Author's testimony
The author of this article, King Calvin, wishes to narrate four incidents out of many such incidents that happened in his life, which reflected the ever lasting impressions about Mr. Thangasamy Nadar, that remained in the people’s heart, even after his death, in different places, in different times, involving different types of people. These incidents are written in the direct speech, as it will take the message in its original form to the readers and hope it will be a pleasure to read it. Of course, the other members of the family also have experienced similar incidents.In the year 1968, in Perumbavoor, KeralaAfter leaving my studies, while I was looking after the establishment along with my elder brother, a vegetable merchant and a well wisher named Rajaram of Pallanadu, near Marayur in the High Range, who was also the brother of my school friend, invited me to accompany him to Perumbavoor, near Alwaye in Kerala, to collect the amount for the vegetables supplied by him in the market there. I too was interested to see the countryside of Kerala, and hence, I accompanied him and visited the market place, tasted the lunch prepared in the Kerala style, enjoyed interacting with the local people speaking Malayalam of the region (in a different style). After his business was over, we reached the bus stop in the evening at 4.00 p.m, where we were told to our surprise, that the last bus to Munnar had already left some 10 minutes back. Hence, we had no other alternative except to stay there overnight, and found a medium type roadside hotel with boarding and lodging, and went inside and requested for a room. The person in the counter, a Malayalee Muslim, who was also the owner of the hotel, informed that no room was vacant to be provided. While we started to return with a very disappointed face, he called us back and enquired from where we had come, and we informed him that we were from Munnar, a distant place. On hearing this, he felt pity on us and he went through the register and found that a single room was available, which was just vacated. He offered the room and asked us to manage in the small room, which we accepted with gratitude. As usual, I entered my name, my father’s name, address, purpose of visit etc. in the register. On seeing my father’s name in the register, he asked me with excitement, ‘Is it the Thangasamy Nadar, the businessman of Munnar?’ I replied, ‘Yes’, with a surprise. On hearing this, he jumped out of his seat, rushed and embraced me, asking in Malayalam ‘Aththeahathinte Moanaanoe?’(You are the son of that great man?!!). He hugged me again and called the attendant boy and told him to open the guest room for us. Before we recovered from this shock of his behavior, he started telling about our father whom he had a great respect due to his helping nature and magnanimity. He also narrated the incidents when he visited Munnar for business purposes, how he was accommodated in the quarters of the employees of my father’s establishment, providing him food etc, free of cost.
While we stayed there in the night, without ordering anything, the dinner with fish curry, tapioca, etc, prepared in the typical Kerala taste reached the room. We had a very pleasant stay there in the guest room in the night. In the morning, after taking bath and breakfast which also reached the room without ordering, we came down to the counter to settle the account and also to thank him before leaving. Fortunately, the owner was in his seat and asked us to be there for one more day as his guest, for which we expressed our inability due to prior commitments. Then I took money out of my pocket to settle the account. On seeing this, his face changed and refused to accept saying, ‘I owe to your father a lot, who had looked after me so well, which I could not repay him in my lifetime. At least now I got this opportunity to accommodate his son in my hotel at least for one day. It is nothing when compared to your father’s gesture’. Saying this, by bidding us ‘Good bye’ requested us to visit his hotel whenever we visited there in future. I left there with a heavy heart praising the gratitude he had towards our beloved father. Also, my heart was filled with my father’s memories, who had earned that much reputation from the people by his great deeds, and indeed I felt very proud of him.
In the year 1984, at Dohnavoor, in Tamil Nadu
I had the opportunity to visit Dohnavoor with my wife, which is also her native place, and stayed in her grand father’s house. One morning we both set out to see the farmlands of her grand father, and an old worker of the farm was accompanying us. On the way, he enquired with my wife from where we came, for which she replied that we were from Munnar. On hearing this, he asked her that whether she knew Thangasamy Nadar. With a surprise she informed him that, ’He is his son’, pointing to me. On hearing this he stopped walking, turned to me and exclaimed in Tamil, ‘Antha Punniavaan Peththa Maganaa Neenga’ (Are you the son of that great man?), and was about to kneel down before me. Both of us were shocked by his unpredicted action and pulled him up and asked him how he knew Thangasamy Nadar. He narrated that he was considering him as the light of his life as he had helped him in many ways, while he was an estate worker in a nearby tea estate in Munnar. He also remembered with gratitude, that my father had met his financial and other needs for his children’s marriages etc. from his own resources. He also informed that my father had written off his debts due to his shop, since he could not repay. He also shared his memories of my father and started weeping, and we consoled him. We both had dressed in the typical village style, with lungi, cotton saree and hawai chapplals, made of rubber. On our way back, the strap of my chappal was torn due to the walking in the rugged-path to the farm land, and I was holding the same in my hand. On seeing this, he rushed to me and requested me to hand it over to him to carry, for which I was reluctant. But, without waiting for my acceptance, he took the chappals from my hand. Later, we were shocked to see the same chappals found place over his head and traveled. We scolded him for his behavior, and advised him to keep his respect in the heart and not like this. He replied that he was very proud to do this as God had given him an opportunity to help Thangasamy Nadar’s son, at least in this way, and praised God. He also took the chappals with him and returned the same later, after repairing it by his own hand.
In the year 1994, in the bus to Kumuly from Munnar, in Kerala
When I was working as a field officer in the estate of Tata Tea Ltd., called, Periakanal Estate, 20 kilometres from Munnar on the way to Kumuly of Kerala, and Madurai etc. of Tamilnad, I had to travel in a bus called, “Kerala Travels” bound for Kumuly, in one evening from Munnar. The bus was tightly packed with passengers due to heavy rush, and nobody could even see the other’s face. When the bus reached a place called Devikulam, some passengers got down, and some more people got down when the bus reached the next stop, called ‘Lockhart Gap’, after which the people felt relaxed and could see the other people face to face in the bus. At this time, I noticed an elderly person with grey hair, who was standing by the side of a sitting woman (his wife), was constantly observing me with excitement. He was a stranger to me as I could not remember that I met him earlier. Hence, I too started looking at him. Gradually he came closer to me and asked me in a whispering voice in Malayalam, ‘Moan, Thangasamy Nadarude moanaanoe?’ (Young man, are you the son of Thangasamy Nadar?), for which I replied, ‘Athey’ (Yes), with a surprise. Then he enquired about our mother, brothers and sister. Also he asked what all of us were doing after the death of our father and enquired what happened to our shops. I briefed him in Malayalam about the shops and the present position of the family members after the death of our father. Then I asked how he knew about my father and his relationship with him. He explained that while he was a government servant, working in Devikulam Taluk Office near Munnar many years back, away from his family, he used to visit our father’s shop in Munnar. He was given provisions at a concessional price, and food also provided to him by our father free of cost, whenever he visited Munnar. He also remembered with gratitude the high quality tea leaves supplied to him as a gift, whenever he went to low country to visit his family there. He praised my father saying that he was the true ‘Muthalaly’(Big employer) of all times, remained as a model, whose money was useful to the needy, and blamed the others who had money, were like having an unbroken cocanut in the possession of a dog, which is neither useful to it nor to the others. Then I asked him with surprise, how he could remember and identify me as my father had expired some 33 years back by that time. I too did not remember him that I had seen him earlier, for which he informed that he had seen me in my young age, while I visited the shop in my school holidays. Further, he added that he identified me by my father’s features in my appearance except the complexion, as mine was dark as my mother. Then I requested him to get down with his wife to visit my house, for which he explained his inability that he had to visit his daughter in Santhanpara, situated on the way to Kumuly, who recently got delivered. By this time, the bus reached my destination and I got down hurriedly by bidding him ‘Good bye’ by waving my hand. When the bus started moving, by standing outside I asked his name for which he informed his name, but I could hear clearly only his second name, one ‘Nair’ and not his name in full. Then I returned to my house with my heart filled with the incident in the bus, and also the memories of my beloved father who had won the hearts of many such people, who remembered him with gratitude even many years after his death.
In the year 2012-2013 at Mumbai
Since my elder son Aron is living in Mumbai I had the opportunity to visit our relative Ms Sarojini who settled there in 1960s. On the Republic Day ( 26-01-2013) along with my son, d-in-law Cordelia and baby Caroline visited her home in Prabhadevi. On reaching there, she along with her son Thangaraj, his wife Rani welcomed us very affectionately by calling me in my name! She had no direct contact with our family after she got married and came to Mumbai (Bombay). In my childhood days I met her once, and could remember her fair round face only. Her father Solomon is the brother of my mother's mother Mariammal. Though she is a blood relative of our mother, her first preference goes to our father Thangasamy Nadar only. She calls him as 'Thangasamy Annan'! 'Annan' means elder brother! She was pouring affection on us, not because that we are relative to her, but because we are the descendants of Thangasamy Nadar! In the course of the discussion, she was repeatedly admiring his magnanimity, helping nature, his personality etc. She gratefully remembered the helps rendered to her while she was in Dohnavur before marriage! Also, she told that he was a unique person and that nobody was a comparison for him. She was indeed very happy to have the opportunity of seeing us in her home which was a joyous surprise for her, as she is in her late 70s now. She shared lot of happenings of the past with us and lovingly enquired about the status of all our family members and relatives with their names. She had seen only my younger brother Job Anbalagan in the recent past as he used to visit her whenever he visited Mumbai. Our 'cute' little Caroline was the center of attraction to all by her childish, restless activities throughout our stay there, and the hosts enjoyed it very much, and did not want to part with her. After having a rich tasty dinner, prepared by Rani, we parted them with a heavy heart filled with their love showered on us, and also with our great father's memories renewed by her.
In the year 2012 when I visited Mumbai with my wife, we visited our another relative of our mother who is also living in Thane, in Mumbai. His name is Peter Sounderarajan, son of late Samuel Nadar. He informed that he published a souvenir about their parents in which he mentioned a lot about our father Thangasamy Nadar. He added extra pages in it exclusively for him, in which he had elaborately written about his magnanimity, helping nature etc. He quoted some passages from the lifehistory written by me, He calls him affectionately as 'Chinnaiyah" means father's brother. He remembered how he was affectionate towards him and his family members. I thanked him for his great effort in publishing the souvenir by which our father's history reached to the kith and kin of their family and made him as an immortal human living in the hearts and in the books. When we left his house he presented a copy of the souvenir.
Around the year 1979 at Kottayam, Kerala.
I joined in KDHP Company as Assistant field officer in Periavurrai Estate in 1971 and was transferred to Kalaar Estate on promotion in 1977. But my Provident Fund a/c was not transferred by the PF department to the new estate. As such, my monthly contribution was not recovered from my monthly salary from that month onwards. This matter was repeatedly represented through the letters to the Regional PF office, Kottayam, but in vain. So I decided to personally go to the Kottayam office and then met the section officer with my records.
While scrutinising my papers he found my father's name, Thangasamy Nadar and was very happy to know that it was the business man of Munnar who had very good relationship with him when he was working in the Income tax department in Kerala. Immediately, he called the staff concerned and passed necessary orders to restore the recovery of the monthly contribution. I thanked him for his prompt action. He also fondly enquired about the condition of our family after the demise of our father. He also assured me of any help in future in this regard.
A TALE STRANGER THAN FICTION
Around the year 1967 a woman named Esakiammal of Factory Dn committed suicide by jumping into the dam-like open water tank from where the water was supplied to the needs of the whole Factory division of Thenmallay Estate. Since then a fairy tale was circulating among the people that the same Esakiammal was haunting around in the form of a ghost which some of them had witnessed at night. So people, even bold men, were scared to venture at night and avoided going on the road near the tank even during daytime. Some relatives of her reported that she knocked at their doors requesting for non-veg food at midnight. Some others complained of stones falling on the roof of their houses and believed that it was the act of the ghost. Some men informed that the place she committed suicide was haunted and saw her ghost wandering around the tank with a light and moving on the water on the full moon nights.
This was the talking subject of the people especially of the womenfolk at that time. The 'ghost' tank was situated far away in a deep ravine, below the road leading to the isolated main bazaar, the quarters of bazaar man, estate tailor, CSI Church etc, en route to the Estate hospital, doctor, nurse's quarters etc. In that abnormal atmosphere, there was only one brave field staff, Mr K. C. Mathai, whose wife was a nurse> He used to walk alone in that road in the night. One K.J. Antony, the company tailor living next to us near our isolated bazaar, whom we loved very much was another person who used to walk in that area without fear at night. I used to accompany him most of the days, being the neighbour. One full moon night, when both of us were returning home, to our surprise, we noticed from distance, a light was moving above that water tank. (Photo: Factory division of Thenmallay Estate)Since this phenomenon was like a fairy tale, we decided to unravel the mystery by verifying it. Both of us had no belief in existence of such a supernatural phenomenon. So, we descended down in the short cut through the tea bushes using our torch and reached the tank. But we found nothing to our surprise. With great disappointment and confusion we started to return by climbing the same short cut, stopped in the midway and looked at the tank. Now, to our surprise, the light was seen again, waving above the water. Our curiosity increased and threw a stone from there on the light. By its effect, smaller tides were created and the light was found moving to all sides in the tides. Then we looked up and noticed that the full moon was right above the tank and its reflection on the water had created the effect of a ghost moving with light above the water. Thus the mystery was unraveled, at last.
The people had a sigh of relief on hearing this good news. Though the mystery was solved, the fear in the people's minds lingered for a long time as the womenfolk were reluctant to believe our version due to their supernatural beliefs. Of late, the mystery of pelting stones on the roofs was also unraveled that was done by some youths as a fun, taking advantage of the fear in the people's minds. For fun, they had knocked at the doors in the midnights asking for non-veg food in the voice of a ghost.
Personal, moral life of Thangasamy Nadar
Thangasamy Nadar's relatives, etc