Reminiscences and a bit of family history

For a long time, Wikipedia contained the following note about 'Vallikappen':

'Vallikappen' is an honorific title conferred on members of the prominent land-owning "Valiaveettil" family of Aruvithura (present-day Erattupetta) in Kerala, India, by the Rajas of Poonjar .'

Of late however, I see that this entry has been totally deleted, possibly because it does not meet their eligibility requirements. Whether it appears there or not, there's no harm in me writing whatever I know about our family and its history, as well as anecdotes that I remember about a way of life that has gone with the wind . 

 

 The Vallikappens are indeed a branch of the Valiaveettil family of Aruvithura who settled down near the western parts of that famous church in the 14^th century. And, according to tradition and family legends,‘Vallikappen’ is an honorific conferred on a distant ancestor, Valiaveettil Mathai Mappillai, by the Poonjar Rajas sometime towards the late 18^th century. This was because this gentleman owned a piece of land within the Poonjar domains on which stood a shrine dedicated to Valli, closely connected to Meenakshi, the kula devatha (family deity) of the Poonjar Rajas who originally came from Madurai and were basically a Tamil-speaking dynasty. Though a Christian, Mathai Mappillai treated the shrine with great deference and respect and was consequently given the name ‘Vallikappen’, one who protects Valli (Valli + ‘kapath’ meaning ‘look after/protect’ in Tamil). Ever since, the descendants of Mathai Mappillai have been using ‘Vallikappen’ as a family name.

While there are no documents/records to corroborate this family legend, no less a person than His Highness Sri Chithira Thirunal Bala Rama Varma, the last Maharaja of Travancore, has confirmed this story. His sister, Karthika Thirunal Thampuratti, the Junior Maharani of Travancore, was married to Col. Goda Varma Raja of Poonjar and the Maharaja told me that he had heard the story from a senior member of the Poonjar family many years ago. (Please refer to my attached article in the Indian Express, titled 'The last Maharaja' which contains a fleeting reference to this, as well as to my other interactions with him).  The late Kerala Varma Valia Raja of Poonjar also confirmed to me that there was indeed a shrine dedicated to Valli, though somewhat far away from Aruvithura, near Koottickal.  

(Unni, Simmy, Jatin and me at the Poonjar Palace with Kerala Varma Thampuran, the then Valia Raja of Poonjar.)

 

While Vallikappens have generally been low-profile, some of them have played   significant roles in the community life of the area. Mathai Vallikappen (not to be confused with Mathai Mappillai) bought/took on lease large swathes of land from the Poonjar Rajas in the hill tracts surrounding Aruvithura. He also had business interests across the border, in the neighbouring Tamil areas of Cumbum and Madurai. His son, (my grandfather), Joseph Vallikappen (Kochipe) was, by all accounts, a very colourful personality. I have never seen him, as he passed away in 1938, ten years before I was born. But I have heard so much about him from various sources, and of course his legacy still lives on, in the form of his descendants, his estates and the larger-than-life legends about him. Unfortunately, the great house he built at Teekoy no longer exists, having been burnt down in a fire about ten years ago.

My grandfather Joseph Vallikappen (1888-1938)

Kochipe was a man of many parts: planter, adventurer, philanthropist, traveller, and innovator. There are so many stories about him that sometimes it's difficult to distinguish fact from fiction! Apparently, at a very young age, he left his home at Aruvithura in a huff, after his father Mathai Vallikappen thrashed him soundly for failing in some examination. The boy wandered around near Teekoy Estate, a newly established British-owned Rubber Plantation, where the Englishman running the estate spotted him, befriended him (some say, because he was very impressed with his English language skills!), and offered him the post of a 'Writer' in the estate. Kochipe worked there for a few years, and picked up the many skills in estate management that were to come in handy in his later life. Meanwhile he reconciled with his father and relinquished charge at the estate, though the appendage ' Writer' was to to stick to him throughout his life! He then took charge of much of his father's properties in Teekoy, Marmala, Mavady, Mangalam, Peringulam and Edakkara, many of them originally bought or leased from the Rajas of Poonjar. Kochipe expanded the properties and by applying  modern management practices, very soon built up a flourishing plantation industry. He planted tea, coffee, rubber, pepper, cardamom and coconuts and gradually became one of the leading planters of his time, even attracting the attention of the famous K.C.Mammen Mappillai, who visited him at Teekoy to persuade him to invest more into rubber plantations. 

It must be remembered that Kochipe lived through a period which marked the high point of British imperialism. He therefore, was a product of his age and was an unabashed Anglophile, living the life of an English squire of old. He had an army of servants, lived in an enormous house, kept horses (bought from Sree Moolam Thirunal Rama Varma, the Maharaja of Travancore), and had his regular Scotch and soda in the evenings. (There was even a room in the house called the 'soda room' which contained a huge contraption to make the fizzy beverage. The 'soda maker' was a young boy from Kottayam who had somehow wandered into Kochipe's service. Many years later, when I was posted in Kottayam in the SBI, I met this 'boy', who by then was an elderly gentleman, who had done well for himself and was a pillar of society in the town! Happily, he seemed to have pleasant memories about grandfather and other members of the family. I was particularly touched when he narrated an incident when, at his wedding, my father handed him a hundred rupee note as a wedding gift-- a huge amount in those days!) 

Kochipe was also one of the few people in Meenachil Taluk who owned a motor-car, and loved holidaying abroad, visiting Europe several times, once with his wife. He even wrote travelogues in the Nazrani Deepika in 1925 and 1929, the latter one in his wife's name, describing his adventures abroad.    

Unfortunately, this remarkable man died very young, in 1939, at the age of 50 and was buried in Teekoy church.  

Article in the Nazrani Deepika of 1929

Kochipe married twice and had two children from his first wife. The eldest, Mathew (Senior), was a planter-cum-Bank Officer working for a Bank in Alleppey. A hard working and adventurous man, he was fording the Meenachil river on his way to the family estate in Marmala when he was swept away in a flash flood, and his body found only several days later downstream in Kottayam. It was indeed a tragic end and Kochipe and the rest of the family were shattered.

I have heard it said that the magnanimous Kochipe took extra pains over his widowed daughter in law, Theyamma from the Payyanad (Mappilassery) family of Champakulam and even offered to get her remarried. However, she refused to do so. A gracious dowager of amazing grit and determination, she (our Peramma), took great pains in looking after her estate in Marmala as well as bringing up her two daughters, Lillykutty and Thankamma. Later on, though an heiress in her own right, Lillykutty gave up everything, decided to become a nun and joined the Medical Mission Sisters. She took on the name of Virginia and served the Lord as well her fellow-humans all over the country as well as in Africa and Brazil. She was a loving and caring elder sister to all of us and I still remember her handing out homoeopathic pills to me whenever I fell ill or pretended to be ill. I loved the sugary pills! She died at the age of 63 on 24^th July 1995 at Kottayam. I was at that time the Branch Manager of the SBI at Thirunakkara, Kottayam and attended her funeral. Losing her was very sad.

Peramma’s second daughter, Thankamma married Alexander (Sandappan) of the Kanjooparambil family, and they lived in Teekoy. They had five children.  

Interestingly, my mother Kuttiamma and Peramma’s two daughters were first cousins (from her paternal side), while they were also my first cousins, through my paternal side. A very peculiar relationship indeed, which made this family all the more dear to me and my siblings! My mother and Peramma were both from the Payyanad family, a branch of the famous Mappilassery family of Champakulam. (For more details about this family, and the interesting events that take place at their tharavad on Moolam day of Mithunam every year,  see my blog dated 13th July 2022) 

Kochipe's second child from his first marriage was Achamma, who was married to an excise officer from the Kalayathinal family near Bharananganam.             

After the death of his first wife, Kochipe married again, and his wife was Aley, the daughter of the refined and scholarly Chunkapura Mathai Mapillai. She was a handsome lady, pious, gentle, hospitable and very generous to all who came to her. There are many people in and around Teekoy whose children she sent to school, college and other educational institutions and who did well for themselves. I have met many such people, who remain eternally grateful to this gracious lady.

Valliammachi, our gracious grandmother

I remember our grandmother very well, bustling about the large house and taking care of all its inhabitants. For several years after the death of her husband Kochipe, her house in Teekoy functioned like a  joint-family set-up. It was only some years later that her sons moved to their respective areas in the extensive  family properties. Thus, my father moved to Mavady, his elder brother Varkey to Marmala, younger brother Johnson to Mangalam, while Tom remained in Teekoy. Though the brothers had shifted, they and their families often came to Teekoy and spent time there and many of us cousins have very pleasant memories of the house, which unfortunately does not exist now. Kochipe's daughters and their children too came to Teekoy during the holidays and our grandmother had her hands full, catering to the requirements of her large, hungry clan.

Kochipe and Aley had twelve children, of whom two died very young. Of the remaining, three were daughters, all of whom got married while still quite young. Mary was the eldest, who, after her graduation, taught for some time and then got married to Advocate Cherian Manjooran. The Manjoorans were a well-known set of freedom fighters, intellectuals and lawyers who, as the reputed journalist K C Chummar once told me, 'have played a very prominent role in the history of the freedom movement in Cochin State.'   The two other daughters, Alice and Baby, were both married to grooms from nearby Kanjirapally, the former to Nanichan of the Kallarackal family and the latter to Dr.K C Chacko, a dentist hailing from the Kadamapuzha family.   

         

Among the surviving sons, Varkey was the eldest. He was a pioneer in cinematography and even made a short film on Sabarimala Sree Ayyappan . It was mainly through his efforts that the family-owned Sunny Theatre in Teekoy was set up. He was also a multi-linguist, mastering languages like French, German, Italian and Urdu. His wife was Rosamma of the Anthrapper family of Cherthala. This family too, has an interesting history, as they were supposedly the descendants of a swash-buckling 'Andrew Pereira', from Portugal, who accompanied Vasco da Gama on his historic journey to India. Andrew Pereira married a local lady and the family gradually came to be known as 'Anthrapper'!  

Varkey Vallikappen's British Indian Empire Passport of 1934

His younger brother Mathew Vallikappen (my father), established the Mavady Tea Estate and Factory, which was one of the first purely Indian-owned private tea factories in Kerala. In its heydays, Mavady Tea was a well-known brand in central Travancore. The gracious mansion that he built on the estate is today the internationally known tourist destination, known as Vanilla County, assiduously promoted by his youngest son, Baby Vallikappen. Mathew Vallikappen, along with his cousin C.T.Mathew Chunkapura, was also the Founder Director of the Commercial Service Bank. 

Another brother, Tom Vallikappen set up a tile factory near Ettumanoor and was also the franchisee of the Burma-Shell Company and the owner of the sole petrol pump in Erattupetta. He married Lillykutty, from the famous Parayil Tharakan family of Ezhupunna.

Tom’s younger brother Johnson Vallikappen was a prominent member of the Swatantra Party in Kerala, associated with leading lights of the party such as Maharani Gayatri Devi of Jaipur, who even came to the Vallikappen home in Teekoy during one of her election visits to the state. An avid photographer and lover of books, Johnson helped in setting up the People’s Library in Teekoy, as well as the Vallikappen Home Library. Johnson's wife was Thankamma, of the Vattakavil family of Karimannoor.

The youngest among the brothers was Sunny, who though mentally and physically disabled, was as sunny as his name suggested. He was a genial soul, forever smiling and laughing and very often talking to his imaginary girl-friend called 'Manimala Thankamma' . His greatest pleasures were diving and swimming in the fast-flowing waters of the Teekoy river just below the house, and watching movies in the family-owned cinema theatre named after him! A sweet man indeed.   

Life in the Teekoy tharavad was quite unique. It was a rambling old house, with many rooms and a single upstairs unit made of wood, which functioned as a sort of library for the household, and built in the  traditional Kerala style, with a steep staircase that was difficult for elderly people to negotiate. From this room, one could access the attic, which covered practically the whole house. The main house itself had quaintly named rooms, like 'Cement Room', 'Stone Room' (Kallu Muri), 'Dark Room' (Iruttu Muri), 'Prasava Muri', (Delivery Room-where expecting ladies of the household stayed) 'Ayudha Muri,' and of course, the Prayer Room or Prarthana Muri. The Iruttu Muri and the Prasava Muri were adjacent, and once, when I showed my English friend David Gosling around, he winked knowingly while in the Iruttu Muri and remarked,  'Aha, so this is where it all started!'    

There was an enormous, baronial-style dining room, with two dining tables, one for the elders, and a smaller one for us children. And in an alcove near this, was a large four-poster bed on which Valliammachi would often be found reclining, mostly with a rosary in her hands, but keeping a wary eye for prowling grandchildren attempting to raid the enormous 'aripetti' in which she kept delicious goodies like buns, tapioca chips, oulose undas, etc.  My cousin Avirachan was the main marauder and would often get spanked by his father for attempted or consummated robbery!

There were two kitchens; one was very large and contained a 'borma', or oven for baking bread, which resembled an enormous igloo, which had somehow found its way into an oriental kitchen instead of the tundras! In keeping with his Anglophile ways, Kochipe, our grandfather was very particular that bread and butter was always on the table! The smaller kitchen had two store-rooms attached to it.

Another unusual feature of this house was the 'Tutor's Room' which served as the residential quarters of the private tutors as well as a classroom for youngsters. As far as I remember, there were two private tutors, of whom, the main tutor was Narayana Pilla Saar. He was a dignified, refined, and highly respected Nair gentleman and I remember him being specially invited and honoured at the weddings of my two elder brothers.  

The area around the house was interesting too. It had the huge stables meant for grandfather's horses, (the horses had long since disappeared!), the Chikkalam or yard, ramps for the repair of various types of vehicles, (I distinctly remember several cars, a jeep and even a lorry among the vehicles), and an enormous outhouse, along the sides of which were steps leading to the river flowing below the house.   

While there were two bathing rooms within the house, the lavatories, as with most Kerala houses in those days, were situated somewhat far away, beyond a huge rock which vaguely resembled an elephant, and on which we children would often play. The toilets were very primitive, with long, curved, narrow chutes under them, below which were stationed a couple of hungry pigs, snorting and grunting and waiting anxiously for their daily nourishment. Altogether, an embarrassing, but highly eco-friendly way of disposing off human waste, and probably one of the main reasons why many in the family refused to eat pork! 

There were of  course, no taps or running water in the house and servants used to lug huge quantities of water from the well or the river to replenish the bath rooms, lavatories, etc. Electricity and telephones too were non-existent. The only telephone was in the post office which fortunately was situated just beyond the outer gate, and for all practical purposes served as an adjunct of the house, as the building itself belonged to the family and was leased out to the Postal Department. Sometimes, we children even used to play hide-and-seek in the Post Office, with the elderly Post Master (whose face I still remember very clearly), watching us indulgently, but making sure we didn't mess up the place!   

The house itself was on an elevated piece of land, below which lay the village of Teekoy which consisted of a few shops, a bus shed, 

an ayurvedic dispensary run by Pappi vaidyan, the cinema theatre, a library and of course, the toddy shop, which is an indispensable part of every Kerala village! Most of the shops on one side of the main street were owned by our family, while the shops on the other side were mostly owned by the Chunkapura family of our grandmother. These shops were all rented out to various individuals, who used to pay a small monthly rent.

The servants and retainers of those days were all trusted, friendly and loyal folks who were treated as part of the family. Many of them had served under grandfather, and continued to be with us for many many years. Among them I particularly remember Uthuppan chettan, and Vellayan, a Tamilian who used to respectfully refer to grandfather as 'Ayya'. Uthuppan chettan was grandfather's bullock-cart driver. He was an elderly man, perennially bare-chested, and always with a large scapula around his neck. Like many of grandfather's aides, he too hailed from the small Knanaya Christian community of Kottayam.

My uncle Varkey Vallikappen has told me that till our grandfather's days, annual 'kappam' (tribute) used to be paid to the Poonjar Rajas. This was in the form of products like bananas, coconuts, tapioca, pepper, cardamom, jackfruit, etc. Two or three bullock carts, groaning under the weight of these items, would trundle along to the Poonjar Palace, with Uthuppan chettan as the lead driver. It would take the greater part of the day to reach Poonjar, unload the goods, and return to Teekoy. Today it takes less than 20 minutes to reach Poonjar!    

For us children, the Teekoy tharavad was a heavenly place. There was always good and plentiful food on the table, affectionate uncles and aunts and of course our loving grandmother, cricket, hide-and-seek and best of all, swimming in the river below. Our cricket gear was very primitive, with 'madals' of coconut trees serving as bats, soft tennis balls, and three crude pieces of wood as the stumps. I was among the more studious of the youngsters and often found myself in the library upstairs, which contained a fairly respectable collection of books, mostly in English. Most of these books belonged to my uncle Johnson, while the older books of my grandfather often had a rubber seal on them with the inscription ' Ashwasya shreshtatham, parvatsya aunyatham' ( അശ്വസ്യ സ്രേഷ്ടതം : പർവത്സ്യ ഔന്യത്തം) in Malayalam. I was quite intrigued by these words and many years later, a very learned priest, Rev. Fr. Jacob Kattackal who was a Sanskrit scholar, told me that they meant ' The nobility of the horse; the loftiness of the mountains'. Probably something which grandfather had adopted as his motto, as they were found on almost all his books. A very apt motto indeed for a man of the mountains, who also loved horses!  

Another pastime of those days was watching movies in 'Sunny Theatre', The balcony was practically reserved for the family and of course we did not have to buy tickets. The movies were mostly old black-and-white Tamil and Malayalam films, though I do remember watching the technicolour 'Chemmeen' there too. Uncle Sunny (Sunnyappappan to us children) would often watch all three shows of the same movie! He watched them practically lying down, as he had a special sofa-cum-bed type of furniture, on which he would recline regally, like some latter-day Caesar witnessing the gladiatoral games at the Colosseum!    

  

The new-gen Vallikappens have today diversified into various streams such as Journalism, Hoteliering, Banking, the Armed Forces, Tourism, Advertising, Mining, and Information Technology. Subhash Vallikappen was probably one of the youngest General Managers in the famous Oberoi Group of Hotels, and was also the Head Boy of Lawrence School in Lovedale during his school days. Many Vallikappens were sportsmen too, the most outstanding being Jose Vallikappen, Charly Vallikappen and Paul Vallikappen. Jose Vallikappen in particular excelled in athletics, both during his school days in St.Joseph’s Boys’ School in Bangalore as well as in St.Stephen’s College in Delhi, where he was the college as well as university athletics captain. He subsequently joined the prestigious Armoured Corps of the Indian Army and is one of the few people from this part of the country who has had actual battle experience. As a young Lieutenant he was in the thick of battle in the Sialkot sector during the Indo-Pak war of 1965. His jeep was blown up by an anti-tank mine and he was injured. With great difficulty he managed to crawl back to the Indian lines, carrying on his back a seriously injured jawan, whose leg had been completely blown off! After quitting the army as a Lt. Colonel, Jose joined the Malayala Manorama and was a columnist for The Week for more than 15 years. His regular feature ‘The Nonsense File’ was very popular and a hot favourite among readers.

'The Invincible Four'- An advertisement brought out by a prominent sports goods firm in Bangalore,featuring among others, Jose Vallikappen.

And now we have the makings of a priest too in the family. Mathaious Vallikappen, the youngest son of Kunjumon (Tom Vallikappen's son) is in the Dominican seminary in Goa, studying to be a priest. The first priest in the family for generations, although we have had two nuns. May God bless him and the rest of the clan as well!