Why did I run all the way here with jasmine flowers? – Parthiban’s tribute to Sreenivasan

Tamil actor and director R Parthiban shared his memories of travelling to Kochi to see the late actor, screenwriter and director Sreenivasan one last time. In a long social media post, Parthiban said he cancelled his Dubai trip to reach Sreenivasan’s residence. He wrote that although he could have conveyed his condolences from anywhere, he kept asking himself why he had travelled all the way to Kerala.

Speaking about his journey to Kochi, Parthiban said it was an experience beyond words. That day, there were no flights from Chennai to Kochi. He drove himself to the airport, leaving at 7.55 pm and reaching by 8.40 pm. On the way, he narrowly escaped accidents at four different places. He was driving alone. The flight was scheduled to depart at 8.50 pm.

Even after reaching the airport, there were no seats available. Half seriously and half jokingly, he told Indigo’s senior manager that he was willing to take even the pilot’s seat if there was any way he could be accommodated. At 9.25 pm, when a staff member vacated his seat, that was allotted to him. Parthiban said he would always remain grateful to the senior manager who helped arrange this.

“I reached Kochi at 11.00 pm. I had no idea where I would stay. Eventually, I found a modest three-star hotel near Sreenivasan sir’s house. In fact, I was supposed to be in Dubai on that day. I cancelled my flight. I cancelled my hotel booking. And yet, the strangest thing is this — I could have expressed my condolences from anywhere, in my heart. Still, something drew me here. I kept asking myself: why did I run all this way from there to here? Something within me was troubling me deeply.

On one side were people like Mohanlal, Mammootty and Dileep. I have seen plenty of wealth in my life. But what stood before me was not money — it was an innocent soul, a great creator, and someone worthy of immeasurable respect. I carried jasmine flowers to offer my tributes to my dear friend. I knew I would not be recognised, and that was never the point. What mattered to me was that this act would be recorded by the universe. When you do something with complete sincerity, it reaches where it is meant to reach — to that friendship — even if the universe alone is the witness,” Parthiban wrote.

Although he believed no one would recognise him there, Parthiban said director Raj did recognise him. He added that he truly learned something about what resides within him.