The house at Mithalevaza was in Madapeedika near Thalassery. Motemmal house was located in Muli. The distance between the two houses is less than one kilometer. But there is a small hill in between. The hill was not an obstacle to the intimacy between the two families. It was that closeness that led to the marriage between Kodiyeri Balakrishnan and Vinodini.
Vinodini is the daughter of CPM leader MV Rajagopalan who was Thalassery MLA. Kodiyeri was Rajagopalan’s lifelong companion. Rajagopalan took Kodiyeri as his disciple in politics. As the two families were very close, there were no hurdles in Kodiyeri and Vinodini’s marriage. If asked if it was a love marriage, they were so close that they could not say yes or no. At the time of the wedding in late 1980, Kodiyeri was the district president of DYFI Kannur.
Old-time colleagues remember that it was a simple party-style wedding officiated by the then CPM district secretary AV Kunjambu at the Thalassery town hall. Kodiyeri’s father was Kunjunnikurup Kallara Talai LP School teacher. MV Rajagopalan was also a teacher.