Location                : Calicut

Category               : Responsible Architecture

Completed year   : 2021

 

A radiant memory in the frontlines of the war against the dreadful Nipah virus disease was the crusader Sister Lini PN from Perambra. Sister Lini was 28 years old when she was contracted with Nipah virus and succumbed to death while treating a patient who is believed to be the index patient of the deadly NiV outbreak in northern Kerala in 2018. Conferring Sister Lini with National Florence Nightingale award 2019 posthumously, Hon. President of India Sri Ram Nath Kovind honored her commendable efforts and services. The memorial & bus bay at Kallode, Perambra, a government-initiated project is a memorial in honor of the selfless and caring nurse Lini PN.

​

Designed as a place of transit, it reflects how short and transient our lives are. The concept of the memorial is synonymous to the ‘journey’ reflected in Sister Lini’s last words. “….. am almost on the way. I don’t think I will be able to see you again. Sorry. Please raise our children well.….” – Sister Lini PN. This bus bay is a living memorial to Sister Lini and the 17 people who died due to Nipah in 2018.

​

The site is a linear stretch of land in Perambra, abutting the National Highway 54, near the Government Taluk hospital where Sister Lini worked. The design includes a memorial and a bus bay. The memorial has been designed in a minimal and thoughtful manner. An illustration of sister Lini, plaques with her last words and a brief description on the Nipah outbreak are displayed in a landscaped area. The bus bay is designed as a semi-open structure, rectangular in plan with built-in seating. Exposed laterite walls and single side industrial sloping roof comprise the main structure. Between the laterite walls, light weight trellis has been provided to grow creepers. The bus bay was planned around the existing flowering trees in order to conserve them. The planting included along with the bus bay represents the hope and faith in mankind. Half walls with candle-like installations symbolize the lost lives during Nipah outbreak.