Lt. Colonel Prasanna
Lt. Colonel Prasanna
During the reign of the strong Tamil Bandaravanniyan, Panangamam was one of his fortresses. Tamil history tells us that Pandian Kulam region in Vanni is unique due to Panangamam. Wherever you look, there are ponds filled with water, fields covered with greenery, and a land full of life. Sweetness and uniqueness creep in among those who live there. In the middle of this area, like in movies, stands a big farmer’s house, with the color of a Tamil, a straight face, and a sweeping eye that controls everyone. He is the gentleman of that place, J.P. Kandhaiyar, a strict and kind judge of peace befitting his name. That house did not seem to me to be built of mineral materials, but a mother’s house formed of love and affection. The house was full of relatives. One of the sons stood in the field as a fighter for freedom.
In 1990, when I was appointed to the political work of the Pandian Kulam district with Prasanna, I also got a share in the affection of this family. It was then that I got to know the prince of this palace. He was a tall man with the pulse and strength. I will always call him Jeeva.
His role in the activities of the Maveerar Naal of 1990 was very big. Time moves on.
In 1991, I saw Jeeva and his friend Ananthan in the field during the Aanayiravu battlefield. (Lt. Col. Ananthan was killed in the Mullivaikkal battle.) I was surprised and amazed by his commitment to the liberation of the country.
Later in the journey of liberation, I saw fighter as a tiger with the name ‘Prasanna’ as one of the officers in charge of the Intelligence Department. When I saw him as a person with a penetrating gaze, his personality and energy were mesmerizing. The Jeeva I saw was completely different and stood as an example. But only one activity made the old Jeeva stand before me. His legs ran faster than a leopard on the football field. He excelled in cricket and volleyball. In his circle of friends, he was the king, so many friends surrounded him. Honesty and integrity in duty.
Even the clock must have learned from him to report on time. As the head of the Intelligence Department, Pottamman, was a confident and a favorite of the national leader, he carried out his work quickly.
The national leader directly observed his personality and created a section called People’s Relations in the General Secretariat and appointed Prasanna as the head.
“Prasanna, this is also an investigative work. We must understand the problems of our people and find solutions for them immediately. The General Secretariat is like a mother’s home. Those who come here should return happy with the solution.” He carried out the work entrusted by the national leader effectively. I traveled with him.
In the final battle, when the Sri Lankan army’s war of aggression began from Mannar area, our troops fought in the vast battlefields of Thampana, Uyilangulam and Adampan. On this day, the fighter, who ran without any fear for his life despite the attack of the Sri Lankan army’s deep penetration team, carried out very responsible field work such as communication between the troops and the General Secretariat and special information to be conveyed to the national leader.
A very good humanitarian, a saint who knows the situation and helps. I have never seen the selfishness of his family in Prasanna.
His home is a few kilometers away from his camp, but he would not eat at home even for a single meal. His food was served in the camp. Such a wonderful man.
He carried the seeds of most of the maveerar who were sown in Kanakapuram Thuyilum Illam, where Prasanna is present at the last rites of any maveerar.
His mind is filled with the heroic death of the fighters.
On the 2008 Maveerar Naal, Prasanna was lighting a flame for the maveerar near the army’s occupation of the Maveerar Thuyium Illam in Kanakapuram. Those were the cruel times when the Sri Lankan forces were driving from Mannar, killing people and occupying the land. People were migrating day by day.
All the people moved towards Suthanthirapuram amidst the rain of missiles, sacrificing their lives. In Suthanthirapuram, Prasanna’s father J.P. Sir has a coconut grove, and the entire area has become a place for people to live in thatched sheds
During this period, Prasanna took charge of a part of the battle in the frontline of Thharmapuram Nethaliyattu and stood in the field with the fighters. On the evening of that day, the fighter Thilakan, a son of the family who had migrated to their land in Suhanthirapuram, had been killed in battle and his body was kept in the house. Knowing that Prasanna came there, paid his respect and left after a while.
While his family, his wife and two children were there, Prasanna, free from the selfishness of a single life as a husband and father, walked towards his motorcycle with a brisk walk. The two children said, “Father…Father….” behind him. The wife and mother followed behind. Seeing the children’s affection for their father, unable to bear it, I held his hand and said, “The children….”
The moment he touched my hand and the motorcycle roared. It happened in an instant. Those tears fell in my troubled eyes and my heart burst. Even at this moment of writing this, my eyes are watering.
How could this man alone be an extraordinary human being in this world that is overwhelmed by desires? In a world where mother, father, wife and children dedicate everything to this, he is a hero who walks with only his homeland in his heart.
He often says the words “All those who stood with us became maveerar. We should not waste their sacrifices. Our families should learn to live without us.”
A person who has the right to love and care for others.
When the sister of the intelligence officer Satthivel was talking to me from Singapore recently, she said, “Prasanna would advise us, write letters to us, and send them to us.” ” She cried. And that true humanity would survive in the hearts.
The peak of the military occupation was the Maattalan Valaingar Madam, and the heroic death of his schoolmate and comrade, Lt. Col. Ananthan, had gripped his heart.
Keeping the dream of every maveeran in his heart and not deviating from the heroism of fighting the enemy, on 16.05.2009, when the battle raged in the final days of Mullivaikkal, the wind and the sea stood still for a moment. The breath of the tiger warrior Prasanna stopped in this land. This land was his life. You are always remembered in our hearts. From the memories of the days when we loved you.
- Priyan
(Translation by Tamilpriya)
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