THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A Malayali by birth, Mathias Abraham, an English teacher at the Nativity Girls School, Addis Ababa, capital city of Ethiopia, is searching for his relatives in Palayam, Thiruvananthapuram.
His father Kallunkal Abraham George was the son of Dr Kallunkal Abraham Joseph, a medical practitioner in Kottayam, and his mother Elizabeth aka Ramani belonged to Palayam. This was brought to the notice by Congress leader Dr S S Lal, who is currently in Ethiopia.
Mathias who doesn’t speak Malayalam was born in Palayam. The connection with his roots was severed as he flew to Addis Ababa along with his parents when he was six-months old. He attended school and college in Ethiopia and the UK. The last time he came to Thiruvananthapuram was in 1985.
Due to some family issues, Mathias’ parents did not keep in touch with their relatives. The parents had not told him what exactly had transpired and by then they died. Now, Mathias is searching for his relatives and cousins and he remembers his parents telling him that their ancestral house was near Western Tailors, Palayam. Dr Lal informed that Mathias’ only relative he has got is his sister who is also in Addis Ababa.
“Mathias is a chronic bachelor. While his maternal grandfather is K P Varghese, paternal grandfather is Dr Kallunkal Abraham Joseph, a medical doctor. His repeated efforts to trace his relatives remained futile. Nativity Girls School principal, Sister Asha Thomas, who is from Changanassery, is also keen to see Mathias finding his relatives in Thiruvananthapuram,” said Dr Lal.
TNIE spoke to Palayam Rajan, the local ward councillor of Palayam, who has been a five-term Congress (S) councillor. He remembers Western Tailors which is no longer there at Palayam. “I have been in politics for the past four decades. If my memory is right, Western Tailors was closed down several decades ago. Now the Saphalyam Shopping Complex belonging to Trivandrum Development Authority is functioning there. I am on the lookout for Mathias’ relatives and am hoping to get some leeway soon,” said Palayam Rajan.