KN Lalitha, co-founder of Kerala's first Indian Coffee House, passes away at 88

Thrissur: K N Lalitha (88), one of the founders of Kerala’s first Indian Coffee House, which opened in Thrissur on March 8, 1958, has passed away.

She was the wife of late N S Parameswaran Pillai, one of the founding leaders of the Indian Coffee House and the first secretary of the Thrissur-based India Coffee Board Workers Cooperative Society. Lalitha lived at Lalitha Mandiram on Plakkat Lane, Thrissur.

When the India Coffee Board Workers Cooperative Society was formed in 1957 with the initiative of A K Gopalan, with its headquarters in Thrissur, there was no woman representative among the promoters. Lalitha stepped forward and volunteered to be one. As one of the 16 founders, she sold her wedding chain and contributed ₹200 as capital for the society. She continued to support the organisation even when it struggled to raise sufficient funds to open the Indian Coffee House.

She also served twice as a director of the Thrissur-based Indian Coffee Board Workers Cooperative Society, which manages Coffee House branches from Thrissur to Thiruvananthapuram — once when the society began functioning in 1957 and again at the age of 80.

Lalitha is survived by her children: N P Chandrasekharan (news consultant, Kairali Channel), N P Girishan (Indian Coffee House), N P Murali (Italy), and N P Sunitha. Daughters-in-law and sons-in-law are K Girija, A Jaya, M Maya, and N Ramesh.