Family history books are often dull affairs, mostly singing paeans to the ancestors, especially if written by a family member.
Profiles of the Parayil Tharakans - Glimpses of the History of a Family, a Region and a Church, authored by P K M Tharakan, professor emeritus at the University of Antwerp, Belgium, breaks this notion as he discusses the lives and times of four members of the Parayil family of Thycattussery and Ezhupunna in Cherthala, Alappuzha, over a period of 177 years from 1807 to 1984.
The four members are Ayyanatt Avira Kunjavira Tharakan (1807-1879), Puthenveetil Avira Varkey Tharakan (1836-1906), Ayyanatt Outha Kunjavira Tharakan (1879-1936) and Mangalamuttathu Varkey Hormese Tharakan (1906-1984). The Parayil family was the custodian of the manuscript believed to be the original of the Varthamanapusthakam, the well-known travelogue written by Paremakkal Thoma Governadore about a historic journey under the leadership of Archbishop Dr Joseph Cariatti, all the way to the Vatican to plead the case of Syrian Catholics and to express the need for unity with the Jacobite church.
Kunjavira, the first among the four discussed, took decisive steps towards financially helping the formation of the first indigenous congregation, the present Carmelites of Mary Immaculate (CMI); earmarking a substantial amount for the establishment of a seminary for the Syrian clergy; and in welcoming and facilitating the functioning of a Syrian Bishop Mar Thomas Rocos in Kerala. The period saw the group led by the Parayils asserting their right to be independent of the existing regional hierarchy, Rev Chavara Kuriakose and Msgr Baccinelli brought in stronger measures, and curbed the so-called ‘Rocos Schism’ or revolt.
Avira Varkey Tharakan along with broker Avira Horemese Tharakan continued the efforts of Avira Kunjavira and they were strong supporters of the public activities led by the well known social religious reform leader Nidhirickal Mani Kathanar, including the founding of the Nazarani Jathya Aikya Sanghom as a common forum of Syrian Catholics and Jacobites. They were also involved in the launch and early sustenance of the ‘Nazrani Deepika’, in offering influential early leadership to the Thiruvithamcore Kochi Catholica Mahajana Sabha, the forerunner of the present All Kerala Catholic Congress.
The Parayil family Kunjavira Tharakan undertook several noble steps for the benefit of the people of Thycattussery and nearby areas, including the Poochakkal Canal, Cooperative Society, hospital, famine relief measures, but the most important of them is the establishment of an English school.
The book also has interesting anecdotes on the Parayil family’s secular approach to the society and community in which they lived, much before the word ‘secular’ crept into our daily lives. Here’s a sample.
As far back as 1925, the Vatican wanted to check what the Catholic managed school in a far off corner of India was doing for the Church. A questionnaire was sent to Kunjavira Tharakan through the Archbishop of Ernakulam. Tharakan’s reply makes interesting reading: out of 139 students, only 36 were Catholics, and there was only one Catholic among the nine teachers.
The other questions and answers:
Q: “What is being done to announce our Lord to non-Christians?”
A: “Nothing.”
Q: “Are prayers said before and after classes?”
A: “No.”
Q: “Is there the image of the Crucifix or other religious symbols in the school rooms?”
A: “No.”
Q: “How many conversions among pagans, Protestants or schismatics have taken place in the ten last years?”
A: “None.”
Postscript:
Dr P K Mathew Tharakan, the author of the book, was among the first High School batch from SMSJ School. P K Hormis Tharakan, who retired as chief of the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW), India’s external intelligence agency in January 31, 2007, is the younger brother of the author.
Book: Profiles of the Parayil Tharakans - Glimpses of the History of a Family, a Region and a Church.
Author: Dr P K Mathew
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Price: Rs 1,200