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My Great-grandparents |
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Picture taken at Trivandrum in the year 1914. My great-grandpa died on August the 9th,1919, at the age of 60; and my great-grandma on December the 28th, 1937, at the age of 78. |
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I belong to the Vallakalil family of Kerala, one of those converted by St.Thomas when he came to India. Our ancestral house faces the River Pampa, on the banks of which I spent many happy holidays. All I had to do was cross the road! That land which belonged to us has now been sold and ugly buildings have come up there, obstructing the soothing view we had from our house. But like Wordsworth said, the memories often "flash upon that inward eye" - something that I will always be thankful for. |
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My mother hails from the family of Shankaramangalam. |
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This picture was taken in May'68 in Crystal Palace, the house where my brother Sanjay, (the little boy in the picture) my cousin Suja (on the extreme right) and I were born. It brings back so many memories! So many people in the picture are no more: my grandparents, Sanjay, Sappu.... Kunjumol Aunty and Daddy. |
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The house itself is located in Cochin, the Queen of the Arabian Sea. It belonged to my grandfather Dr. A.O. Mathews. My Ammachy (grandmother) Susan, was a school teacher in Kohlapur before she married my grandfather. She was madly in love with him and actually waited for him for nine years before they got married. She belonged to the family of Kochuparongotu. My grandparents lavished us with their love. My mother, Ivy (the stylish lady in the sleeveless blouse!) had only one sister - Elizabeth - Kunjumol Aunty as I call her. Her husband- Dr. Raju Easau - Raju Uncle is standing behind her in the picture. My grandfather left this house to my aunt. I was heartbroken when Crystal Palace was renovated and turned into a posh guest house- Fort Heritage. That was in 1997. But I have to admit that that is far better than having it pulled down. It now belongs to my cousin Suja.
My sister Surekha is the pretty little girl in the picture. I am the one standing between Dad (behind Mum) and Raju Uncle, proudly carrying my precious baby sister Sappu .
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Can you hear "My grandfather's clock"? How I loved it! I wonder where it is now. It used to be in Crystal Palace. I love the song too! |
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CRYSTAL PALACE
I remember, I remember
The house where I was born
The enormous windows where the sun
Blazed gently through each morn
He never came a wink too soon
Nor brought too long a day
But for the joy it gave me then
I have this heavy price to pay.
I remember, I remember
The bed where I was born
Where every summer in the hols
I'd sleep from dark to dawn
I didn't know why I loved it so
Till one day my Grandma told me so
With her twinkling eyes and face aglow
And then I loved it even more.
I remember, I remember
Each towering, massive room;
That matched my Grandma's heart for size
There was no space for gloom,
Filled and bursting out with love
God's greatest blessing from above.
Each memory was neatly filed
And pored over later by the child.
I remember, I remember
My Grandpa, spruce and smart
Resplendent always: morning, night or noon
Generous with his gifts and treats
His Morris Minor was his joy and pride.
And we'd always chant when we wanted a ride
"Acha, Marine Drive! "
"Acha, Marine Drive!"
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I remember, I remember
My dearest, darling Aunt:
Fragrant as the Dreamflower Talc
My arms about her I would plant
And beg her for her long, thick hair!
With her selfless love and tender care
And Uncle's quaint pets and quainter gramaphone
A child could never be forlorn.
I remember, I remember
The glorious,indescribable fare
Spread invitingly on the table round:
Crisp achappams and churutus rare
Spongy appams in their lacy frills
Dipped in steaming, sumptuous stew
Tantalizing aromas wafting thru the old stoves
Which blew out spires of curling smoke.
I remember, I remember
The guavas, fleshy, pink;
The rambling garden with its flowers,
Pigeons that would wink;
The dogs, the birds, the lizards, even
Which I would help to feed.
The hens that clucked, the ducks that quacked
Saying goodbye to each after we'd packed.
I remember, I remember
Each second, sweet and short
But who am I to question why
The one thing I had constant thought
Had been offered sacrifice
To the slaughterer's tortuous knife.
What irony, Crystal Palace is now
The Heritage, where the guests go,"Wow!"
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June 24th 1997- I will never forget this day because I have never cried more in a single day than I did then. The day we left India! Ten months before our darling Sappu left us, tho' we didn't know that it would be so. The last day my husband and kids saw Sappu... This picture was taken in my parents' house in Vikrampuri, Secunderabad. My son is holding my darling nephew Nanhu (Shivesh) How absolutely adorable he looks! I lost my father on the 6th of February, 2001. |
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My sweet cousin Prisu as a bride... |
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