ENDOGAMY // RARE GENETIC DISEASES ARE NOT SO RARE IN INDIA

 Vaishnavi Chandrasekhar writes in the Times of India of 31st August 2025.

Endogamy is the custom of marrying only within the limits of local community, clan or tribe. Endogamy means you could inherit the same piece of DNA from your parents, because there are relationships on both sides of your family. In a recent study of 2700 supposedly unrelated Indians, every individual had at least one, fourth degree cousin. It is like consanguinity but at a longer time scale. When the relationship is within three or four generations it is called consanguinity. If it is deeper in time it is called founder events.

Research suggests, ancient Indians transformed themselves from a freely mixing population - a brew of indigenous hunter gatherers, farmers from present day Iran, and Steppe pastoralists (Steppe pastrolists were nomadic groups who lived on Eurasian steppe) - to a more endogamous one, marrying within communities and castes. Over time, this reduced genetic diversity of groups with a small number of founders, raising the chance of rare disorders.

Our genetic health risks are shaped by our identity. We all carry two copies of each gene, one from each parent. Alone, it may have no impact - it remains 'recessive' (expressed in offspring only) or hidden. But if both parents carry the mutation, the child has a one - in - four chance of inheriting both copies and developing the disease. Most people know that marrying close relatives, or consanguinity, can increase recessive risks in the offspring. But endogamy can do the same, especially in smaller communities. 

When people are made aware of  their predisposition, their disorders could be diagnosed and treated quickly and even its early onset could be delayed by the doctors. 

It has been observed that in certain South Indian communities, some new borns do not live beyond a few months  due to rare genetic disorders. The disease remains hidden because no one knows such a disease is there as the children do not survive. 

There is hope, as screening the whole community for such disease carrying variants had helped a pregnant woman who had lost two babies, give birth to a normal baby free of the disease carrying variant.

All it needs is spreading the awareness in such communities so that the occurence of rare genetic diseases could be eliminated.

FEEDBACK

I wrote to an office I deal with for my needs.

 I have nothing against you or anyone there or the organisation

Feedbacks are given for straightening out glitches.

Easiest  is to severe relationships.

One has enough choices.

But as I said one never forgets the one who stood with him at his adversities.

And he never forgets the one who forsook him.

Like it or not everyone is a bureaucrat - a file pusher. Don't ever be a bureaucrat who hides behind statutes, mandates and is  linear in his approach.

The law provides flexibility. It provides elasticity. Never violate rules. But never implement them with a sledgehammer. 

If you do that you'll be the loser.

Discretion has a wider perspective. Everyone has that. Employment of discretion without any selfgain, the management expects and respects.

They are very clever. They won't issue any written instruction. But they'd assess you through your demeanour  and your actions.

I might have gone off the tangent. 

Thought I had to share

OPEN HEART SURGERY

 Giji Mathew

Accounts Clerk

KUTSeminary Kannammoola Trivandrum 

Giji stood there erect in his cubicle on the 14th of July 2025 as the Treasurer left for lunch. Lean and without an inch of flab, he looked perfectly healthy. In the afternoon, the Principal asked him to furnish certain urgent data. He had collated that.

The next morning, on the 15th, Giji rings up the Treasurer and tells him he would be on leave that day. Giji normally doesnot avail leave. The Treasurer carried on with the operations. In the afternoon, Giji rings up the Treasurer again. He tells him that he is at the Cosmopolitan Hospital where they are going to move him to the ICU. It was a shock. Giji couldn't carry on with the conversation. His wife takes over. She tells Giji had a pain on the left arm  and he had vomitted after his breakfast that morning. They had taken an Uber to reach the hospital.

According to the doctors there, Giji had a heart attack nearly 80 hours ago and the  current discomfiture was due to that. Giji couldn't believe it. Two days later they took him in for an Angiogram. But they didnot proceed. They said he had three blocks and he required open heart bypass surgery. The surgeon told them the heart attack was not 80 hours old, but around 10 years old. Giji could not recall any such event in his life till then.

Giji was shifted to KIMS.

He was operated upon on the 23rd. He was discharged on 30th July 2025.

It's a painful grind now.

Giji is around 45. His wife had recently joined Loyola as a Hindi teacher.

He belongs to Pampady. Son of an upright CSI Church Worker known as Mathai Upadeshi, Giji excels his father. Incidentally, both his parents are no more.

At the KUTS the accounts revolved around him. He worked hard. He never sought any favour from anyone. He never talked much. His work did the talking for him. He was always receptive.

Now that he is convalescing KUTS is eagerly looking for his return hale and hearty.

These days it turns out that to live is costly. 

Treatment at KIMS too is. Not rich, Giji has borrowed heavily to pay off the hospital expenses. 

But he is sanguine he could repay all that when he is up and about.

Giji's people did make a few consultations elsewhere before deciding to go in for surgery at KIMS.

The advice is an eye opener. In many hospitals, the surgery could be put through only after two weeks. The waiting list was pretty long.  But they were in unison that in consideration of the young age of the patient, surgery should not be delayed at all. They were further told that if it had been  an older person two weeks' delay would not have been that crucial. 

I leave it to the reader to decipher that.

SHOCKING FINALE

 

Dr.M.C.Thomas  was eighty two. He was a Physician. He was committed. He was dedicated.  He was much in demand.  He was attending to his patients  in three hospitals in and around Muvattupuzha even at this age.

Twenty years ago, he had experienced an excruciating  pain radiating from his left shoulder down the left arm. Being a doctor helped. He understood it was a cardiac issue that called for immediate attention.  He advised his wife to call for 108 ambulance. The shift to the hospital was quick. That saved his life.

At the hospital, investigations revealed he had to be put through open  heart surgery for a bypass. The surgery was a success. But the recuperation took long. He had to quarrantine himself for three months to avoid the onset of any infection. Six months later, he was back to normal. He went on with life at the pace he had set himself upon, before the cardiac ailment visited him.

As time progressed, his son, Sachin Thomas, had migrated to Dublin, Ireland. He too was  a Physician.  After a few years,  Sachin fell in love with a lady doctor, Meera,  from Ernakulam. She was a general surgeon. The marriage took place at Muvattupuzha.

Life went on sedately at both Kavana, Muvattupuzha  and Ireland. There were intermittent visits to Dublin. Sachin and his family were home for three weeks every year.

Though Dr.Thomas’s wife, Sarayu, was a post graduate in Commerce, she had preferred to remain a home maker  as she felt two busy people in varied professions at home would not be conducive to a happy married life. Dr. Thomas never insisted that Sarayu should hunt for a job.

But he was adamant that Sarayu should have a social life of her own. He encouraged her to associate herself with all the activities at their Church. It was a great  advantage to her that she knew driving. In fact , the first thing Dr.Thomas did after their marriage was to teach Sarayu to drive. Sarayu was a good singer too. She enthralled the audience  with her singing in the programmes at the Church.

Though doctors had barred Dr.Thomas from drinks and alcohol ten years after he had undergone the open heart surgery, DrThomas never paid heed to that. He had gone on with his driving and his customery nightcaps. Sarayu never interfered even though she had her own reservations.

Dr.Thomas was a jolly good personality. He would help anyone in need. He was never avaricious. He was an active member of the Rotary Club, Muvattupuzha. In the past ten years there had been occasions when he was seriously ill. Though the doctors would suggest ICU care, he dissuaded them from doing that.

It was a Wednesday. Sarayu had been scheduled to perform at the Parish Hall of the St James Church at Perumbavoor  along with a group of singers from their church.  Dr. Thomas dropped her off at the KSRTC bus station at Muvattupuzha at around 9.00am for her onward journey.  It was a fifteen miniutes’ drive from their residence at Kavana.

Dr.Thomas, on the way back had stopped at the Indian Coffee House at Muvattupuzha for his breakfast. He had always relished their Puree Masala Coffee combination.

Back at his residence, he swiched on the TV for a while and read the newspapers. It was noon by then. Since Sarayu wouldn’t be back for lunch, Dr.Thomas had ordered Prawn noodles – his favourite – for lunch through Swiggy. It was delivered in time.  Though alone, Dr.Thomas did enjoy his lunch.

The lunch over, before  his siesta, he went over to the Kennel  to play with his dogs. He had loved them very much. They too had always loved their moments with him.

Dr.Thomas had an aquarium close to the Kennel. There were rare fishes  in it. He enjoyed to be with the fishes everyday after his lunch. He would talk to them. He did not refrain.

Nobody knew what happened afterwards.

When Sarayu returned, the front door was ajar. She stepped in. She couldn’t find Dr.Thomas anywhere in the house.

Then she found him sitting on a chair adjacent to the Kennel. His head was tilted backwards. It was scary. While one hand seemed caressing the pet dog, the other hand was pressing his chest.

Dr.M.C.Thomas was no longer alive.

He was dead.

TO & FROM

Let me relate quite an interesting anecdote.

I work as a Cashier in a Residential School.

It happened yesterday.

Can't remember the student's name. He came yesterday with two bills. 3400. Countersigned by a teacher. 2750 puffs. 650 something else. I jocularly asked  who ate them all up. He said there was some activity involving the students. They were served snacks. He said the teacher had asked him to dip into mess funds for that. He was in charge of the mess for the month.

He asked me if there was any chance for its reimbursement. 

I said it was wrong to mix up mess funds with other expenses.

But I asked him to write everything that he had explained on a piece of paper, obtain approvals from both the teacher and the head of the institution and once it was done   the expenses could be reimbursed. I had told him if the requirement was complied with   it would be paid that day itself.

Today he brought it to me before it was  submitted to the head of the institution.

The letter format to me was incorrect. It began with 'To'and then 'From' instead of the usual 'From'  and 'To,' order I had been familiar with.

When I pointed it out he said the Superintendent had taught them to do it like that. He added they were all doing it that way now. I replied they should go by what the Superintendent had  taught as he was the  next in line to the head of the  institution in academics and the students never must deviate from the Superintendent's  views

However,  I reminded him that when he brought  it to me it had to be in the correct format. I showed him a  sample and advised him to keep a photo of it.

He came back in half an hour, in the format I had suggested. 

The amount 3400 was paid at once.

As I had stated earlier it was quite interesting

NO SAFETY ANYWHERE

 RENDEZVOUS -  When death grazed and left me to live

It was Tuesday, the 26th March 2002. The time was 6.55 PM. Christ Church, Palayam, Trivandrum which usually overflow with worshippers each time a worship is on, was unusually thin in attendance. Perhaps it was a working day that had turned the believers off. Or perhaps the fact that it was a special service in the Passion Week and that it was in the evening determined that it did not draw the usual crowd. The Choir was notable with its absence. Even the organist was not there to provide the familiar ambience. The Priest (Achen) stood at the top of the aisle and not at the altar. The previous Sunday was Palm Sunday. Achen had announced the programme for the Passion Week. When I heard that there would be Services in the evening on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Maundy Thursday, I had made up my mind to attend the service on Maundy Thursday and leave aside the services on the other days, as it was difficult to attend both the office and the church on all those days.

Ashwin, my younger son, as we had been passing by the church in the evening on Monday asked me what was happening in the church that day. The lights were on. I replied that as it was the Passion Week, the church would have special worships all through the week. The next day as I was about to leave for the office, Ashwin asked me about the worships on Passion Week and its significance. Reversing my earlier decision not to attend the church I told him that we would all go together to the church that day. We agreed to converge there in the evening.

Lila, my wife, was waiting for me at the church as I reached there. We were too early. We shared a few biscuits she had with her. The church was vacant when we made our entry. We were the sole occupants. Taking aisle seats at the head of adjacent rows for men and women we positioned ourselves at the middle. The aisle kept us apart. It was quite unusual as we had never taken those seats ever before. Later, we found to our surprise that both of us had a look at the tombs in the cemetery there as we entered the church. It crossed our minds that here was where we would end up one day. Further, during the course of the worship I had a cursory glance at all the fans in the church and it passed through my mind that the church had a mix of ancient and modern fans. Lila revealed that she had experienced apprehensions and dark forebodings with ominous designs welling up in her mind that evening as the worship progressed. She recollected that she had noticed a fan wobbling as it revolved the previous Sunday.

Christ Church and the Achens are well known for punctuality. The worship always begins at the appointed time, no matter the attendance. Rev. Shajan Idiculla began the worship at 6.30 PM sharp. The sequence of songs, prayers and readings from the Bible went on. Despite the thin attendance, I counted around one hundred worshippers in the church. The gentleman in front, Mr. Koshy Abraham was leading the songs. It was
6.55 PM. The congregation was on its feet singing together.

It all happened in a flash. There was a big bang. It was louder than several fireworks put together. I felt I had been severely hit on my head. The pain was intense. I put the book down and cupped the head with hands. I moved over to the aisle. Movement was slow. Lila ran to me. She held me tight. I heard her calling out, “Lalcha”. I did not realize that there was blood. Alarmed, she covered my head with her hands. I could not speak. I thought I would faint. In the normal run I could not withstand even a jab by the pin. Jacob Thomas, rushed towards us, held me and suggested that we moved on. As we reached the door, we found a chair. He helped me on to it. I felt blood trickling out when I took the hands off. Lila later told me that blood was gushing from several spots at once. I took out the hanky and covered the wound. I pressed the hanky firmly down hoping it would arrest the flow of blood. Suddenly, I had become the cynosure of all eyes. We had ten to fifteen members of the congregation around us. I asked Lila to retrieve my books and the glasses. She ran in and fetched them at once. Jacob sourced a piece of cotton to cover the wound. I placed it on top of the handkerchief and kept on pressing the wound down. The hand stayed there till I reached the safety of a hospital.

There was deliberation on the hospital to approach. A few of our friends and some members of the congregation offered their vehicles to shift me to a hospital. Lila was grateful for the offer of assistance. But she informed that our car was available and that she could drive me to the hospital.

Kuruvilla Kurien offered to drive the car. Lila said she would do it, as she did not wish to inconvenience anyone else. Jacob objected and advised Lila not to drive at that critical juncture. I told Lila to pay heed and let Kuruvilla drive.

Ashwin had not reached the church till then. When we had trooped out of the church to the car, I told Jacob that we were expecting our son to join us at the church. Jacob told us not to bother and promised that he would take care of Ashwin.

As I sat on the chair at the rear of the church I had tried to recap what really had happened. An old GEC fan, a heavy one at that, weighing around 30/40 Kgs, had broken free. It was revolving at full speed when it hurtled down on its own. It rested on the bench next to where I stood. When I looked into the church I could see the rod hanging there sans the fan. What must have happened, it was construed, was that either the dome or the blade had grazed the top of the head, slicing off the skin of one and a half inch in diameter before it had skidded on to the bench. The wound was superficial in general and was slightly deep at odd spots.

While we were about to board the car – it was past 7.00PM – I saw Ashwin coming in. Even at that time I had been wondering what was delaying him. The moment I saw him I raised my hand and called out. He did not know what had happened. He thought perhaps
the worship was over fast and that we were on our way back home. He felt something amiss when he found a stranger at the wheel. Lila quietly explained the strange happenings of the evening to him on the short ride. Cool boy he was, he took it calmly.

Kuruvilla as he started did not seem to know where to seek medical assistance. We presumed he was proceeding to Cosmopolitan Hospitals. When he did not take the left turn to Barton Hill, Lila said we had missed the Cosmopolitan turn off. Kuruvilla said we could either proceed to SUT or Cosmopolitan which ever was our preference. “Let it be Cosmopolitan”, Lila concurred.

Kuruvilla drove up to Pattom, turned and proceeded to Cosmopolitan. The traffic was heavy and slow. He manoeuvred the vehicle with great difficulty – he had to ensure that he did no further damage to the injured person - and managed to reach the ‘Emergency’ of Cosmopolitan with a liberal display of the high beam and the horn.

At the Cosmopolitan the sisters and the doctors on call were very kind and of great help. They dressed up the wound efficiently, gave me a shot of serum anti tetanus and kept me under observation for more than an hour. They found me stable and advised us to go home. We were cautioned to be careful and to return at once to the hospital in case we had observed anything out of the ordinary.

The doctors had a feeling that a skin graft might be necessary. Suturing was not possible, as the skin had been ripped off. They advised us to consult Dr.P.A.Thomas, the Plastic Surgeon in the morning next day.

Kuruvilla was of great assistance at the hospital. He ran around like an errand man.

The worship at the church, which had broken off with the big bang and subsequent developments, was resumed soon after we had stepped out. I heard Achen calling out to the congregation to pray for the speedy recovery of the injured as we left.

The phone started ringing the moment we reached home. People who were at the church and those who had heard of the mishap tried their best to cheer us up.

Lila is absolutely shy and diffident in expressing her feelings in public. I was quite surprised when she ran to me and held me tight when I had moved out to the aisle at the church. Reeling in pain I was disoriented to the hilt. The single act of love and concern when she held me must have prevented me from a fall. It could have been disastrous in that condition.

Lila kept her composure all through. She broke down for a while only after she got me home safe.

Dr.P.A.Thomas at the Cosmopolitan Hospitals examined the wound the next day. He ruled out skin graft.

Achen who had phoned up in the morning paid us a visit soon after our return from the hospital.

28th March 2002, Maundy Thursday

It has been phone calls and visitors for two days now. It has opened our eyes to the affection and concern people have for us. The phone keeps on ringing. People keep on visiting us. The goodness in man soothes us and spirits away the depression and the trauma within us.

God is just great. Miracles do happen. Here am I, the living example. I have no complaints. I praise the Lord for putting me through the ordeal and yet protecting me. On that fateful day, anything could have happened. But nothing untoward occurred. I am perfectly alright but for the bandage that covers my head. In the midst of an oncoming and unstoppable tragedy God’s hands worked miraculously and kept me safe. His dynamics had shifted me to a different dimension for a fraction in time to keep me out of virtual danger. God certainly is mysterious and an enigma.

I shudder at the thought in case I had absorbed the full impact. Death just grazed me and had left me to live.



-------------------------

Abraham Jacob, T.C 30/211 HNo.28, NSSKarayogam Road, Anayara PO,
Trivandrum 695029, Kerala, India
Phone: Cell 09447253532
Res 04712740722

IT IS NEVER THE END OF THE WORLD

 The fat head of Sundale Academy was very blunt. “Your son has failed in the 9th Class. We will issue a transfer certificate with the inscription ‘promoted’ if you are taking him out.”

“Where will we take him now?” the disconsolate mother, pleaded. It was the penultimate day of the academic year.
“That is not my look out. I do not have time to waste,” the fat man was at his brilliant best. He was the true follower of the one who had sacrificed himself for his fellow brethren. The tears that rolled out from Hazel did not move the tough man. The rotund man was the head of Sundale Academy responsible for churning out children in the most orderly manner. The children had to learn to conform. The mass production venture could little afford to have feelings for the individuals. The master had once scolded his followers when they prevented the children move up to him.
“Let the children not be denied. They are pure.” The master wanted his followers to love children, attend to their needs and take good care of them.
“Why should we think of a lonely child? We have such a large number of children to cater to.” True, the master had once narrated a parable where the shepherd had gone in search of a missing lamb leaving ninety nine of them behind. The shepherd went on searching till he could save the missing one. “But that is only a parable,” the fat man strongly believed.

Basil, Hazel’s husband had joined her by now. They sat there holding each other without knowing what had hit them. There were tears. The fat man looked on. He was unimpressed. He was impatient. For him it was another dismissal, another day. For him it was another mission accomplished. Somehow he had to protect the honour of his institution. He could not allow a drop of poison vitiate the hundred percent track record of his institution.
“Let the jarring notes go to hell. I’ll have an all distinction or at the worst distinction cum first class outcome. I’ll never allow anyone to mar the image of my precious institution. People flock to us solely on account of our impressive track record. It is the way of the world that a few must suffer for the common good of the majority.”

Sundale Academy had been sending two hundred and eighty students for the past two decades consistently for the HSC examination. As money making was the prime motive, Sundale Academy had been carefully splitting the large number into four batches of seventy each. More batches meant more teachers. More teachers meant depletion in profits. That the teachers were not paid exactly well was an open secret. The brilliant fat man encouraged the teachers to hold private tuitions at home or at the institution itself where they could mint money. Finding the prospects bright some of them had even given up their jobs and were into full time private tuitions that had offered the finest tax breaks. For, if the batches at the fabled Sundale Academy held seventy each, the tuition centres had more than a hundred per session. Admissions to the tuition centres were based on merit, the conditions for admission stringent than the conditions for admission to Sundale Academy. When the results were announced Sundale Academy was always at the top. It held a monopoly for top honours. There were no failures. Structuring was perfect. Distinctions were ninety percent with the lowly rest making up with first classes.

The fat man was totally justified in his action. Schools were only for the fittest. The fittest alone would survive. The world is no place for the weak. People longed to make their children doctors or engineers. One had to go by the market and not by the scriptures. It was money that mattered. A stand alone performance meant a healthy rush for admissions that ensured a heavy inflow of cash. It was cash that mattered in the market, not sentiments, not scriptures.

Though Basil and Hazel could not comprehend what had hit them or their dear child Noel, it was Dyslexia they were confronted with.

Dyslexia or Learning Disorder (LD) unknown to the early civilization was discovered only in the year 1888. It is a glitch in the ability to combine pictures or letters. The term took yet another five decades to be commonly used in the West. Although learning disability’s effects were hardly unknown to Asians it took a lot more time for the Asians to recognize it as a malady. Recent studies reveal that one out of five or twenty percent of the population is affected by dyslexia. However, experienced doctors indicate that dyslexia affects twenty five percent or one of four of the population. The enormity or magnitude of the problem is such that it requires to be addressed vehemently. Even though dyslexia is universal it does not affect every culture or language group uniformly. Its incidence is lower among the Chinese and the Japanese.

The dyslexics encounter trouble comprehending and writing characters. They confuse or transpose elements or concentrate on only one, missing the character’s real meaning. They encounter difficulty in catching up with their peers in the class room who are fast learners. They misspell. Their handwriting often is atrocious. They are slow learners. They need a little more time to grasp. In Noel’s class of seventy, the teacher never had the time or patience to attend to each one, let alone provide special support to the weak. The teacher normally moves ahead when she feels that seventy five percent of the students have grasped what she tries to convey. She brands the remaining twenty five percent as lazy. Neither she nor her institution is aware that dyslexia exists in the world and that almost twenty five percent of the population is under its grip. Where corrective measures are urgently required it is indeed very unfortunate that the dyslexics are branded as no good and in turn treated badly by the society. When dyslexia is diagnosed, what the afflicted needs is love, affection and understanding and not scorn or ridicule. The society fails to realize that except for the glitch that makes them slow learners, there is nothing wrong with the dyslexics. They are highly intelligent with capabilities that surpass the brilliant. Treat them badly and we make them traverse the wrong path. No wonder, prison population the world over abounds with dyslexics.

Dr.Akino Uno, Japan’s foremost expert on dyslexia states, “You can’t fix poor eyesight, but you can wear glasses. We can’t get rid of a disability. But we can teach people to compensate for it.” Dyslexia did not stop Thomas Edison, inventor of the light bulb and the phonograph, from achieving greatness. It had fuelled the creative fire in him. He is among a long list of well known personalities who were afflicted with dyslexia.

It was providence that his parents decided to consult a child psychologist after managing an admission for Noel in another school with great difficulty. It meant frantic visits to all the schools in the vicinity and a considerable sum as donation. Dr. Saira Mohan held a few sessions with them as well as Noel. She disclosed to them that it was dyslexia they were up against. She advised restraint. Noel needed support, love and affection and not negative criticism and the unbridled ambition of the parents to realize their lost dreams through him. He could only be Noel and could never be what the fat man of Sundale Academy had ordained. Noel did very well in his HSC examination the next year passing it with a first class. He has gone for higher studies where he is doing well at present. He has practical wisdom and does everything so well that he is admired by all he comes into contact with. He is grateful to his parents for supporting him at the most critical phase of his life. He is grateful to them for their love and affection when he needed it most.

A child at home who does not perform at the level expected is not a disaster. It may be dyslexia one has to content with. The disheartened parents normally tend to blame or brand the child. But the child is never at fault. He is born with dyslexia. He has not acquired it. Help the child overcome the glitches. Life will certainly be exciting.

-------------------------

Rishabh Pant //Wake up every morning thanking God for a fresh start in life.

 Wake up every morning thanking God for a fresh start in life.

Rishabh Pant, the Indian Wicketkeeper cum batsman has repeatedly this that after his ghastly car accident in 2022.

He further said, 

"Whatever I have gone through, there are very few things that can unsettle me now."

He had retired hurt on Wednesday evening. But he came back hobbling on Thursday with a fractured right foot and added another 17 runs in an exhibition of indomitable spirit.

One can never be beaten or go down if he attains that kind of a level in life.

Know people to fool people

 You have to know people to fool people.

Good conmen do not steal your money, but convince you to give it to them.

It's not just that they are dangerously charming.

 Truth is, they've really cracked human psychology.

Their creativity is dazzling.

Their inventiveness at once outshines and horrifIes the brilliant.

The wonder is people tolerate them. 

They are even lionised by the gullible who outweigh the sensible. 

They flourish swindling the innocent.

HIBISCUS

 

NATURE AT ITS BRILLIANT BEST

Hibiscus Flower

April Flower.

 

Avalanche of flowers

Amidst an avalanche of flowers

And dark green 

 An explosion of colours

In a dress 

That suits her best

She tells me 

It's ten years

Since a dear one 

Had gifted it

Though it looks 

Brand new 

To

Me

 

ICONIC BRIDGE AT PUTRAJAYA MALAYSIA

ICONIC BRIDGE AT PUTRAJAYA MALAYSIA

FAVOURITE LOCATION FOR  HINDI, TAMIL, TELUGU MOVIES

 

Write the story you want to read / Become a good writer/ / Writer Chandramathi

 The Principal of KUT Seminary, Kannammoola, Trivandrum, knew Lila and the well known writer Chandramathi were good friends. They were classmates for MA English at the Women's College, Trivandrum. The writer was Kumari Chandrika at that time. She was absorbed by the All Saints College, Trivandrum after her post graduation. Later she became Ms.Chandrika Balan and Prof.Dr. Chandrika.

The Principal had a policy of inviting all time greats to address the sudents of the KUT Seminary.

He requested Lila to help out by extending  his invitation to the famed writer on his behalf.

Lila wrote to her friends after sitting through the entire session:

"Today, 22.7.22, I had the great privilege and fortune to listen to our own Chandrika at the  KUT Seminary, Kannammoola, Trivandrum. She was in her full elements. The capacity audience heard her in rapt attention. They clapped at the conclusion for several minutes.

"I was indeed happy for her. It was a mind boggling, explosive discourse that went on for more than an hour.

The range, the depth, the vocabulary and the references were purely out of the world. I had to Google when she mentioned 'Staccato.' No wonder she's a force to reckon with.  She drew from her experiences, struggles, successes and  the self induced breaks in her creative life."

"The icing was the closure."

"At the end, to a query how to become a good writer, she had responded,"

 "Write the story you want to read."

Fools rush in

 Fools rush in where angels fear to tread

A quote that has stayed with me from age twenty one  or twenty two.

A Mills and Boon type novel probably. 

It was at the beginning or the end, I am unable to recollect. 

Felt it made sense

SNAKEBITE AT U C COLLEGE ALWAYE

 I am travelling  back in my life.

I was at UCCollege, Alwaye that is now Aluva.  It was 1967-68. Skinner Hostel. Prof.Dr.VKAlexander, the well known Psychiatrist,  was the Hostel Warden. 

It was a Saturday. Together with two, three friends I had gone to the town to watch a movie. 

Alwaye was still a small place. Kochi City had not yet engulfed it.  

As we were returning, it was around 6.30 pm, we were hurrying towards the mess taking the footpath adjacent to the Hostel for the dinner. Mess would close by  7 pm. 

I felt something biting me. I shared it with the friends. They at once led me to the mess hall. Made me sit on a bench and put the feet up. There were two marks like pinpricks. Blood was oozing out from the wounds. 

The campus had snakes in addition to the human population. Many of them were poisonous.

Though no one saw a snake - it was dark - the indications were it was, snakebite.

Someone made an incision with a blade and squeezed out the blood. Much before that a tourniquet had been tied above the ankle.

The Warden came. He took me to a Hospital at Alwaye.

They injected anti snake venom.

I spent the night at the Hospital. Some friends stayed with me. I was discharged the next day.

No harm done

NO SECOND CHANCE

 You never get a second chance

 to make a first impression

FLOWERS AT KUT SEMINARY KANNAMMOOLA RESEMBLE FLOWERS ON THE MEDIAN AT PUTRAJAYA MALAYSIA

 PUTRAJAYA MALAYSIA// FLOWERS ON THE MEDIAN AND FLOWERS AT KUT SEMINARY KANNAMMOOLA TRIVANDRUM 

KUT SEMINARY

 

MEDIAN AT PUTRAJAYA MALAYSIA

COCHIN BANK //THE BANK OF COCHIN LTD// FADED AWAY INTO HISTORY

Kumbalam Chacko writes  the history of 

THE BANK OF COHIN LTD

I had joined The Bank of Cochin Ltd as  an  Executive Trainee 

on 16 September 1975. Amalgamation  in  1985 took  me to 

 State Bank of India.

The Bank of Cochin Ltd was a good bank. They took good care of us.

It is an integral part of our being. We can never forget it.

*THE BANK OF COCHIN LTD* 

             *Established 1928* 

പ്രിയ സുഹൃത്തുക്കളെ,
 ഈ ഫോട്ടോകൾക്ക് താഴെ കൊടുത്തിരിക്കുന്ന ബാങ്ക് ഓഫ് കൊച്ചിന്റെ ചരിത്രത്തിലൂടെ ഒന്ന് കണ്ണോടിക്കണമെന്ന് വിനയപുരസ്കരം അഭ്യർത്ഥിക്കുന്നു.
1. 1928 ൽ ബാങ്ക് ഓഫ് കൊച്ചിൻ പിറന്ന ഭവനം.
2. 1985 ൽ ബാങ്ക് ഓഫ് കൊച്ചിനിൽ മൊറൊട്ടോറിയം ഏർപ്പെടുത്തിയപ്പോൾ ബാങ്കിന്റെ ആസ്ഥാന മന്ദിരം.
 കുമ്പളം ചാക്കോ.

BROADWAY ERNAKULAM

SHANMUGHAM ROAD

HISTORY OF THE BANK OF COCHIN LTD

             

 1982 മുതൽ മൂന്നുവർഷക്കാലം കേരളത്തിലെ പ്രശസ്ത ബാങ്ക് ആയ  ബാങ്ക് ഓഫ് കൊച്ചിനിൽ ( ബ്രോഡ് വേ ശാഖയിൽ)ജോലി  ചെയ്യുവാനുള്ള മഹാഭാഗ്യം ലഭിച്ച ഒരു വ്യക്തി എന്ന നിലയിൽ, ബാങ്ക് ഓഫ് കൊച്ചിൻ എന്ന മഹത് സ്ഥാപനം നിലച്ചിട്ട് 40 വർഷങ്ങൾ പൂർത്തീകരിക്കുന്ന ഈ വേളയിൽ ബാങ്ക് ഓഫ് കൊച്ചിന്റെ ചരിത്രവും, ബാങ്ക് ഓഫ് കൊച്ചിൻ പടുത്തുയർത്താൻ ശ്രമിച്ച് പരലോകത്തിലെത്തിയവരെയും  അനുസ്മരിക്കാൻ ഈ ചരിത്ര ലേഖനത്തിലൂടെ ഞാൻ ശ്രമിക്കുകയാണ്.  ഈ മഹത് സ്ഥാപനത്തിൽ എനിക്ക് ജോലി നേടിത്തരുവാൻ ശുപാർശ ചെയ്ത മുൻ ഡയറക്ടർ Dr. A. K. Chacko, ബ്രോഡ് വേ ബ്രാഞ്ചിലെ മാനേജർ ആയിരുന്ന ശ്രീ. K. M. Cherian എന്നിവരുടെ ഓർമ്മകൾക്കു മുമ്പിൽ എന്റെ ശിരസ്സ് നമിക്കുന്നു.

ഈ സ്ഥാപനത്തിന്റെ തുടക്കം മുതൽ പ്രവർത്തിച്ച് മരിച്ചുപോയ എല്ലാവർക്കും വേണ്ടി ഈ അവസരത്തിൽ പ്രത്യേകം പ്രാർത്ഥിക്കുന്നു. ബാങ്ക് ഓഫ് കൊച്ചിനിൽ ജോലി ചെയ്ത് -ഇന്നും ജീവിച്ചിരിക്കുന്ന ബഹുമാന്യരായ എല്ലാ സുഹൃത്തുക്കൾക്കും, ഇതു വായിക്കുന്ന എല്ലാ വായനക്കാർക്കും മുമ്പാകെ  ബാങ്ക് ഓഫ് കൊച്ചിന്റെ ഈ ചരിത്രപരരേഖ സദയം സമർപ്പിക്കുന്നു. ഒരുപക്ഷേ ബാങ്ക് ഓഫ് കൊച്ചിന്റെ മൊറോട്ടോറിയത്തിനുശേഷം ആദ്യമായി എഴുതപ്പെടുന്ന ഒരു ചരിത്രരേഖ ആയിരിക്കാം ഇത്.

 എന്നിൽ കൂടുതൽ കഴിവുകളുള്ളവരും, അറിവുള്ളവരും ഇതിനെ ആധാരമാക്കി കൂടുതൽ ആധികാരിക  വിവരണങ്ങളോടെ, വിവിധ ഭാഷകളിൽ ബാങ്കിന്റെ  ചരിത്രരേഖകൾ എഴുതുവാൻ സാധിക്കട്ടെ എന്ന് ആശംസിക്കുകയും ചെയ്യുന്നു.കുറെ നാളുകളായി ബാങ്ക് ഓഫ് കൊച്ചിന്റെ ചരിത്രം  എഴുതണം എന്ന ചിന്ത ഞാൻ മനസ്സിൽ കൊണ്ടുനടക്കുന്നു. 1985 നു ശേഷം ജനിച്ചവർക്കും, കേരളത്തിന്റെയും പ്രത്യേകിച്ച് കൊച്ചിയുടെയും ബാങ്ക് ആയിരുന്നു  കൊച്ചിൻ ബാങ്കിന്റെ ഈ വിവരണം ഉപകാരപ്പെടണം എന്നൊരാഗ്രഹം കൂടി ഇതിനു പിന്നിലുണ്ട്.

05.07.2025, ബാങ്ക് ഓഫ് കൊച്ചിനിലെ ജീവനക്കാരനും, ബാങ്കിനെ ഉന്നതിയിലേക്ക് നയിച്ച യശ:ശരീരനായ K. M. തരിയൻ സാറിന്റെ ബന്ധവുമായ വിനോദ് ജോസഫിന്റെ മകളുടെ വിവാഹ നിശ്ചയദിനം. ക്ഷണിക്കപ്പെട്ടവരുടെ കൂട്ടത്തിൽ ഞാനുമുണ്ടായിരുന്നു.  ഇടപ്പള്ളി തോപ്പിൽ പള്ളിയുടെ പാരിഷ് ഹാളിൽ പഴയ കുറച്ച് സുഹൃത്തുക്കളെ കാണുവാനും, ക്ഷേമ അന്വേഷണങ്ങൾ നടത്തുവാനും സാധിച്ചു.  ആ തിരക്കിൽ ഞാനൊരു വ്യക്തിയുമായി നയനങ്ങൾ വഴി ഓർമ്മ പുതുക്കാൻ ശ്രമിച്ചു. രണ്ടുപേർക്കും മനസ്സിലായില്ല. ഞങ്ങളുട കണ്ണുകൾ അങ്ങനെ ഉടക്കി നിൽക്കുമ്പോൾ ഞാൻ അദ്ദേഹത്തിന്റെ അടുത്ത് എന്ന് ചോദിച്ചു. എവിടെയോ കണ്ടു പരിചയം ഉള്ളതുപോലെ. അദ്ദേഹം മറുപടി പറഞ്ഞു, ഞാൻ വിനോദിന്റെ കസിനാണ്.പിന്നെ എനിക്ക് ചിന്തിക്കേണ്ടി വന്നില്ല. ആ വ്യക്തി K. M. തരിയൻ സാറിന്റെ മകൻ മനോജ് ആയിരുന്നു. തരിയൻ സാറിന്റെ ഭാര്യ മേരിക്കുട്ടി പെങ്ങളുമായി സ്റ്റേറ്റ് ബാങ്ക് ഓഫ് ഇന്ത്യയുടെ എറണാകുളം ശാഖയിൽ ഒന്നിച്ച് ജോലി ചെയ്തിട്ടുണ്ട്. ആ സമയത്താണ് മനോജിനെ പരിചയം. സംഭാഷണത്തിനിടയിൽ ബാങ്ക് ഓഫ് കൊച്ചിന്റെ എന്തെങ്കിലും ചരിത്രമോ, ചരിത്രരേഖകളോ കിട്ടാൻ വല്ല വഴിയുണ്ടോ എന്ന് മനോജ് എന്നോട് ചോദിച്ചു.

 ഞാൻ പറഞ്ഞു, കുറച്ച് പേപ്പർ ന്യൂസുകളും,മറ്റും കൈയിലുണ്ട്. അത് വെച്ച്  ബാങ്കിന്റെ  ചരിത്രമെഴുതാൻ ഞാൻ ശ്രമിക്കുന്നുണ്ട്. ഇത് കേട്ട് കൂടെയുണ്ടായിരുന്ന ശ്രീ. ജോസഫ് പാലക്കൽ എന്നെ പിന്താങ്ങി  പറഞ്ഞു. ഇവൻ നന്നായിട്ട് എഴുതാറുണ്ട്, ഇവനത് ചെയ്തുകൊള്ളും. ആ സപ്പോർട്ട്  പെട്ടെന്ന് ഇത് എഴുതി പൂർത്തിയാക്കാൻ  എനിക്ക് ഉത്തേജനം നൽകി. കാലയവനികയിൽ മറഞ്ഞ എന്റെ ഭാര്യപിതാവും, മുൻ ബാങ്ക് ഓഫ് കൊച്ചിൻ ജീവനക്കാരനും ആയിരുന്ന ഒ. പി. സ്റ്റീഫൻ അവറുകൾ ഭദ്രമായി സൂക്ഷിച്ചിരുന്നതും, എന്നാൽ ഇപ്പോൾ കാലപ്പഴക്കത്താൽ ജീർണിച്ചതുമായ  കുറച്ച് പേപ്പർ റിപ്പോർട്ടുകൾ എല്ലാം പെറുക്കി കൂട്ടി ഇതിനുള്ള ശ്രമം ആരംഭിച്ചു.

 ബാങ്ക് ഓഫ് കൊച്ചിന്റെ ഉത്ഭവ ചരിത്രം 

 1928 -ൽ കൊച്ചി രാജ്യത്തിന്റെ തലസ്ഥാനവും, കേരളത്തിന്റെ വ്യവസായിക കേന്ദ്രവും, കൊച്ചി തുറമുഖത്തിന്റെ ഗേറ്റ് വേയുമായ എറണാകുളം പട്ടണത്തിൽ കൊച്ചി കേന്ദ്രീകരിച്ച്  സ്വകാര്യ മേഖലയിൽ ഒരു ബാങ്കിംഗ് സ്ഥാപനം വിഭാവനം ചെയ്തുകൊണ്ട് സുഭഗ സ്മരണാർത്ഥനായ  ശ്രീ. പി.ജെ.മാത്തൻ( കുമ്പളത്തിന്റെ അഭിമാനമായ പോളപ്പറമ്പിൽ മാത്തൻ വക്കീൽ ) അദ്ദേഹത്തോട് ആത്മാർത്ഥമായി സഹകരിച്ചുകൊണ്ട് ഈ ബാങ്കിംഗ് സ്ഥാപനത്തെ താലോലിച്ചു വളർത്തിയ കൊച്ചി ഹൈക്കോടതി ജഡ്ജി വി.ഡി.ഔസേപ്പ്, ശ്രീമാന്മാർ.പോൾ മാമ്പിള്ളി, റാവു സാഹിബ്, സിജെ മാത്യു, വ്യവസായ പ്രമുഖനായിരുന്ന പീറ്റര്‍ വളവി, പുതുകാര്യ പ്രസക്തനായിരുന്ന ശ്രീ.കുരുവിള കട്ടിക്കാരൻ, മുൻസിപ്പൽ കൗൺസിലർ ആയിരുന്ന സി.ജെ. ജേക്കബ്, കത്തോലിക്ക സമുദായത്തിന്റെ മുന്നണി നേതാവായിരുന്ന ഷെവലിയാർ തരിയതു കുഞ്ഞിത്തൊമ്മൻ തുടങ്ങിയവരുടെ പേരുകൾ ബാങ്ക് ഓഫ് കൊച്ചിന്റെ ചരിത്രത്തിൽ തങ്ക ലിപികളിൽ ആലേഖനം ചെയ്യപ്പെടേണ്ടവയാണ്.

അതുപോലെ അവിസ്മരണാർഹരായ വ്യക്തികളിൽ ഒരാളാണ് ഈ ബാങ്കിംഗ് സ്ഥാപനത്തെ സ്വന്തം എന്നപോലെ കരുതി സമുദായ പ്രമുഖരുടെ മുമ്പാകെ അവതരിപ്പിച്ച് അവരുടെ സമ്പൂർണ്ണ പിന്തുണ സമാർജിച്ചു പ്രധാനം ചെയ്ത എറണാകുളം ആർച്ച് ബിഷപ്പ് മോസ്റ്റ്. റവ. ഡോക്ടർ അഗസ്റ്റിൻ കണ്ടത്തിൽ തിരുമേനി. അദ്ദേഹത്തിന്റെ ധാർമിക പിന്തുണയായിരുന്നു കേരളത്തിലെ ക്രൈസ്തവ സ്ഥാപനങ്ങളുടെയും, വ്യക്തികളുടെയും വിശ്വാസ സഹകരണങ്ങൾ ബാങ്ക് ഓഫ് കൊച്ചിന് സംലബ്ധമാകാൻ സഹായിച്ചത്. പ്രാരംഭ കാല പ്രവർത്തകർ ഇദ്ദേഹത്തെ രക്ഷാധികാരിയായി തിരഞ്ഞെടുത്തു.രക്ഷാധികാരിയും, ഡയറക്ടർമാരും കൂടി രൂപംകൊടുത്ത ഈ ബാങ്കിംഗ് സ്ഥാപനത്തിന്റെ ദൈനംദിന പ്രവർത്തനം കാര്യക്ഷമമായി നടത്തിയിരുന്നതും അതിന്റെ വളർച്ച സുഗമമാക്കിയിരുന്നതും ബാങ്കിന്റെ ചീഫ് എക്സിക്യൂട്ടീവ് എന്ന നിലയിൽ ദീർഘകാലം സേവനം ചെയ്ത ശ്രീ. പി. ജെ. സിറിയക്  പുത്തരിക്കൽ ആയിരുന്നു.

 ഗവൺമെന്റ് നടത്തുന്നതോ, വിദേശികൾ നടത്തുന്നതോ ആയ ബാങ്കിംഗ് സ്ഥാപനങ്ങൾക്ക് അല്ലാതെ ഫോറിൻ എക്സ്ചേഞ്ച് അനുവദിക്കാതിരുന്ന കാലഘട്ടത്തിൽ ശ്രീ. പി. ജെ. സിറിയക്കിന്റെ ചതുരവും,വിദഗ്ധവുമായ നേതൃത്വം ഒന്നു കൊണ്ടാണ് 1929 മുതൽ തന്നെ  വിദേശ നാണ്യ വിനിമയത്തിനുള്ള ലൈസൻസ് കരസ്ഥമാക്കാൻ സാധിച്ചു. ഈ ലൈസൻസ് ലഭിച്ച പ്രഥമ ബാങ്ക് ആണ് ബാങ്ക് ഓഫ് കൊച്ചിൻ. ഇതേത്തുടർന്ന് ബാങ്കിന്റെ പുരോഗതി അസൂയ വഹാമായിരുന്നു.

വിമാനവും, കപ്പലും, തീവണ്ടിയും, ബസ്സും, ബോട്ടും, വഞ്ചിയും എല്ലാ വാഹന സൗകര്യങ്ങളും തൊട്ടുമുറ്റത്തുള്ള ലോകത്തിലെ അപൂർവ സ്ഥലങ്ങളിൽ ഒന്നായ വില്ലിങ്ടൺ ഐലൻഡിൽ ബാങ്ക് ഓഫ് കൊച്ചിന്റെ പ്രഥമ ശാഖ 1940 ൽ സ്വന്തം  കെട്ടിടത്തിൽ ആരംഭിച്ചു. 1862 ൽ ബ്രിട്ടീഷുകാർ സ്ഥാപിച്ച പ്രസിഡൻസി ബാങ്ക്- 1921ൽ ഇംപീരിയൽ ബാങ്ക് ആയി തൊട്ടു പടിഞ്ഞാറേക്കരയായ ഫോർട്ട് കൊച്ചിയിൽ നമ്മുടെ ഈ കൊച്ചു ബാങ്കിനെ നോക്കി സ്ഥിതിചെയ്യുന്നുണ്ടായിരുന്നു.

 ഡയറക്ടർമാരുടെ ദീർഘദൃഷ്ടിയും, തൊഴിലാളികളുടെ നിസ്വാർത്ഥമായ അർപ്പണബോധവും, വിശ്വസ്തതയും,അതേ അളവിൽ തന്നെ ഇടപാടുകാരുടെയും,  അഭ്യുദായകാംക്ഷികളുടെയും ഹൃദയംഗമമായ സഹകരണവും- ബാങ്കിന്റെ അനുശ്രിതമായ വളർച്ചയെ  ത്വരിതപ്പെടുത്തി.1944 ൽ മാർക്കറ്റ് റോഡിലെ കുടിലിൽനിന്ന് വ്യവസായ കേന്ദ്രമായ ബ്രോഡ് വേയുടെ ഹൃദയഭാഗത്ത്  അന്നത്തെ കായലിനോട് ചേർന്ന് ദിവാൻ ആർ.കെ.ഷണ്മുഖം ചെട്ടി അനുവദിച്ചു നൽകിയ സ്ഥലത്ത് കൊട്ടാര സദൃശ്യമായ ബിൽഡിംഗ് പണിത് ബാങ്കിന്റെ പ്രവർത്തനം അതിലേക്ക് മാറ്റി. ദീർഘകാലം ഹെഡ് ഓഫീസും, ബ്രോഡ് വേ  ബ്രാഞ്ചും ഒരുമിച്ചു ഇവിടെ പ്രവർത്തിച്ചു.  

1955 -60 കാലഘട്ടം കേരളത്തിലെ സ്വകാര്യ ബാങ്കിംഗ് സ്ഥാപനങ്ങൾ ഭയചകിതരായി കഴിഞ്ഞ കാലമായിരുന്നു. സർ സി. പി.രാമസ്വാമി അയ്യർ   തിരുവിതാംകൂർ ദിവാൻ ആയിരുന്ന കാലത്ത് ചില പ്രൈവറ്റ് ബാങ്കുകൾ തകരുകയോ, തകർക്കപ്പെടുകയോ ചെയ്ത കാര്യം ഈ ഘട്ടത്തിൽ സ്മരണീയമാണ്. 1960ൽ പ്രശസ്തമായ പാലാ സെൻട്രൽ ബാങ്ക് ഉൾപ്പെടെ ചില പടുകൂറ്റൻ  ബാങ്കിംഗ്  സ്ഥാപനങ്ങൾ ലിക്യുഡേറ്റ് ചെയ്യപ്പെടുകയും, പല ചെറുകിട ബാങ്കുകൾ അമാൽഗമേറ്റ് ചെയ്യപ്പെടുകയും ചെയ്തപ്പോൾ സ്വകാര്യ ബാങ്കുകളിൽ ആത്മവിശ്വാസവും ആ ബാങ്കുകളിൽ ജനങ്ങൾക്കുള്ള ബോധ്യവും നഷ്ടപ്പെട്ടു.

 മഹാ മരങ്ങൾ മറിഞ്ഞുവീഴുന്ന കൊടുങ്കാറ്റിൽ എങ്ങനെ ഒരു ചെറു മരം ശാഖകൾ വിടർത്തി ഉയർന്നുനിൽക്കും എന്ന് ബാങ്ക് ഓഫ് കൊച്ചിനെ നോക്കി പലരും ചോദിച്ചു പോയി. എന്നാൽ അത്തരം ചോദ്യങ്ങളും സംശയങ്ങളും അസ്ഥാനത്താണെന്ന് പൊതുജനങ്ങളെ ബോധ്യപ്പെടുത്താൻ ബാങ്ക് ഓഫ് കൊച്ചിന്റെ കരുത്തുറ്റ സാരഥികൾക്കും,കഴിവുറ്റ ഉദ്യോഗസ്ഥന്മാർക്കും സാധിച്ചു എന്നത് അത്ര നിസ്സാരമായി കരുതാവുന്ന കാര്യമല്ല. ആ  പ്രക്ഷുബ്ധമായ അന്തരീക്ഷത്തിൽ ബാങ്ക് ഓഫ് കൊച്ചിന്റെ അമരക്കാരൻ ആയിരുന്ന ശ്രീമാൻ. പി. ജെ. സിറിയക്  സർവധാ അനുമോദനാർഹനാണ്.ബാങ്കിന്റെ അനുക്രമമായ വികസനം കൂടുതൽ ശക്തിയാർജിക്കുന്നത് 1959 നു ശേഷമാണ്. തുടർന്നുള്ള കുറച്ചു വർഷത്തിനുള്ളിൽ ബാങ്കിന്റെ ശാഖകളുടെ എണ്ണം ഗണ്യമായ തോതിൽ വർദ്ധിച്ചു. മറ്റു ബാങ്കുകളെ അമ്പരപ്പിച്ചുകൊണ്ട് ബാങ്കിംഗ് വ്യവസായത്തിൽ കൊച്ചിൻ ബാങ്ക് തല ഉയർത്തി നിന്നു.

 1961 ൽ നയതന്ത്രജ്ഞനും, അനുഭവസമ്പന്നമായ ശ്രീമാൻ. കെ.എം.തരിയൻ(B.com, A. C. A)അവറുകൾ ബാങ്കിന്റെ ചെയർമാൻ സ്ഥാനത്തേക്ക് ആരോഹണം ചെയ്തതോടെയാണ് ബാങ്ക് ഓഫ് കൊച്ചിൻ വെന്നിക്കൊടി പാറിച്ചു കൊണ്ടുള്ള അതിന്റെ ജൈത്രയാത്ര തുടരുന്നത്.1961 നും 1976 നും മധ്യ ഒന്നര ദശാബ്തകാലം കൊണ്ട് കേരളത്തിന് അകത്തും,പുറത്തുമായി ബാങ്ക് 57 പുതിയ ബ്രാഞ്ചുകൾ തുറന്നു. ബാങ്ക് ഓഫ് കൊച്ചിന്റെ ആരോഗ്യകരമായ വളർച്ച കണ്ട് മനംകുളിർത്ത റിസർവ് ബാങ്കിന് ബാങ്ക് ഓഫ് കൊച്ചിനെ ഷെഡ്യൂൾ ബാങ്ക് ആക്കി ഉയർത്താൻ തീരുമാനിച്ചു. 1977 ൽ ഷെഡ്യൂൾ ബാങ്ക് ആയ വർഷം 19 പുതിയ ബ്രാഞ്ചുകൾ തുറക്കാൻ സാധിച്ചു.

 1978 ഗോൾഡൻ ജൂബിലി വർഷം. 

ഒരു വർഷം നീണ്ടു നിൽക്കുന്ന വിവിധ പരിപാടികൾ ആസൂത്രണം ചെയ്തുകൊണ്ട് ജൂബിലി വർഷത്തിന് ചെയർമാൻ കെ.എം. തരിയൻ അവറു കൾ ഭദ്രദീപം തെളിയിച്ച് തുടക്കം കുറിച്ചു. ജൂബിലി വർഷത്തിന്റെ ഓർമ്മ എന്നും നിലനിൽക്കുവാൻ കടലിന്റെ ആരവത്തെ നെഞ്ചിലേറ്റിയ കായലിനോട് ചേർന്ന് നിൽക്കുന്ന ഷണ്മുഖം റോഡിൽ  ബാങ്കിന്റെ ആസ്ഥാനമന്ദിരത്തിന് ശിലാസ്ഥാപനം നടത്തി.

1978- ആഗസ്റ്റ് മാസം ആറാം തീയതി. 

ബാങ്ക് ഓഫ്  കൊച്ചിനെ അപകടങ്ങൾ കടത്തി മുൻനിര ബാങ്ക് ആയി വളർത്തിയ കുശാഗ്ര ബുദ്ധിയുടെ ഉടമ, ചെയർമാൻ ശ്രീ.കെ. എം.തരിയൻ- താൻ തുടങ്ങിവച്ച പരിപാടികൾക്ക് സമാപനം കുറിക്കാൻ കാത്തുനിൽക്കാതെ  ആകസ്മികമായ വേർപാടിലൂടെ - ആ ദീപം  അണഞ്ഞു. തുടർന്ന് പ്രൊഫസർ. എം.വി. വർഗീസ് അവറുകൾ  തേരോടിക്കാൻ  ആക്ടിംഗ് ചെയർമാനായി ചുമതലയേറ്റു. 

 സുവർണ്ണ ജൂബിലി ആഘോഷങ്ങൾ 

ശ്രീ. എം. വി. വർഗീസിന്റെ നേതൃത്വത്തിൽ 1979 ഫെബ്രുവരി 11 ഞായറാഴ്ച വൈകുന്നേരം 4.30ന് എറണാകുളം ടൗൺ ഹാളിൽ വച്ച് സുവർണ്ണ ജൂബിലി ആഘോഷം കൊണ്ടാടി. ബഹു. കേരള ഗവർണർ ആയിരുന് ശ്രീമതി ജ്യോതി വെങ്കിടാചലം ആഘോഷ പരിപാടികൾ ഉദ്ഘാടനം ചെയ്തു. ഈ മഹാ സമ്മേളനത്തിന് അധ്യക്ഷത വഹിച്ചത് കാർഡിനൽ ജോസഫ് പാറേക്കാട്ടിൽ തിരുമേനി ആയിരുന്നു.

 കൊച്ചി ബിഷപ്പ് ഡോക്ടർ ജോസഫ് കുരീത്തറ, കേരളത്തിന്റെ ആഭ്യന്തരമന്ത്രി ശ്രീ. കെ. എം. മാണി, വിദ്യാഭ്യാസ വകുപ്പ് മന്ത്രി ശ്രീ.സി.എച്ച്. മുഹമ്മദ് കോയ, കൃഷിവകുപ്പ് മന്ത്രി ശ്രീ. എ. എൽ.ജേക്കബ്, ഹരിജന  ക്ഷേമ വകുപ്പ് മന്ത്രി ശ്രീ.ദാമോദരൻ കാളശ്ശേരി, കൊച്ചി മേയർശ്രീ. എ.കെ. ശേഷാദ്രി എന്നിവരുടെ സാന്നിധ്യം കൊണ്ട് വേദി സമ്പന്നമായിരുന്നു. സമ്മേളനാനന്തരം കൊഴുപ്പേറിയ വിവിധ കലാപരിപാടികളും അരങ്ങേറി.

 ജൂബിലി വർഷത്തിൽ ആഴത്തിൽ വലയെറിയുക എന്ന ലക്ഷ്യത്തോടെ ഇന്ത്യയുടെ വ്യവസായ ഹൃദയമായ ബോംബെ നഗരത്തിൽ പുതിയ ശാഖ ആരംഭിച്ചു. ഇതിനുമുമ്പ് 1976 ൽ കേരളത്തിന് പുറത്തുള്ള ശാഖകൾ കോയമ്പത്തൂരിലും, മദ്രാസത്തിലും സ്ഥാപിച്ചു.ബാങ്കിലെ ഓഫീസർമാർക്കും, സ്റ്റാഫിനും പരിശീലനം നൽകുന്നതിന് വേണ്ടി എറണാകുളത്ത് ഒരു ട്രെയിനിങ് കോളേജ് ബാങ്ക്  സ്വന്തമായി സ്ഥാപിക്കുകയുണ്ടായി. ഈ കാലയളവിൽ ബാങ്കിന്  സ്ഥിരം ചെയർമാനായി ശ്രീ ഇ കെ ആൻഡ്രൂസ് അവറുകൾ ചുമതലയേറ്റു. ഭാരതത്തിലെ ബാങ്ക് സമൂഹത്തിൽ രാഷ്ട്രത്തിന്റെ സാമൂഹിക,സാമ്പത്തിക മേഖലകളിൽ ഉന്നത സ്ഥാനം ബാങ്ക് ഓഫ് കൊച്ചിൻ ഇതിനകം കരസ്ഥമാക്കി.

ജൂബിലി വർഷത്തിന്റെ സ്മരണക്കായി പണികഴിപ്പിച്ച മറൈൻഡ്രൈവിലെ പ്രഥമ 12 നില കെട്ടിടവും, എറണാകുളത്തെ ഏറ്റവുംഉയരം കൂടിയ കെട്ടിടങ്ങളിൽ ഒന്നുമായ  ബാങ്കിന്റെ ആസ്ഥാനം മന്ദിരത്തിന്റെ ഉദ്ഘാടനം 1982 ജനുവരി 31ന് ഭാരതത്തിന്റെ ബഹുമാനപ്പെട്ട പ്രസിഡന്റ്‌. ശ്രീ. നീലം സജീവ് റെഡി അവറുകൾ നിർവഹിച്ചു. അറബിക്കടലിന്റെ വിരിമാറിലേക്ക് കണ്ണു നട്ടു നിൽക്കുന്ന ബാങ്കിന്റെ കെട്ടിടം ഒരു നോക്ക് കാണാൻ സമീപ പ്രദേശങ്ങളിൽ നിന്ന് ജനങ്ങൾ ഒഴുകിയെത്തി.

 ബാങ്ക് വീണ്ടും പൂർവാധികം ശക്തിയോടെ കുതിച്ചുയർന്നുകൊണ്ടിരുന്നു. എന്നാൽ ആ കുതിപ്പ് അധിക നാൾ  തുടരാൻ സാധിച്ചില്ല. എവിടെയോയല്ലാം കുഴപ്പങ്ങൾ സംഭവിക്കാൻ തുടങ്ങി. ബാങ്കിന്റെ കുതിപ്പിൽ  കിതപ്പ് അനുഭവപ്പെട്ടു. വഴിവിട്ട വായ്പകൾ നൽകിയതിലൂടെ ചെയർമാൻ ശ്രീ.ഇ. കെ. ആൻഡ്രൂസ് തലസ്ഥാനത്തുനിന്ന് നീക്കം ചെയ്യപ്പെട്ടു. പുതിയ ചെയർമാനായി ഡയറക്ടർ ഇൻ ചാർജ് പദവിയിൽ  ശ്രീ. യു. ജെ. തരിയൻ അവറുകൾ അധികാരം ഏറ്റു. അദ്ദേഹം ബാങ്കിന്റെ  പ്രവർത്തനങ്ങൾ  ഊർജ്ജസ്വലമാക്കാൻ പരിശ്രമിച്ചു. 

ബാങ്കിലെ ക്രമക്കേടുകളെ തുടർന്ന്  റിസർവ് ബാങ്കിന്റെ കടുത്ത നിരീക്ഷണത്തിൽ ബാങ്ക് മുന്നോട്ടു പോയിക്കൊണ്ടിരുന്നു. 1984 ൽ ബാങ്കിന്റെ അവസാനത്തെ ചെയർമാനായ ശ്രീ. യു. ജെ. തരിയനും റിസർവ് ബാങ്കിന്റെ നിർദ്ദേശാനുസരണം സ്ഥാനത്യാഗം  ചെയ്യേണ്ടി വന്നു. ഡയറക്ടർ ബോർഡിന്റെ ആവശ്യപ്രകാരം റിസർവ് ബാങ്ക് ഓഫ് ഇന്ത്യയുടെ നോമിനയായി ശ്രീ. പി. ഐ. ജോൺ അവറുകൾ ചെയർമാന്റെ സ്ഥാനത്ത്ഓഫീസർ ഓൺ സ്പെഷ്യൽ ഡ്യൂട്ടി(OSD) എന്ന പേരിൽ നിയമിതിനായി. അദ്ദേഹത്തിന്റെ നേതൃത്വത്തിലും ബാങ്കിന് അധികകാലം മുന്നോട്ടു പോകാനായില്ല.

 1985- APRIL 27.

 അതൊരു ശനിയാഴ്ച ആയിരുന്നു. ബാങ്ക് ഓഫ് കൊച്ചിനെ സംബന്ധിച്ചിടത്തോളം ഒരു ദുഃഖ ശനി.  12 മണിക്ക് ഇടപാടുകാരുടെ ഇടപാടുകൾ എല്ലാം അവസാനിപ്പിച്ച് ജോലിക്കാർ മറ്റ് ജോലികൾ തീർത്ത് വീടുകളിലേക്ക് മടങ്ങാനുള്ള തിരക്കുകളി ലായിരുന്നു. ഈ സമയം കേന്ദ്രസർക്കാരിന്റെ നിർദ്ദേശപ്രകാരം റിസർവ് ബാങ്ക് ഓഫ്  ഇന്ത്യയുടെ ഉദ്യോഗസ്ഥർ ബാങ്കിന്റെ ഹെഡ് ഓഫീസിലും, 108 ശാഖകളിലും ടെലക്സ്, ടെലഗ്രാം മെസ്സേജുകളിലൂടെ മൊറോട്ടോറിയം  പ്രഖ്യാപിച്ചതായി അറിയിച്ചു. എറണാകുളത്തെ ഹെഡ് ഓഫീസിൽ റിസർവ് ബാങ്ക് ഓഫ് ഇന്ത്യയുടെ ഉദ്യോഗസ്ഥർ നേരിട്ടെത്തി മൊറോട്ടോറിയം പ്രഖ്യാപിച്ച കത്ത് കൈമാറി. നാലുമാസത്തെ മൊറോട്ടോറിയത്തിന് ശേഷം ബാങ്ക് ഓഫ് കൊച്ചിനെ  സിൻഡിക്കേറ്റ് ബാങ്കിൽ ലയിപ്പിക്കും എന്നായിരുന്നു ആദ്യത്തെ പ്രചരണം.

ആശങ്കയിലും, ആകുലതയിലുമായ ഇടപാടുകാരും, ജീവനക്കാരും നെട്ടോട്ടമോടിയ സമയമായിരുന്നു ഇത്.ഈ കാലയളവിൽ 2500/-ഒരു രൂപ വരെയുള്ള ഇടപാടുകൾ നടത്തുവാൻ മാത്രമേ നിക്ഷേപകരെ അനുവദിച്ചിരുന്നുള്ളൂ. നാലുമാസത്തിനുള്ളിൽ ബാങ്കിന്റെ ആസ്തി- ബാധ്യതകൾ പരിശോധിച്ച് തുടർനടപടികൾ അറിയിക്കുമെന്നും  റിസർവ്ബാങ്ക് അറിയിച്ചു. മുൻ ബാലൻസ് ഷീറ്റ് അനുസരിച്ച് ബാങ്കിൽ 92 കോടി രൂപയുടെ നിക്ഷേപമുണ്ട്. 52 കോടി രൂപ വായ്പ ഇനത്തിൽ നൽകിയിട്ടുള്ളതിന് പുറമേ ഗവൺമെന്റ് സെക്യൂരിറ്റികളിലും ബാങ്ക് പണം നിക്ഷേപിച്ചിട്ടുണ്ട്. കൂടാതെ ബാങ്കിന് സ്വന്തമായി സ്ഥലവും, കെട്ടിടങ്ങളും ഉണ്ട്.  ബാങ്കിന് ഷണ്മുഖം റോഡിലെ  12 നില കെട്ടിടം, കൂടാതെ ബ്രോഡ് വേ ,  വില്ലിങ്ടൺ ഐലൻഡ്, ഇരിങ്ങാലക്കുട, ഏലപ്പാറ, മൂന്നാർ എന്നീ ശാഖകൾ  സ്വന്തം കെട്ടിടത്തിലാണ് പ്രവർത്തിച്ചിരുന്നത്.

 ഇതിനിടയിൽ ബാങ്കിന്റെ ലയനം വേഗത്തിൽ ആക്കണമെന്ന് ആവശ്യപ്പെട്ടുകൊണ്ട് INTUC യൂണിയനിൽ അഫിലിയേറ്റ് ചെയ്ത കൊച്ചിൻ ബാങ്ക് എംപ്ലോയീസ് യൂണിയന്റെ നേതൃത്വത്തിൽ അന്നത്തെ ജനറൽ സെക്രട്ടറി അടുത്തകാലത്ത് നിര്യാതനായ ശ്രീ. ചാക്കോച്ചൻ.പി. തയ്യി ലിന്റെ നേതൃത്വത്തിൽ സമരപരിപാടികൾ ആരംഭിച്ചു. കേന്ദ്രസർക്കാർ മിണ്ടാ നയവുമായി മുന്നോട്ടു പോയപ്പോൾ ശ്രീ. ചാക്കോച്ചൻ നിരാഹാര സത്യാഗ്രഹത്തിലേക്ക് പ്രവേശിച്ചു. കേരള രാഷ്ട്രീയത്തിലെ പ്രമുഖരായ നേതാക്കളെല്ലാം സമരപ്പന്തലിൽ എത്തി അഭിവാദ്യങ്ങൾ അർപ്പിക്കുകയും, പിന്തുണ പ്രഖ്യാപിക്കുകയും ചെയ്തു.  എംപ്ലോയീസ് യൂണിയൻ പ്രസിഡന്റും, അന്നത്തെ ധനകാര്യ മന്ത്രിയുമായിരുന്ന ശ്രീ. ഉമ്മൻചാണ്ടിയുടെ  ഇടപെടലുകളും,കേരള സർക്കാരിന്റെ പ്രത്യേക സമ്മർദ്ദത്തിനും  വഴങ്ങി  ലോകം അറിയുന്ന കൊച്ചി നഗരത്തിൽ ആരംഭിച്ച  ബാങ്ക് ഓഫ് കൊച്ചിൻ എന്ന പേര് മായിക്കപ്പെട്ടു.

1985 ഓഗസ്റ്റ് 26 തിങ്കൾ. 

അതൊരു നല്ല തിങ്കളാഴ്ചയായിരുന്നു.

 ലോകത്തിലെ മുൻനിര ബാങ്കും, ഭരത സർക്കാരിന്റെ ബാങ്കുമായ  സ്റ്റേറ്റ് ബാങ്ക് ഓഫ് ഇന്ത്യയിൽ  ബാങ്ക് ഓഫ് കൊച്ചിൻ ലയിപ്പിച്ച സുദിനം.  ലയന വിവരമറിഞ്ഞ് അനിശ്ചിതകാല നിരാഹാരത്തിൽ ക്ഷീണിതനായിരുന്ന ശ്രീ. ചാക്കോച്ചൻ പി. തയ്യിൽ 14 ദിവസത്തെ തന്റെ നിരാഹാര സത്യാഗ്രഹം അവസാനിപ്പിച്ചു. ചാക്കോച്ചൻ പി. തയ്യിൽ എന്ന പേരു കൂടി ബാങ്ക് ഓഫ് കൊച്ചിന്റെ ചരിത്ര രേഖകളിൽ തങ്കലിപികളാൽ എഴുതിയാൽ ബാങ്ക് ഓഫ് കൊച്ചിന്റെ  ചരിത്രം ഇവിടെ അവസാനിക്കുമെന്ന് ഈ എളിയവന് തോന്നുന്നു.

ഏറ്റവും സ്നേഹത്തോടെ,

കുമ്പളം ചാക്കോ. 

09.07.2025

📞 9497019357

IT'S 40 YEARS SINCE IT BECAME MEMORY

CENTENARY HALL, CSI CHRIST CHURCH, PALAYAM, TRIVANDRUM

 CENTENARY HALL, CSI CHRIST CHURCH, PALAYAM, TRIVANDRUM 

Lest we forget.

John Kurien, former CGM of NABARD was jolted when a young man talked of the Centenary Hall that the members of the Christ Church  had  built with their own hard work over a period of two years. The young man was advocating  the outright erasure of the Centenary Hall from where it stood majestically all these 67 years.  According to him the building - a really sturdy building at that - had outlived its utility.. He wanted it demolished at once and was clamouring for  building a large structure at a very high cost in its place to serve future generations.

John Kurien reminisces: 

Every day after school,all the boys would reach the Church compound and carry bricks to the work spot

They would water the earlier construction 

Any other work our Benjamin Achen said, we would do and leave by 5.30 pm to our homes 

We had sacrificed our play time 

Our parents earned very little and by way of cash contribution it was too little as the scale of pay had been Rs.40 to 120 

But our mothers in all homes kept three times more daily pidiyari for the Hall instead of one handful everyday when the Parish Hall to commemorate the Centenary of the Church was being built. 

We had three congregations then

The English paid more, the Tamils who were merchants then, too contributed well and  the Malayalam, mostly Govt.Servants that too mostly clerks and teachers also paid what they could

The end result was, for two years the children got less food as the rice for the month bought once when parents got salary, was to be given as pidiyari three times more

Benjamin Achen,when he learned that Emperor Haile Selasie was visiting Trivandrum, used his good relations with Justice T.K.Joseph, then Judge of the High Court Bench in TVM and managed to get a visit by the Emperor to our Church through Rajbhavan

The visit was fruitful,we sang Ethiopian National Anthem, me too, as the boys' soprano on that day. 

He was much pleased and gave a generous donation of Rs 25,O00 for the construction of the Centenary Hall.

Out of the total cost incurred of Rs.56,000 between 1956 and Nov 1958, the balance - Rs.31,000 - was raised by three congregations from  around 160 contributors , out of which 143 were members of Christ Church and the remaining were well wishers

The contribution list preserved by parents is still kept in safe custody

I do not think the present generation families whose average income at present is more than Rs 1.5 lac per month, would  give thrice their daily contribution similar to the pidyari of our parents' time to the project they propose.

Talking is easy to deceive others ,but actual giving and using the God given property through His grace alone is to be pondered in right spirit

BUREAUCRACY

  

Bureaucracy

God in His innate wisdom created the heaven and the earth. As he looked at it from the heaven the earth looked magnificent. In a sublime moment God created man. He put man in charge of his creation and entrusted him to nurture His majestic creation. Though He was single, God felt his protégé, man, needed a companion. God presented man with the woman he was to live with.

Everything went well. Mankind flourished on earth. When their numbers galloped, men wanted someone to rule over them in the earth itself. For them, the remote control of God did not augur well. Well, men had their rulers. The rulers were smart. They knew they could not rule over the whole world alone. They created the infamous bureaucracy.

Wherever you are you cannot free yourselves from the clutches of bureaucracy. They call it the system. The system perpetuates itself. People are mesmerized by the carrots of government jobs they dangle. Once the bureaucrats are in, they learn how to survive without doing anything concrete. Everything is absurd for them except their own affairs. They douse the creativity in man. They learn to scribble notes and push the files up and down and ensure nothing works.

The people are happy to pay taxes. Taxes are the income of the Government. The expenditure of the Government is two pronged. While one is the compensation of the government employees, the other is freebies handed over to the people. Developmental activities have no priority whatsoever.

People expect their rulers to partake in their joys and sorrows. The rulers would present themselves at all functions in the households, be it weddings or death or anything else. If calamity occurs the usual refrain of the people is that no Minister, MP, MLA or local body member ever cared to visit them. The rulers play game. They would visit the people and ensure that some assistance is provided to them. If death occurs on the roads due to poor maintenance of roads no one is bothered though taxes are meant to keep the roads in good condition. If public buildings, that collapse and kill people even though they should have been demolished eons ago, stands there unharmed due to the handiwork of the bureaucratic file pushers, it is the success of the system.

When disaster strikes the rulers are active. They shell out doles in the form of cash and lowly jobs that are mere pittances. It makes people contented.

Look at what happens in the much hated US of A. A doctor migrated to USA after finishing his MBBS in a medical college here. He worked hard. He acquired more and more qualifications. He was a top neonatologist. It was a successful career. But what he learned here did him more harm than good. When a child was airlifted to his hospital in a critical condition, he knew a blood transfusion alone would save the child from a certain death. He arranged the transfusion without obtention of the consent from the child’s parents.

Well, that was the learned doctor's undoing. The blood transfused was HIV infected. The child too became infected. In a landmark judgment the American Court saddled the poor doctor with a liablility of Rs.65.00 crore. The liability was reduced to Rs.5.00 crore on appeal, but with a single rider. The Doctor was barred from practicing neonatology in future. Since he was well qualified he turned to family medicine where he was highly successful.

When a ceiling fan in my church fell over me 23 years ago, an event that had incapacitated me for over a month, the prime concern of the authorities of the church was that I should not file for compensation and it seemed to us their sole agenda was to erase all traces of such a mishap. They never bothered to make any enquiries on how the unfortunate victim was making out or spare a  fraction of their precious time to pay a visit.

No one would admit that the floods of 2018 that had overran most of the districts in a state was a manmade disaster. But it indeed was. 

The files have to move for resolving issues, not to mire them in inextricable webs.

The bureaucracy today is not at all accountable to anyone except  in ensuring the perpetuation of their own welfare. The people who prop them up and sustain them are of no consequence to them

All this could drastically be altered if the compensation for the suffering of  people is hiked to much and much higher levels if it is caused through obvious or deliberate neglect  by the bureaucracy. The Government would then have to  decisively act when it is mandated to shell out  the compensation not cosmetically in bits and bits, but in crores and crores. 

The faster the retribution, the quicker the largesse would reach  the deserving for a change. 

We look for the dawn of such a wonderful day.

Will it happen when we are alive?

 

FOUR DEATHS IN TWO YEARS THAT RATTLED US

 

FOUR DEATHS IN TWO YEARS THAT RATTLED US

The responsible authorities strongly maintain that the recent deaths that had occurred in the country were due to heart attacks and the covid shots had nothing to do with the unfortunate deaths. They must be right. They know much better than us, the ordinary human beings.

Deaths are a common occurrence. Life well begun has to cease somewhere. Check the obit pages of any newspaper. We could observe at least 50 to 100 deaths reported daily. It reveals to us the hard possibility. There would be a place for us in the obit pages one day.

Each death if probed would tell us the pain the families undergo when a dear one departs. The departure leaves those left behind in distress, agony and sorrow. Picking up the broken pieces and moving ahead is a big challenge. Very often the one who has gone must have been the sole bread winner. Death, we have to say, is very unkind to the living.

We were rattled by four deaths in the last two years.

It began with Rex. He was 44. He was working at Dubai. His family was at Ernakulam. Rex was well liked by everyone he came into contact with. The end was quick. One day, he felt an uneasiness at home in Dubai. He was taken to the hospital at once. He was dead on arrival. It was a heart attack, the doctors pronounced. Rex’s father at Kattanam maintains it was the covid shot that killed his son. Any case Rex is gone.

The second was Arun Rani. She was Rani to us. She was an upright girl. She was very conscientious. She passed away eight days after giving birth to a baby girl. She was 35. The preliminary postmortem report states she had shrunk blood vessels close to her heart.

Alice Mathew was 70. One day, a relative at the adjacent house observed her lying unconscious near her well. It seemed she was washing the clothes. She was alone. Her husband was not at home. The relative managed to get her to a hospital. She passed away after a day in the ICU.

Alice Ninan was 73. She was a widow. She stayed alone at Erumeli. She had two sons, one at UK and the other at Chennai. The son at Chennai had come down to stay with her for a few days. On that fateful day, when the son came down to the kitchen to enquire when he could have the breakfast, he saw her lying down on the floor unconscious. He could see that she had been cutting the vegetables for Sambar. She was taken at once to the hospital. She was dead on arrival.

The questions remain. Why? How?

Fact is, they died young in these days of longevity.

It is quite inexplicable.

We hope such episodes never recur.

 

DRINK COFFEE RIGHT, ADD YEARS TO YOUR LIFE

Let me go back to our days at Munnar in the 50s, 60s and 70s of the 20th century.

Papa was an employee of the KDHPCoLtd. He had to be present at the KDHP Workshop before 7 am. 

He would get up before 6 am in the morning, prepare black coffee with Jaggery and wake us up at 6 am sharp and serve the hot coffee. The routine still sticks on with me. I wake up before 6am every day, no matter however late I go to sleep the previous night. 

Munnar was very cold those days. We would be shivering as we were forced out of our sound sleep. 

Once coffee was over, Papa would herd us to the sitting room. It was prayer time. We would sing together a song. The rest belonged to Papa. He would read the bible and pray. Our role was to join when the Lord's prayer came up.

Papa's faith in God was rocklike. It stood with him at all times. 

6.40 am, he would leave for the Workshop. Once the job there was done, he would move on to the Head Quarters of the KDHPCo. A segment of his job was at the Engineering Department there.

Hardwork rewarded him, though the going was tough. He was a B Covenented official of the Company when he retired. His job profile had been varied. It covered all the estates and factories of KDHPCo and its  establishments along with the buildings and roads in and around Munnar, and at times at the Anamalais. The private estate at Kolugumalai too was in the armoury. 

When I went through the article in the newspaper on Coffee, memories sprouted.

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Coffee could add years to your life, if only you drink it right

Dr.S.K.Sarin, liver specialist, speaks to Durgesh Nandan Jha in Times of India of 3rdJuly2025

1.   Drinking 1 - 2 cups of coffee daily (black coffee and low sugar/fatcofee) lowers all cause mortality risk by 16%

2.   Drinking 2 - 3 cups of coffee daily lowers all cause mortality risk by 17%.

3.   Black coffee reduces mortality by 14%

4.   High sugar/ fat coffee has no mortality benefits.

5.   Moderate intake of coffee produces 35% reduction in cardiovascular episodes.

6.   Those drinking 1 - 2 cups of coffee daily were found to have reduced risk of death due to cancer and cardiovascular causes.

7.   Drinking more than two cups of unsweetened coffee daily reduces incidence of new cancers and cancer related deaths.

8.   Coffee can be considered a drug for metabolic liver diseases. It is not an antidote to smoking, alcohol, sugar and fat.

9.  Consumption of two cups of cofee reduces risk of death due to liver cirrhosis.

10.Each extra cup of coffee reduces depression risk by 8%

11.Drinking coffee helps mitigate the ill effects of metabolic syndrome - hypertension, obesity, diabetes, high lipids

12.Coffee changes the gut bacteria for good and has anti inflammatory and anti cancer compounds.

13.Coffee counteracts fatigue. Moderate consumption lowers the risk of stroke and dementia.

14. While coffee's main ingredient, Caffeine, is addictive and psychoactive if consumed in excess, Caffeine has potent antioxidant, antifibrotic and anti lipid properties if taken in moderation.. It suppresses adenosine - a molecule that causes sleepiness -  and stimulates the nervous system,releases hormones dopamine, and serotonin that lift mood, energy levels, alertness and memory.

15.Coffee raises levels of adiponectin, an insulin sensitising hormone linked to fat burning.

16.Coffee is a beverage, not a drug. It should be consumed like one, in moderation and at a proper time.

17.Milk and sugar add to the calorie count. That's why drip cofee or regular balck coffe is most beneficial to health. 

18.A spoon or two of milk in coffee may reduce acidity.

19.Milk is not for those with lactose intolerance.

20.Milk reduces absorption of chlorogenic acid which is anti inflammatory and anti oxidant.

RTC - Ready - to - Cook // RTE - Ready - to - Eat

 When we succeded in our efforts to locate a maid to assist the home maker, the maid to be, enquired the jobs she had to undertake at our place. When she was told she would have to make just six chappathis for the two of us she exploded. She said she didn't know how to make chappathis. No one  was making chappathis at home, she went on and added that she herself had been buying half cooked chappathis every day from the  neighbouring shops for her own needs at home. Fortunately for us, she lasted just one day.

Yesterday we were taking our grandchild to the paediatrician who was 12 kms away from our place. The child had severe cough. We could observe several restaurants and take away counters that were doing brisk business on the entire 12km stretch. The homemaker remarked, the finest business today was nothing but eateries because no one cooked anything at home these days.

We could only concur among ourselves  because we were already familiar with  demands of the clientele for RTCs and RTEs at our son's shop.

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Rupali Mukherjee writes in Tmes of India of 3rd July 2025.

RTC is the only catgory in packaged foods that has doubled its business volume over the last two years in India.

While packaged goods witnessed single digit  growth  of 8%, RTC category recorded 58% increase in 2024.

From Dosa batters to curry and cake mixes, shoppers are not only embracing ease, but have doubled their anuual trips to purchase the category.

Urbanisation, the rise of dual income households and a busy evolving lifestyle  are driving the trend.

However RTE category is losing relevance. Customers show a greater interest towards semi cooked options that offer convenience without compromising the home cooked experience compared to fully cooked meals.

RTE, which includes products that can be served straight from the pack - such as, heat and eat pulaos, heat and eat curries, where the packaged foods need to be warmed before eating - has lost half its volume in the past two years. 

Convenience is the king. But the landscape is evolving.

Consumers want speed, but they also crave freshness, health and control over their their meals.Brands that innovate along these lines stand poised to capture the next wave of growth.

Capitalising on the trend, packaged food companies are expanding their offering. According to them, these products tend to be more popular, as they cater to the consumers' desire to feel involved in the cooking process.

Another reason for the demand in in the RTC category is on account of the increase in the disposable income and the accessibility boosted by the recent rise of quick commerce along with the convenience and the innovation in the product portfolio.

It makes the Indian consumer  add RTC in their grocery portfolio on a larger scale.