ALAPPUZHA: Sheela John, a resident of Kumbanad in Tiruvalla, could not hold back her tears.
After a wait spanning half a century, she was finally able to visit the tomb of her father C M Mathews, who died 58 years ago in the Malaysian city of Klang. Standing in the cemetery of St Mary’s Orthodox Church in Klang, a teary-eyed Sheela, flanked by her husband John Mundakkayam and son Alan Mathew, finally lit candles at the tomb last week.
Sheela was six when she lost her father, who lived and worked as a rubber estate manager on Carey Island in Klang.
“We lived in Carey Island. My father went there first, around the end of the 1950s, to work as manager of a rubber plantation and factory of British planter Edward Valentine John Carey. After marriage, my mother, Raichel, joined him. My brother and I were born in Klang,” said Sheela.
C M Mathews died on September 9, 1966, due to cardiac arrest. “We could not bring his body home. So, we buried him at St Mary’s Church cemetery in Klang, which is on the mainland. Since my mother was a homemaker, we could not stay in Klang for long and left after a year. Before leaving, my mother had a tomb built in his memory. It has a photo of his engraved on marble with the words, ‘C M Mathews, Expired 1966 September 9’,” she said.
According to Sheela, the place had several churches at the time and over the years, the tomb was covered by bushes. As a result, they could not locate it despite several tries.
“My husband John Mundakkaym, a senior journalist, went to Klang in 1990, but failed to locate the cemetery. We continued our efforts and tried to contact other Indians who lived in Malaysia who worked with my father. However, all either returned to India or were displaced,” Sheela said.
Finally, her brother’s son, Rohan Suresh, met a friend Ajin Saimon, of Kunnamkulam, in Kuala Lumpur. He found the church and located the tomb.
John said Klang and Carey islands were mostly populated by migrants from India and Britain, and they formed a majority of the parishioners of St Mary’s Church.
“I had gone to Singapore in 1990 to receive a journalism award. After the function, I went to Malaysia to locate the tomb. A Malayali association leader P T Chacko and I searched for the cemetery together. However, the entire area was reclaimed by bushes and we could not reach the place,” John said.
When the pandemic hit, the high number of deaths prompted local authorities to clear the cemetery of the growth for burials. “As a result, we were able to locate the tomb,” John said. The engraved photo of Sheela’s father on the tomb also helped.
“The tomb is in dilapidated condition. We plan to rebuild it,” John said.
Sheela said Carey Island has shifted fully to oil palm cultivation. “The school where I studied in my initial years, the house where we lived and the factory where my father worked, all have now been demolished,” she said.