Sitaram Yechury (1952.. 2024) was an unusual comrade with deep ideological clarity, unmatched political acumen and an  unbeatable sense of humour.

Anybody who knew him for sometime will have a treasure trove of anecdotes to fondly remember the comrade. And they include political leaders, workers, student activists, journalists or anyone who crossed his path.

At his farewell  party, then British Commissioner to India Sir Michael in 2007 was giving his speech.

He was speaking eloquently about India and its uniqueness, the love of the people, the culture the past and so on.

"I find it difficult to leave the country", he said.

"I fail to understand why the Britishers find it always difficult to quit India", Sitaram Yechury who was among the listeners quipped, eliciting laughter from all around.

This sense of humour made him endearing to all. During his long and fruitful tenure as a member of Rajya Sabha, Sitaram Yechury used to tell then Opposition leaders from the BJP "I am more qualified to speak about Hinduism than any of you. I have got both Sita and Ram in my name."

The sense of humour along with taking things easy made him an effective consensus builder.

Of course  lessons from his  association with the stalwarts Jyoti Basu and Harkishen Singh Surjeet and the training he got from them burnished his credential as a problem solver.

Yechury never got tired of explaining the party position to anyone, especially the media that helped the party gain consistent space in national media.

Yechury was good with numbers and statistics and political coinage. Being adept at numbers helped him make an impression on Fidel Castro who he had met four times.

His "shining India vs suffering India" coinage to describe the growing income disparity in India and to criticise the crony capitalism had gained much currency.

He was also good at many languages including his fluency in Hindi, English, Bangla, and Telengu besides knowing Tamil and Malayalam. This had made Jyoti Basu  term Yechury "a dangerous man" as he could speak to people in a group in their own  languages and no-one else will understand what he is telling the other person.