| She wrote to me the following note: I am sending you two letters that Appachen sent me shortly before he died. I have many more tucked away somewhere in Kerala but these two were with me so I am sending them to you. I have written a small piece which is but a glimpse into the man I knew. . |
| ASHA - grand daughter |
| Of all the grand children, Ramani was the closest to Echayan because her father and mother stayed first at the Kothala House, and then moved to her new house that was only a couple of miles away. She was a constant companion of Appacha and she learned many of of his songs. Some of her songs are given in the SONGS page. Remani told me about their visits to Amma's graveside at Pampady Cathedral espescially on Amma's death anniversary - a tradition that she still continues. |
| REMANI - grand daughter |
| She is the oldest surviving member of Echayan's generation. In January 2009, Kunjammayee told me many things about Echayan. The salient point she made was that Echayan was a very jolly person. I have recorded a small video. Please Click Here to see |
| Areckal Kuzhikkattu Ammayee |
| Many years ago, I recorded a conversation we had about Echayan. Vakkansaar told me an important incident that he could never forget. I will find that old recording and add it to this website later on. |
| Vidhwan Ponkunnam Varkey - A Very Good Friend |
| In January 2009, Kunjoojappapan talked to me about Echayan's interest in Shakespeare and his interest in the Sciences. Please Click Here to see |
| Dr. George Jacob - First Cousin |
| In January 2009, Kuriachenuppapan talked to me about how Echayan was instrumental in his higher studies that made him a noted Chemical Engineer, and about a wedding proposal! Please take a listen. Please Click Here to see |
| Kuriachenuppapan - First Cousin |
| All of Echayan's children used to be known with the prefix "Pullolickal Thomachen's". We all enjoyed that adjective! In some circles, we were also known as Sosakutty's children - an equally appreciated adjective! I am the oldest surviving child of Echayan. I have many memories about him - sometimes I forget a few but when I remember those again, I become really happy. Let me document some of the things I remember about Echayan and Amma. |
| Pullolickal Thomachen's Son Kunjumon |
| The oldest memory I have is the "Meen Kandum" a pond attached to the Meenachil River with a trap door. Echayan would add some food to the pond to get the fish into the Meen Kandum, and close the trap door after a while. He would then jump into the pond and make the water muddy. The fishes would then come to the top and Echayan would collect and throw them to the bank of the pond. A nice old way to get the freshest of all fishes! These memories are mentioned not in any order. Since you have already seen Asha's letter and heard Dr. George Jacob's audio concerning Echayan's extreme interest in Stars (and Shakespeare), let me add a bit about the "Nakshathras" . We used to lie on mattresses placed on the courtyard floor and Echayan would point out the stars to us by name. I thought it fitting to show below the star configuration on the day Echayan was born. |
| Most of Echayan's friends had already passed on. I talked to my only classmate alive in Kothala, my friend Kochu Narayanan. Kochharanan told me something happened a long ago. A stranger came to Kothala, he was sick and had nowhere to go. Echayan asked the locals to make a hut for the stranger on the "porampoku land', which they did. The stranger started living there. Unfortunately, the new Kothala-dweller died after a few weeks. They did bury his body; nobody asked any question. Those were the old days! I also talked with Kannathanam Kunjoojappapan (Age around 95 Years). His video is included here. Please Click Here to see |
| Friends from Kothala |
| Reminiscences by Family and Friends |
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| Echayan understood things without being there. When we first went to USA in the middle 60s, I was excited to note the very long days in July and some other trivia about America. I wrote them in detail to Echayan, but his reply was succinct. He hoped that I would have adjusted to the new time and surroundings by then. Let us go back. Echayan would hang out with friends in Kottayam, generally at the Modern Hotel (It still remains the same after over 100 years). The last bus to Ponkunnam would come from the bus stand and stop in front of the Modern Hotel to pick up Echayan . ( Can you imagine that happening now; you can't even stop there for a moment). After leisurely finishing his last drink , he Many times Echayan would reach home late for dinner. Amma would get a bit annoyed and give him a bit of her mind. Echayan would politely sing a slightly different version of the famous song Raadhe Unakku Kopam Aakathedi from the Tamil Hit Film, Nadakame Ulakam. ( Let me sing it for you ). Amma would smile and the whole thing was forgotten! Then it was my High School final examination. I finished the Math exam (of 2-hr duration), double checked my answers and handed over my answer paper. As usual, I bicycled from the School to the Kottayam Bank where Echayan worked and showed him the question paper and my answers. He looked them over and said that I would get ONLY 100 marks. The question paper indicated that if one solves 6 of 9 problems full marks would be obtained. I said I knew the answers of all, but only 6 were needed for getting 100 marks. But he said I could have gotten 150 marks. Later on I learned that Echayan did get 150 out of 100 for his High School exam and his answer paper was exhibited at the School for a number of years. Echayan liked a good drink and I would get some Scotch for him from abroad. After a couple of drinks, he would generally take the bottle to the local Pub (that is our Kothala Kallu Shaap) and give that to the locals who never had a Scotch. All my friends liked and respected my father, and I liked and respected all of my father's friends. I will now stop my reminiscences because of the time restraint to publish this web site before the Ides of March. |
