Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

On a unique mission

TRACING HIS ROOTS: Sharat Sunder Rajeev, an architecture student at the College of Engineering, Thiruvananthapuram, with his family history. — Photo: S. Gopakumar

At 20, Sharat Sunder Rajeev has seen seven generations. A third-year architecture student at the College of Engineering Thiruvananthapuram, Mr. Rajeev has compiled a history of his family spanning over three centuries.

Inspired by the stories told by his grandfather about the connections his family members reportedly had with the rulers of erstwhile Travancore in their capacity as artists and sculptors, Mr. Rajeev decided to trace the roots of his "illustrious ancestors" and preserve them for posterity.

According to him, the portraits of Gandhi, Nehru, Rajendra Prasad and members of the ruling family of erstwhile Travancore drawn by his great grandfather K. Ramakrishnan still adorn the walls of the Secretariat, University College and Kowdiar palace.

"He (K. Ramkrishnan) worked as a drawing instructor at the Teacher Training College at Model School in the early 1920's," said Mr. Rajeev.

"Based on the accounts narrated by my grandfather I prepared a family tree in my school diary while studying in Class X. It was the beginning. Back then it was just a hobby," he said Now, with the Kerala Council for Historical Research evincing interest in including the family history in its archives of `family histories', his mission has received a shot in the arm.

However, unlike most of the family history accounts, which tends to be a glorified and puffed up version of the achievements by individual family members, Mr. Rajeev claims that his narrations are based on historical facts.

"I read a lot of books relating to Travancore history in order to ensure authenticity and accuracy in my write-ups." Mr. Rajeev also avoided hearsays and anecdotes narrated to him by the elders of his family about his ancestors.

Sangeeth Kurian

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