Kurian, now working here as an insurance surveyor. That too for Rs 80 per month whenother lodging houses in Matunga and Mulund charged up to Rs 200 for shabby setups, he adds.``Moreover, even if you failed to pay the rent you were never thrown out. This was not a largesse for Malayalis alone. The family loved everyone irrespective of their class and caste,'' says Sreekumar, an engineering consultant working in Thrissur, adding, ``you could always count on the family whenever there was a crisis.''``Very true,'' Kurian attests Sreekumar's views. ``Like, when my father was sinking, they arranged for my flight tickets and helped me reach his bedside before he breathed his last,'' he remembers.``And when somebody was down with an ailment, Kuruppammavan used to take special care. When a friend of ours, Madhavan, had chicken pox, he was shifted to a single room and taken care of,'' says Sreekumar. His (Narayana Kurup's) children not only inherited their father's `riches' but also his love for others, he adds.Anyone who stays at the Harismaran will have a lot of memories to pack alongwith their baggage when they leave the lodge. ``And they visit the Kurups whenever time permits,'' says Kurian.``We were surprised to see Malayali Gulf returnees rushing home, calling on the Kurups on transit via Mumbai. They all loved the family as their own,'' he adds. ``The Kurups were very cordial towards local residents,'' says Sreekumar.The family also opened special food counters at the Madras Cafe whenever a social or political crisis threw public life out of gear.``That we were Kurup's tenants was a stamp of approval in the nighbourhhod,'' adds Sreekumar.``Because the family never involved themselves in any illegal or underworld activities. And they the father and the sons commanded respect in society,'' says Joseph, a contemporary of Kurian and Sreekumar in Harismaran.``They had a flourishing business and never faced any sort of competition. When one analyses the murder against such a backdrop, the motive beats all understanding,'' adds Joseph, a timber merchant here.Anothercatastrophe had struck the family a few years ago when the younger brother of the slain duo was found dead on a railway track. One of their two sisters died some years ago due to brain haemorrhage.
