My father

My memories of my father are very scanty as I lost him in 1950 while I was in 7th std. My father was Mr KN Pisharoty, son of Mr Rama Pisharoty who was a Munsiff in Cochin state at Thrissur. Grandfather died while his children were very young. He belonged to Thonnangamath (now PT House) which is Rema's house. Achan (Father) had an elder brother K Krishna Pisharoty, who was only 12 years old when their father died. Achan must have been around 8 or so. He had three sisters too, all younger than him. They had an uncle who, fortunately, looked after all of them. Memories about their school years are blank. 

Achan always respected and obeyed his Ettan (elder brother) very much. Achan studied for Law in Trivandrum with limited financial help and had to study at night under street lights. Going from Cochin to Trivandrum was tough in those days - no buses or trains - they had to cross Vembanad lake in a large country boat. Once, while travelling by boat, he developed diarrhea. Since there was no bath room facility, he had to sit on the edge of boat to pass motion. Anyway he passed BL from Travancore University, took up a job as an advocate, and later became a munsiff himself in Thrissur. It must have been at this time that he met my mother, got infatuated by her beauty and wanted to marry her. His Ettan agreed and Achan's wish was fulfilled. Amma (Mother) was then only 12-13 years old. Her first delivery was at 14 years. There have been stories about Achan hiding somewhere to facilitate his wedding to Amma, which are probably false.

 

Achan was very honest and sincere and did his work with perfection. This induced the then Maharaja of Cochin to call him and make him his Sarvaadhikaari. Since Achan was good at English, the Maharaja wanted Achan to draft his letters. He would also consult Achan for all decisions. At that time, Parukutty Nethyaramma was the Raja's wife and she was practically ruling Cochin state. This Nethyaramma was very fond of Achan and she too needed his advice often. He was asked to accompany the Maharaja to Shoranur during the Mappila Lahala to talk to the crowd. Raja had so much faith and confidence in Achan that he was asked to continue in that post for fourteen long years. Achan, Amma and their children then stayed with the Maharaja in Kunnummal Kottaram and all expenses were borne by the King. They had feast-like food every day. 

Though Achan did not have to spend much money then, he had lots of loans to repay which was caused by their loving Uncle. This repayment continued till his retirement, so Achan did not have much savings. This made Achan depressed and unhappy during his last years. I remember Achan always in that depressed mood, and Amma consoling him. Achan was a mild diabetic, I think, but I'm not very sure as there were no labs to examine urine or blood in those days, and so no treatment was possible either. He used to walk slowly and unsteadily - probably due to peripheral neuritis - and was almost always only sitting down. We had one Chakrapani Pisharoty who was very dear to Achan, who used to soft massage his legs to help in sleeping. This person was very much loved by all of us, especially by me. I used to lie down near him to sleep when I had bad dreams, and he used to apply Vibhuthi on me. He would make me eat when I had fever by chanting some silent Manthras. He was so good that Achan got him a job in the Cochin Devaswam. There was another servant Narayanan Nair, who also was our favourite. Achan got a job for him too, as watchman in Vadakkunnathan temple. Achan also rebuilt the gigantic wall around this temple.

 

Achan treated his three younger sisters very well until they got married, except Thathyamma who remained (?) unmarried. Kunhikavuchi had three sons and Ammini chechi got one daughter (Dr Amman's Amminichechi) and a son Kannarettan. Kannarettan stayed all his life with Thathyamma. Thathyamma was a bit mental and used to shout at people, including Achan. When Achan got annoyed, he would call Balachettan who would carry her downstairs.. Achan was upset when our house plot was partitioned as we lost the precious water tank, which Achan had deepened, to the other party - who was none other than Achan's niece. Achan was further aggrieved when they built a dividing wall.

 

As I mentioned, Achan died in 1950. His body was buried at Mulakunnathukavu in our old Govindamman's house plot. When all who have to do the Samskara kriya cannot come in time, we are allowed to do a Punar samskaram by making a body with some leaves of certain specifications. That body undergoes detailed burial kriyas. This sort of body burial was done at our house - I still remember the exact location. Chechi and I were sorry for the loss, but we didn't realise the seriousness of the situation at that time. Amma was the most affected - naturally - because the entire household responsibility was hers. She was not sure from where she would get the required income. She was managing earlier with Achan's meagre pension, and that had stopped now. Her next option was some paddy fields - the income from them was erratic. Anyway, Amma was in great difficulties. She was not accustomed to getting loans and so on, which was not the practice in those days.

 

That was the time Sreechettan got married. His father-in-law VT Gopala Menon sent us a milch cow from Kodungallur. That was a good gesture and helped somewhat. Amma used to sell a small quantity of milk to neighbours. But that was not enough. The financial difficulties continued and we don't know how Amma managed. My medical education was another headache for Amma and she found a solution -  she asked Parukutty Nethyaramma for help and she immediately obliged. I started getting a cheque for Rs 100 every month. That was a huge amount when the state of the family finances was considered.

 

My monthly mess dues was only around Rs 45-50. So I could save money from that scholarship. At long last, I passed my medicine course in 1959. Amma asked me to see Nethyaramma, who was then living in a Kottaram-style bungalow near the present KSRTC bus stand at Thrissur. Both of us went to see her, and I touched her feet with reverence and gratitude.

Amma had to do one more task, and that was Chechi 's marriage. I don't know how she managed that without any complaints, smoothly. Immediately after that wedding, Ammamma (my maternal grandmother) died. God saved us, because if she had died two days earlier, the marriage would have been cancelled, and that would have been a catastrophe. Amma was always a Devi bhaktha (devotee) with daily Lalitha sahasranamam chanting and Sree Chakram upasana etc. So Mahadevi's blessings were always with her.

Achan's Shradham used to fall in Kumbham Chithra star and all of us brothers along with Kannarettan and Ramachettan (Achan's nephew) used to do it every year. Amma was very particular about implementing it. She used to get ready for it by buying THATTUDUKKANA Vasthram for all of us before-hand and counting down to the day. She continued this till her death in 1985 - her commitment was really commendable. 

Though Achan was depressed and was not actively engaged in any constructive activity, his death resulted in a big vacuum. Amma took a long time to tide over it. We, being children, didn't know Achan's greatness, how much people around respected and adored him, until much later. I don't know if anyone other than me has attempted to write anything about Achan. It's a pity that all his greatness went unnoticed.