The Vydhianveetil Family
It is a very difficult task to trace the family roots of Syrian Christians of Kerala, as they have to be traced since the beginning of Christianity in Kerala, which is more than 2000 years old. The problem is compounded since there is no documentary evidence and most of the early history of Kerala Syrian Christians has been constructed mostly with the help of traditions and legends which have been passed on by word of mouth through generations. As the members grew, the early families have moved out from their original place for brighter future and divided into different branches carrying names of the new environment. Even with all these difficulties some have taken considerable efforts by spending time and money travelling across various places collecting oral and documentary evidences to establish their family lineage. Many of these are available in the public domain. Nobody from Vydhianveetil family has ever documented about their family history (might not have found worth the effort). What is given below is the Vydhianveetil family ancestry from the church documents and the data available on the net. I am also conscious about the fact since what is given in the net is not peer reviewed the authenticity could be doubtful. (Even the arrival of St. Thomas and conversion of Brahmins have controversies amongst some historians.). I have made my observations based on many articles available on the net, however used only those have some consistency within different reports. Some of the useful links are given under reference. The Vydhianveetil at times spell differently such as-Vydhian Veetil; Vydianveetil; Vydian Veetil etc-which is not correct. Request all to use the same spelling i.e. VYDHIANVEETIL. (For those ‘Vydhianveedens’ whose feet has not touched the Kerala soil I have included the maps showing some of the important historical places of relevance to present study!1). I have also received some data/information from Dr. George Jacob (Bappu) who has taken interest in our family roots. I have suitably included them in the write up. Koshy Koshy IPS is also making efforts to get more details and when available it will be suitably included. For continuity I have started with a short account of Christanity in India and the events lead to the formation of Mar Thoma Sabha, though it is well documented in many articles.
Some of the missing links
here is information on Vydhianachen’s mother’s name & family and the
siblings of Vydhianachen. My age & health do not permit to be more
proactive to do something more. I may also point out that my
interest is limited to find out the roots of Vydhianveetil family. I wish some
of the younger generation will take interest to create a portal so as to have a
directory of our family members. I have shown for one branch as an example
up to 3rd generation. There is genealogy software which can be used
to generate family tree.
If there are
any obvious mistakes or feel some addition is necessary please let me know for
updating.
1. Christianity in Kerala
Before going to the
details of the origin of the Vydhianveetil family it is necessary to bring out
how Christianity started in Kerala, though the story is well known. From very
early times, India carried on a flourishing trade with the Middle East and the
Western countries, particularly with Antioch, Alexandria and Rome by both land
and sea. According to historians, the Jewish contact with Kerala dates back
to973 BC. Muziris (other names: Cranganore , Muchiry,Maliankara), which is
currently known as Kodungallur, was an ancient seaport and urban center in
south-western India-the Kerala coast. St. Thomas, one of the disciples of Jesus
Christ, came to Kerala.
in 52 A.D. on a merchant
ship from Osselis in Arabia and landed in Kodungallur. As per traditional belief
the second place of his visit after Kodungallur was Palayur, now a part of
Trichur District. Palayur had Brahmin and Jewish colonies. St. Thomas might
have used the help of the resident Jews to interact with the locals. As per the
legend, St. Thomas saw some Brahmins doing worship at
"Thaliyakulam" before Palayur Shiva temple (Shivashetram), by
throwing water upwards. The Apostle learned from them the meaning of this
ritual and remarked: “If your performance is acceptable to the gods they could
keep the water suspended in the air without allowing it to fall again and
again”. The Brahmins said that this was unthinkable as it was opposed to the
laws of nature. Then Thomas asserted that the one true God he worshipped could
do it, and he proceeded to perform a miracle on condition that the Brahmins
accept his faith if he is successful. The Apostle, invoking the Holy Trinity,
made the sign of the Cross and threw a handful of water up into the sky1. After reaching a particular height the
water stood still in the air, the particles glittering like diamonds. Looking
down the Brahmins could see the cavity made by the removal of the water is
still there in the pond. Brahmins present there got convinced of the power of
the God preached by St. Thomas and immediately took baptism from St. Thomas to
convert to the new faith. (The festival of Palayur Church falls on July-15, the
supposed day in which the Brahmins accepted Christian faith). Later several
Brahmin families got baptized and converted to Christianity. (The word
Christian was coined much later. The converts were called Nazaranis-meaning the
followers of Christ of Nazareth. They are also known as Syrian Christians in
view of the Syriac (classical form of Aramaic) liturgy used in church services
during the early days of Christianity in India). The other Brahmins present
cursed the place and left, thus in Malayalam the place came to be called
"Sapakad" or cursed land, which later became "Chavakkad".
Though not relevant for
the topic we are discussing, for completeness let me summarize some of the major paths taken by the Syrian Christians since it was
established. The early Malabar Church (Thomas Christians) maintained a unique
identity due to geographical, historical and cultural factors. The Church is
Christian in faith and Indian in culture and heritage. Early Christians
followed the local customs of the Brahmins, which made them part of the society
except for the religious faith. Though there were discord between Christians
and Hindus during second century, from the beginning of the third century the
Saint Thomas Christians achieved a high position, and their status was fully
recognized. In 230, Veera Raghava Chakravarthy, the King Emperor of Kerala, who
had his capital at Kodungallor, granted to the Nazaranees a series of royal
honours, by a proclamation engraved on copper plate called "cheped."3 In 1484 the Travancore King issued an
edict giving monopoly right for trade in Travancore to Christians. Mahapillai
means Merchant, which later shortened to Mappilai a term used to denote
Christians in South Kerala4.
The Nasranis were an
independent community under its head who was known as the Archdeacon (Jathikku
Karthavyan- which transformed into Kathanar as the priests were known later)
and he held the title of ‘Archdeacon and Gate of All India’2. It was with the arrival of the Portuguese
in the 16th century in South India that the ancient church of St. Thomas for
the first time began to undergo changes under the Portuguese colonial era5. When the Portuguese came, the Church of
St. Thomas was following the traditions of the East Syrian Church. The
Portuguese attempted to forcefully bring them under the authority of Pope. To
formalize this the Portuguese called a synod (meeting) of all St. Thomas Christians
in Udayamperoor in 1959 (Udayamperoor is a small town situated in Ernakulam
district –PIN: 682307). Under the pressure from the Portuguese the Rajah of
Kochi and local Hindu Chieftains threatened with dire consequences those who
refused to attend the meeting as commanded by the Portuguese. The Rajah had
even declared that all assets of Mar Thoma Nazrani Churches that stay away from
the synod would be forfeited2.
Thus the St. Thomas Christians were forced to meet in the infamous synod, known
as the Synod of Udayamperoor (1599) which declared that they were under Rome
from then on.
Thus the Church of St.
Thomas Christians became a ‘Colony Church’ of the Portuguese, and a period of
massive Latinization of the Liturgy and the ecclesial life of the St. Thomas
Christians began. However a large fraction of St. Thomas Christians protested
against the Latin rule. After many incidents of hegemony of Portuguese, the
frustration of the St. Thomas Christians reached
its zenith on Friday,
January 24, 1653 (M.E. 828 Makaram 3) with the ‘Coonan cross oath’ wherein a
group of priests and lay people led by the Archdeacon Thomas Parampil swore on
the Bible kept on the high altar in the church of Our Lady of Life at
Mattanchery near Cochin and took an oath that they would not be subject to the
Portuguese Archbishop of Goa, Francis Gracia. The crowd outside shared in the
oath by holding on to a rope tied to a cross in the churchyard. It is said that
the cross bent as a result of large number of people pulling the rope. Hence
the oath is known as Coonan (bent) Cross Oath6.
While majority of the St. Thomas Christians joined the Archdeacon Thomas in
swearing never to submit to the Portuguese in the Coonan Cross Oath there was a
small fraction who had allegiance to Rome. This was the first division happened
in the church of St. Thomas Christians. The part of the church that followed
Archdeacon Thomas is known by various names- Jacobites, Puthenkoorukar (the new
set), the Syrian Orthodox Church of India, Malankara Orthodox Church etc.
Following the Coonen Cross Oath they felt the need to have an indigenous
bishop. The parish elders (Idavaka Mooppens) of the church met together and
elected Archdeacon Thomas as their leader. This was followed by a general
meeting at Allangad on 22 May 1653 where Archdeacon Thomas was elevated to the
status of bishop with the title Mar Thoma I by laying on of hands of 12 leading
priests of the church, being the first Indian Metropolitan.
Over the centuries
unscriptural customs and practices had crept into the church. A nucleus of
people envisioned the need of a reformation in the Church in the light of the
Gospel, eliminating practices which are ‘unholy’. Palakkunnathu Abraham Malpan
from Maramon and Kaithayil Geevarghese Malpan from Kottayam spearheaded this
movement. After a long legal battle for the legal hereditary rights, the royal
court of appeal in Trivandrum, in 1889 gave decree against the reformist. The
reformed group is the ‘Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church’. Internal
struggles in reformation ideologies between progressive and traditionalist
groups in Mar Thoma
Syrian Church led to a
further division. The ‘St. Thomas Evangelical Church of India’ was
formally inaugurated on January 26, 1961. The Jacobites were further divided
into two groups the Syrian Orthodox Church of India, whose Catholicos or
supreme head resides at Devalokam, Kottayam, and the Jacobite Syrian Orthodox
Church of India which acknowledges the Antiochean Jacobite Patriarch as its
head.
(The account is not
exhaustive. The intention is only to give some idea how the Syrian Christianity
in Kerala evolved over time)
2. Tracing
the roots
The first task is to find
out which is the ancestry (kudumbum) of Vydhianveetil family. Many of
the Syrian Christian families have made extensive research to trace their
lineage. These are based on whatever records they could get hold of and
information passed on through generations. Many of these investigations are
available in the internet. However there was no attempt to trace the family
roots of Vydhianveetil family; probably this is the first such attempt.
Fortunately since the Vydhianveetil family had a priestly tradition one could
depend on the church records. Most authentic information one can get is from
the Mar Thoma Sabha priest’s Directory published in 1999. This directory has
compiled, among other things, a short biography of all priests of Mar Thoma
church since it has become a separate entity after the reformation started by
Abraham
Malpan in 1836. To quote
from it ‘Vydhianveetil Koshy Kathanar was the son of Kaduvettoor Vydhianveetil
Joseph Kathanar’. The priests were earlier referred to as Kathanar in
malayalam, which is equivalent to what we now refer as achen.
This shows that the family root is Kaduvettoor. So our first task is to trace
the ancestry of Kaduvettoor family.
2.1 The
first believers
It is
believed that the
first four prominent
priestly Hindu Brahmin
families baptized by St.Thomas and accepted the Christian faith are7
Pakalomattom (Pakalomattam, പകല ൊമട്ടത്തില്) ,
Kalli ,
Sankarapuri and
Kalikavu .
The two families among
those who received Christian faith were bestowed upon priesthood and they were
Pakalomattom and Sankarapuri (Sabha Charithram Page 79, 81, written by Ittoop
Writer in A.D. 1869)8. The
Pakalomattom Brahmins were the traditional Vedic teachers. That may be the
reason that they were given chief priest position by St. Thomas. It is also
worth noting that from the year 1653 starting with Mar Thoma-1 bishop, the
Malankara sabha was led by Bishops from Pakalomattom for more than 150 years. In
the resent past Abraham Malpaan the champion of reformation of Syrian Christian
church which lead to the formation of Mar Thoma Church and the first
Metropolitan of Marthoma Church Mathews Mar Athanasius are from Palakunnathu family
which is a branch of Pakalomattom.
It is believed that a
major portion of the four Brahmin converted families migrated to Kuravilangad
in the 4th century AD. They lived near a Kali Kovil ( Kali Temple ), which
exists even today. They retained the same illam (family) name .The
Kuravilangad church was jointly constructed by the four families. The
Pakalomattom family moved to the northern side of the church and was referred
to as Pallivadekedathu. (With reference to the present geography the place was
between the present DevaMatha college ground and the north of the church)7. Since this location was close to the
church the Pakolamattom branch staying there was also known as ‘Palliveedu’. ( It should
be mentioned that there is a controversy whether the Palliveedu is the
descendants of Kalli family9).Some
of the prominent branches of Palliveedu includes Panamkuzha, Puthenpura,
Kudukachery, Panamkunnel, and Vettikunnel. These surnames are still prevalent
amongst the Kerala Christians.
The social prominence of
Pakalomattom family in and around they stayed is evident from the fact that a
locality in Kuravilangad is named after Pakalomattom and now has a branch post
office by that name (Pakalomattom PO PIN 686633
).
From 13th century onwards large Scale migrations happened in the Pakalmattam
family. This may be that they spread out for better economic prospects. Another
theory prevalent is that there was a superstition prevalent in Kerala during 13th
century, that if a thing became impure by Theendal and Thodeel (the custom that
if an untouchable (lower cast) touches anything it becomes impure), it can be
purified by a touch of Nazrani Christians7.
Hence all royal families and Brahmin families took a Christian family from
Pakalomattam root and accommodated them near their houses. In this way all
important towns got Christian presence and priests were from Pakalomattam
family. Now Pakalomattom family is spread throughout Kerala as well as in
almost all countries of the world and the family members should be belonging to
the most major Christian denominations.
As the number of branches
of Pakalomattom increased and spread in different denominations (sabha)
of Christianity a consolidated list of all branches whose root is Pakalomattom
is not available. In one of the encyclopedia10
(NationMaster.com) covering Pakalomattom family gives a list of 98
sub-families. The 95th serial number in the above list is
‘Pakalomattam Kaduvettoor
Kudumbayogam,Chengannoor’.
There is
also a reference that Founder of Kaduvettor family in Chegannur is Valya
Oupen Panamkuzhakal Pakalomittom11.
It is believed that Valya Oupen Panamkuzhakal Pakalomittom was born in
Kuravilagade, and died before 1224 in Chegannur. Therefore it is reasonable to
conclude that Kaduvettoor is a branch of Pakalomattom. The vydhianveetil family
lineage can be stated as-
Pakalomattom-Palliveetil-
Panamkuzhakal-Kaduvettoor-Vydhianveetil.
3. Kaduvettoor family
One of the legends on the
origin of Kaduvettoor family is as follows. One of the Syrian Christians monks
was moving around Chengannur preaching Gospel and doing miracles in the name of
Jesus Christ. During this period child of one of the leading Brahmin family was
very sick and no treatment, prayers/rituals could cure and the child was at the
verge of death. Then hearing the miracle done by the Christian sage he was
requested to save the child. The child was cured by the prayer of the sage and
as gratitude a large portion of landed property owned by the child’s family was
given to the Christian. The plot was full of bushes (in Malayalam-kadu)
and has to be cleared (vetti) for living. Thus it was ‘kadu vettia ure’
(ure means place of living) which has now become Kaduvettoor. This information
is as I heard from some elders. A better researched account of Kaduvettoor
family can be found as a part of a book giving the history of the Vanchithria
Theverthundiyil family, which is a constituent of Kaduvettoor family. This book
was brought out in 1965 jointly by Rev K T George Thazethil, an eminent
researcher and historian and Mr. EG Mathew, a respectable scholar. What is
given below is summarized from their book13.
“On the banks of the river
Pamba, (which is an arterial river of Central Kerala) in the vicinity of
Chengannur, there was an affluent Brahmin household (MADHAM) by the name of
Chithrannur Madham. According to history, this Madham was once visited by a
St.Thomas Christian (Nazraani) sage on his South Indian journey. The sage who
had exemplary spiritual prowess and the gift of prayer was accepted at the
Madham as a transient guest by the invitation of the head of the Madham who was
a noble character with spiritual curiosity. It transpired during the Sage's conversation
with the head of the household that despite the enviable glories of the Madham,
there was a touch of sadness all over. On specific probing, the Sage learnt
that the root cause of the grief was the absence of a progeny for the oldest
son in the family, to whom the legacy of the family could be passed on. Absence
of such a progeny, according to the then prevailing Brahmanical belief would
result in the extinction of the Madham. Realizing the intensely sad
predicament, the sage fervently prayed to God to bless the Madham with a
much-desired progeny. After the prayer, the Sage had a divine revelation that
his prayer would be ultimately answered. The sage foretold the head of the
Madham that in a year's time there would be a male progeny in the family. Responding
to this positive news, the head of the Madham promised the Sage
that if his prediction were to become a reality he would-be gifted with one -
half of the Madham's ancestral property as a token of his gratitude. The Sage
continued on his journey and revisited the Madham after one year only to be
told that his prediction had become a reality and the promised male progeny had
arrived. The Sage was readily gifted with one half of the Madham's estate, and
what is more, the oldest son and his family readily accepted the Christian
faith. Since the sage was celibate he brought his younger brother to live
there. They cleared the bushy land given to them and started life. Thus the
bush cleared land was referred to as Kaduvettoor.
Valiya ouppan’s Tomb Source:-https://www.facebook.com/pandanadkaduvettoor |
The Sage expressed a wish
that after his demise, his mortal remains should be cremated at the estate
gifted to him. When the Sage passed away subsequently, his wish was fulfilled
and a suitable memorial tomb was built where he was cremated. The sage is known
as ‘Kaduvettoor Valya Ouppen’. It
is believed that the tomb that one sees in the courtyard of the Kaduvettoor
family's Church premises is the cremation site of the sage. Even today the
descendents of the Chithrannur Madham and also many who belong to diverse
faiths regard the sage and his tomb with awe and reverence and perform
religious rites like lighting lamps, offering flowers and offertories. Every
year during the last week of March (Malayalam Era Meenam 11, 12) a 'SRADHAM'
(religious rites) is performed at the tomb.
These Sradham rites are
attended by many members of the extended Kaduvettoor family, from far and near.
The Kaduvettoor church still stands as a family church and priests belonging to
the Syrian Orthodox branch of the Kaduvettor families conduct worship service
and perform religious rites.”
The book further states “The
Kaduvettoor family is an ancient and renowned Christian Family in Kerala
(India). The family has had a multi-faceted growth over the centuries and
branched into 12 distinct family off-shoots”.
4. Vydhianveetil family
4. Vydhianveetil family
The only reference to
vydhianveetil I could find is from the Church records. As mentioned earlier the
Mar Thoma Sabha priest’s Directory published in 1999 mentions Vydhianveetil
Koshy Kathanar was the son of
Kaduvettoor Vydhianveetil Joseph Kathanar’. From this it appears the family
name Vydhianveetil is associated before Vydhianachen, since his father is
referred as Kaduvettoor Vydhianveetil
Joseph Kathanar’. However this entry in the church document is questionable
for the following reasons.
After the split of the
Syrian Christians into Mar Thoma and Jacobites, there was litigation to which
faction the Chengannur ‘Pazha Suriany Pally’ belongs. The court ordered
that the two parties should come to an agreement to share the church between
them, on a weekly basis. Thus now the Chengannur Pazhaya Pally is co-owned by
the Indian Orthodox Church and the Mar Thoma Church. The parish is governed according to the Trust Agreement
signed by both parties on August 7, 1877. The signatories of the original
agreement consisted of & priests and 4 laymen. The first signatory is ‘Vicar
Marakkan Parampil Ouseph Koshy Kathanar’12.
The official records generally require the initials to be expanded. Therefore
it is reasonable to deduce that Vydhianachen’s official name in the records is
M.O. Koshy. As the usual convention-M stands for family name and ‘O’ stands for
Father’s name. Joseph in Malayalam is colloquially referred as Ouseph and Koshy
is the given name. It is possible Vydhianachen’s parents might have been
staying in a plot of land purchased from fisher men and the place of residence
could have been referred as ‘marakan parambil’-meaning fisherman’s plot. (This
may not look very odd at that time, since when a family shifts to a new place
the house name is adapted from the local peculiarities .We have house names of
well known Syrian Christian families like Kollamparambil, Chelikuzheil,
Chudukattil, Kollentayathu, Kollante vadakkethil, Kandathil, Kuzhiparambil etc.
A glance through the Mar Thoma directory shows that there are vicars from many
of these families). Vydhianachen’s children also have M as the initial, which
stands for Marakkan parampil.
Therefore it is reasonable to conclude that the Vydhianveetil family name did
not exist before the time of Vydhianachen and is added during Vydhianachen’s
time. The following facts elucidate the conclusion.
Let me present some more
entries in the church documents regarding Vydhianachen. The Mar Thoma (MT)
Syrian Church directory published in 1969 under the chief editorship of
Rev.Dr.C.E. Abraham has given a list of priests of Mar Thoma Sabha since 1836
AD. 11th in the list is ‘Vydhian Koshy Achen,Vydhianveetil,
Chengannur’. In addition the inscription on the tomb of Koshy achen reads as
“REV VYDIAN KOSHY ACHEN, VICAR SYRIAN CHURCH, CHENGANNUR”. These show that
Koshy achen did practice medicine. To put the background in correct perspective
let me point out that there were famous acclaimed Syrian Christians who were
practicing traditional ayurvedic medicines. One such traditional well known
family of physicians is the Kolathu family, also known as ‘Vydhian Kudumbam’. Many Christians practiced
this noble profession more as a matter of philanthropic work than solely as a
means of income generation. What I have heard is that Koshy achen practiced
traditional ayurvedic system of medicines as a means of helping the needy and
hence known as vydhianachen. One of his sons MC Jacob (Chacko vydhian) was a
very successful ayurvedic physician. In those days these knowledge is
transferred by family tradition, it is reasonable to assume that Chcko vydhian
carried forward his father’s skill. Vydhianachen was living with his family
near Old Syrian Church. The people who come to achen for medical help referred
the place as vydhian veetil (literally means where vydhian resides).Thus
Vydhianveetil as a family name started with Vydhianachen, however
not carried forward as we see below.
4. 1.The
Initials
Before going
further it will be useful to know how the children are named in a Syrian
Christian family. The first male is named after his paternal grandfather; the
second male is named after his maternal grandfather. The first female is named
after her paternal grandmother, and the second female is named after her
maternal grandmother. (There can be ‘constitutional’ breakdown when the
paternal and maternal grandparents’ names are same!!).It is usual in official
records the name is preceded by initial, which generally consists of two
letters. There are a number of ways in which official name (as entered in
school record) is represented.
1.
Initials followed by the given name. For example
A.B.Xyzabcd.
Here the first letter ‘A’ denotes the first alphabet of the family name; the
second alphabet ‘B’ denotes the first letter of the father’s name and is
followed by the given name. The government records require the initials to be
expanded.
2. Another way is to have the
given name followed by father’s name. Women after marriage usually change the
father’s name to husband’s name.
Of course a
number of other combinations are possible.
All Vydhianachen’s
children’s initials are M.C. Since Koshy used to be spelled as Coshy (co
as in coat), the second letter fits well with the convention. What `M’
stands for the family name may be a mystery to many. As discussed earlier
following the initial of Vydhianachen his children are also given ‘M’ which
stands for Marakkanparambil. Thus all Vydhianachen’s children have initial as
‘MC’. In the case of grand children of Vydhianachen, George Vakil also
continued with the same initials for the first four sons. While his elder brother
M.C. Joseph gave his new house the name Mavelil, so as to retain the letter M,
in the initials. Apparently the Vydhianveetil does not appear in the initials
of the next generation also. I do not know whether any of the descendents of
other children of Vydhianachen uses Vydhianveetil as surname. Thus
unfortunately Vydhianveetil as a family name has gone into oblivion.
5.Vydhianveetil Koshy Kathanar (1844-1911)
Vydhianveetil Koshy Kathanar is the son of Kaduvettoor Joseph Kathanar.
After completion of theological studies he was ordained as priest. He was
serving as vicar of Chengannur Pazhaya Suriyani Pally(old Syrian church). He
worked very hard to enrich the reformation activities while he served in the
Chengannur Pazhaya Suriyani Pally. During the period 1876-78 he organized
prayer groups in places like Chengannur, Maramon, Tiruvalla etc.
Koshy Kathanar married Achiamma, of Chengannur Koodathil family. God
blessed them with five sons and four daughters (chart 1). I have no information
about the brothers and sisters of Koshy Kathanar, except that one of the
sisters is married to Angilivelil, Maramon. Vydhianachen, who fought
relentlessly with unfailing faith for the reformation of the church even during
the times of adversities, expired in 1911. His tomb can be seen next to the
walls of Chengannur Pazhaya Suriyani Pally at the west side as we enter the
church .
Chengannur Old Syrian Church
Tomb of Vydhianachen. The inscription reads
REV VYDIAN KOSHY ACHEN
VICAR SYRIAN CHURCH
CHENGANNUR
REV VYDIAN KOSHY ACHEN
VICAR SYRIAN CHURCH
CHENGANNUR
6. Vydhianveetil George Vakil
The second son of
Vydhianachen, George (Kevareechen as he is known to his close friends and
family) studied law, and was practicing in Thiruvalla court. He along with
other prominent lawyers like C. Thomas, Velayudhan Pillai and others were
instrumental in getting approval for a lower Court in Chengannur. He purchased
a plot of land near the Court and made a house where he lived till his end.
Gradually, other government establishments like, Police Station, Sub-Registrar’s Office, etc
came up near the Court premises. The Boys’ High School (present Engineering
college) was just in front and the Government Hospital just a few hundred
meters south of the house. The house used to be a permanent `rest house’ for
all the friends and relatives visiting these institutions.
George Vakil,
after the untimely death of his first wife Annamma(Chengalethu
family,Chathannur), married Achamma, from Pynumootil family, Perunthurithy,
Thiruvalla. George Vakil was blessed with seven sons and one daughter
(chart-2). George Vakil was around mid 70s, when he died on 21st
February 1958.
10. http://www.statemaster.com/encyclopedia/Pakalomattom accessed on 13th June 2015
Great to read and understand the family history that i am part of ! copying the link across to my blog
ReplyDeleteSapna, thanks.
DeleteRequest please forward the link to all vydhianveettil members with whom you have contacts.
The content is taken from the church documents,internet & what I heared from elders.