THEY'D been mulling over it for a long time. But six months ago, they finally decided it would be nicer if they just hopped aboard a plane and did it.
So Wednesday morning found Peter Van Ross and his younger brothers David and Ernest in the office of the administrator of the Russian Cultural Centre here, chatting excitedly like schoolboys. After ages of dreaming and planning, they’d done it. They were home.
``I was thinking about it all night,’’ Peter whispered reverently. ``It’s historical, trying to picture something 80 or 90 years ago. Our world was so different then. No motorcycles, no scooters...,’’ David broke in, his voice trailing off in awe.
In another world and time, the thatched home of their grandfather stood a few feet from where they sat. The offices of the Honorary Russian Consul stand here today. But the memories remain.
Peter, David and Ernest are the grandsons of Arthur John Van Ross, former Excise Commissioner of the Travancore State. A popular figure of the time, Arthur’s ancestors were every bit Indian, though they were of Dutch stock.
His great-grandfather settled here many, many years ago in the golden age of Dutch trade in the East. Arthur married a local girl, Stella Regina. Today, the junction where the Consulate and Cultural Centre stands is named after him.
``He did a lot of good things here, like stopping the drug trade. When he retired, they gave him a golden garland. We still have pieces of that. The Excise Department gave him an ivory box with a gold plaque. I still have that at home,’’ Peter said.
Arthur could speak snatches of Malayalam, so did his son Paul, whose three sons made the proverbial down-the-memory-lane trip on Wednesday. ``None of us learned either Malayalam or Dutch, though. We speak only English,’’ regrets Peter.
For them, it’s homecoming time.
Peter, 65, today lives in Sydney, Australia, while his brothers live in Manchester, England. Peter, who retired from Philips, is now project manager with Sydney’s Roads and Traffic Authority. David, 63, retired as communications engineer from ‘Daily Express’, a newspaper in England. Ernest, 59, ``is still young’’ and not retired. He is a consultant physician with the Manchester Royal Infirmary.
Their father is now no more. Their mother, Merlin, who is in Australia, turns 90 on February 13. So the brothers dreamed up the plan of a lifetime; they would tour Kerala - Peter and David for the first time and Ernest for the second time since a one-day visit 25 years ago. They would visit the hillock on which Arthur’s home once stood, and spend some time at his grave at the Pattoor Cemetery. Then they would go Down Under and help their mother slice the birthday cake.
The trio arrived in Kochi on Saturday and also saw something of the Periyar Game Reserve. At Van Ross Junction, they also got hold of a guide, Moorthy, to take them around. ``But we’re making sure that we are in Australia by February 10,’’ Peter said.a
Arthur Van Ross died in 1959 of a heart attack. After that, Stella sold the property (the KPCC office functioned here after that and in 1969, the USSR government bought it for the House of Soviet Culture) and went to Bangalore to live with Paul.
Paul had a medical practice going there after his retirement from the Royal Indian Navy. His three sons were born and brought up in the Garden City. Years later, the siblings parted ways. How that came about is quite interesting, because it was a round of golf that did it.
``Our father was playing golf with the Australian Trade Commissioner, and he told him he was packing us off to England. But the Trade Commissioner asked my father whether he was mad. So my father asked me to leave for Australia instead,’’ explained Peter. ``I left for Australia with seven dollars in my pocket.’’
Of their grandmother’s family in Kerala and their relations in Holland, the three brothers have no idea whatsoever.
Even the India of their memories have disappeared. But mostly for the better, says Peter.
``India is progressing. In 20 years, India will be one of the leading powers,’’ he predicts.
But the traffic expert in him views things a bit differently. ``It’s crazy. But we saw only one accident during our stay here. The drivers here are the best in the world,’’ he says. David chips in meditatively, ``It’s organised chaos.’’
Cricket really puts their loyalties to test. When England plays Australia in the Ashes, Peter sides with Australia while his brothers cheer for England. But Peter has a problem when India plays Australia. ``I’ve seen the best of both countries. And we love Indian food,’’ he says with a grin.
``Do you know, there is a ‘Curry Lane’ in Manchester, where there are a lot of Indian shops. Sometime back, a poll was held in England and Indian food was voted the most popular,’’ says Ernest.
Next time, the brothers plan to bring their wives with them. Why didn’t they do that this time? ``We would be seeing only shops then. We would see nothing of this,’’ Ernest says, looking around him at the white buildings of the Russian Consulate.
tikirajwi@epmltd.com