Madurai Corporation is set to pass a resolution naming the street where Tamil scholar and celebrated debate speaker Solomon Pappayya lived after him, following his cremation with state honours at the Thathaneri electric crematorium in Madurai.
Pappayya, 90, died after a period of ill health. His body was kept at his residence in Visuvasapuri, Gnanolivupuram, where former ministers Sellur K. Raju, Thiaga Rajan and Thangam Thennarasu, legislators Mathar Badhusha and Gobinath, and members of the public paid their respects, according to a report by Dinamalar.
The body was later taken to the CSI Webb Memorial Church on Puttuthoppu Road, where a funeral prayer was held. It was then taken in procession to the Thathaneri crematorium at about 10 a.m. Ministers Viswanathan and Nirmal Kumar, Madurai Collector Nishanth, Police Commissioner Rajendran and MLA Mustafa were among those who paid their respects at the crematorium.
The cremation was conducted with state honours by armed police personnel. The ceremony followed Pappayya’s reported wish for his body to be cremated at the Thathaneri electric crematorium.
Madurai Deputy Mayor Nagaraj said a resolution would be passed at a corporation meeting to name the street where Pappayya lived after him. The report did not specify the date of the meeting or the formal name of the street proposed for renaming.
Tributes at the funeral also called for wider public recognition of Pappayya’s work. Debate speaker Raja said Pappayya believed that the respect given to him should be extended to all speakers. Former MLA and doctor Saravanan described him as a source of support and confidence for people seeking consolation.
Debate adjudicator A. Leoni said Pappayya had received affection across religious communities and had served as an example of communal harmony. Leoni also called for his books to be brought under state ownership. Speaker Bharathi Bhaskar recalled Pappayya’s contribution to innovation in debate programmes, while actor Madurai Muthu described him as a symbol of the city and urged the government to take steps to build a memorial hall in his honour.
The proposed street naming will require the Madurai Corporation’s formal resolution before it can be implemented. The corporation meeting and the wording of the proposed resolution are the next official milestones.
