Cancer awareness; remembering Travancore sisters

Those nostalgic about their past, especially about the yesteryear movies and actors, have a rare chance to see the photographs of Lalitha, Padmini and Ragini, the Travancore sisters who once dominated the silver screen.

 An exhibition of around 100 photos of the trio, titled ‘Ormayil Ragini’, will be held at SMSS Hindu Mahila Mandiram, Poojappura, where the actors did their schooling, on Saturday and Sunday. But what makes the exhibition unique is that an awareness programme about breast cancer will be conducted along with it.

 “The main aim is to create awareness about breast cancer, which had claimed  Ragini and Lalitha,” said Manu J Krishnan, the  person behind the endeavour. Manu, a social worker and pain and palliative care activist who does freelance counselling, had earlier conducted similar programmes twice in Thrissur, in 2010 and 2011.

 “I chose Thrissur as I belong to that place. This time, I chose Thiruvananthapuram because the actors spent their childhood here and some of their friends and contemporaries are still in the city,” said Manu.

 The photographs were provided by Lekshmi, Parvathy and Saraswathy, daughters of Lalitha and Mahalekshmi, daughter of Ragini. Some of the photographs are also from the personal collection of Manu J Krishnan, a fan of the actors, who had the habit of collecting their photographs from his childhood. Some of the photographs were given by the friends of Ragini, who are settled in London and the United States.

 During the two days, three short films, which gained popularity on the Internet, would be shown to create awareness about breast cancer. The programmes would start at 10 am Saturday. On Sunday, a valedictory function will be held at 3 pm which will be inaugurated by renowned  sculptor Kanayi Kunhiraman. ‘Ormayile Nishagandhi’, an audio visual presentation as a remembrance about Ragini, is also included in the schedule.

 Raveendran Nair, a writer and a contemporary of the actors, would be honoured at the function. A rolling trophy would be given to Mahila Mandiram School to acknowledge its participation in conducting the programme.