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A nugget of local history
WHERE THERE'S a will, there's a way. This adage meant much more to T.N. Venkiteswara Pai than to most people of his age.
At 77, this man is still bubbly and going to town with the family history that he wrote. In fact, Mr. Pai made local history by penning his family history, which can be read as the history of Kozhencherry.
Thottumatathil Kudumba Charitram is the history of Kozhencheryy, said Mr. Pai, because his family had played a vital role in the development of Kozhencherry in Pathanamthitta district.
The Kerala Council for Historical Research (KCHR) has selected Mr. Pai's work as one of the best 10 family histories.
Mr. Pai said he had been engaged in the work of compiling the history for the past 12 years.
It was, in fact, the KCHR decision to honour Mr. Pai that made him go to the people with his family history. "Almost every early institution in Kozhencherry belonged to the Thottumatathil family.
The first market, press, school and business centre were set up by my family," he said.
He said the first multi-storey building in Kozhencherry belonged to his family.
The Thottumatathil family is believed to have emigrated to Kozhencherry from Goa between 1540 and 1560 following coercive conversion by the Portuguese.
However, documented evidence of the family is available from the 19th century.
Mr. Pai, a former panchayat executive officer, said he had no previous experience in book writing.
But now, he knows not only how to write but to publish books too, he adds.
By Abdul Latheef Naha
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