PONKUNNAM: Rice is said to be the staple food of the Keralites. The Keralites usually eat rice three meals a day. There is no better comfort food than a plate full of rice served with your favourite curries.

Reghunath Panicker, a Keralite aged 89 died after without eating rice in his whole life. Cheruvally Koroth Raghunath Panicker did not change his habit of not eating rice or any other rice products till his death yesterday.

He was a miracle in front of the Keralites who proudly says that our staple food is rice. When rice was given to him when he was six months old for his choorunu function at the Cheruvally Temple, he spit the food and was seen non-stop crying. His parents then never dared to give rice to him. With that, rice and rice products were removed from his menu forever. If he attended any weddings, his 'meal' would be reduced to plantain, pappadam, avial etc.

According to him, the smell of any rice food was disgusting and he never felt like eating it. His favourite items were steamed tapioca and bitter gourd thoran. His brother Ramakrishna Panicker who died at the age of 16 too followed the same menu.