𝑨𝒎𝒎𝒖'𝒔 𝑴𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔!

  𝐌𝐲 𝐀𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐦𝐚 This is a photograph of the late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi with my grandmother at an inauguration of a new building for the Newspaper that my grandfather started at Kozhikode. We honor, praise, and adore the freedom fighters who helped free our country from colonialism but most often people like my grandmother who sacrificed their lives, comforts, and peace of mind to support the interests of their husbands/sons are forgotten. So this mother's day I would like to honor my paternal grandmother Karumathil Kalyanikutty Amma and say her story. My grandparents were married in 1911 and my grandfather died in 1933. So, her married life spanned 22 years. Sadly, she did not get to see much of her husband during that period for various reasons. My grandfather entered the public scene around 1915 to pursue his social/political interests. Initially, it was to get rid of untouchability and unapproachability amongst lower castes that were rampant in Kerala during that pe

𝐌𝐲 𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫'𝐬 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲.  𝐌𝐲 𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 (𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠) with her parents, sisters, brother, brothers-in-law, and nieces. 8 generations of my maternal family history  through photographs.   I am the 7th generation. So, listing all the generations before me and their history here with photographs/paintings.  Much work has gone into compiling all this information.  Hope you enjoy this valuable part of history that I like to share.  In the west the trend to find your ancestry started around 20 years ago when President Clinton decided to do it and went to Ireland to visit the places of his ancestors.  People in the United States pay thousands of dollars to trace their lineage which got me thinking… what kind of legacy am I leaving my children/grandchildren/great-grandchildren? So decided to document it. I am one of the more fortunate ones I guess who could trace my ancestry to seven generations prior. Karanavars (patriarchs) in my family diligently documented the histor

Another important historical fact that never reached our ears or eyes… Today March 23 rd in Martyr’s day.. Cannot but honor the great souls that were lost for the sake of the freedom of our country which includes Bhagat Singh and others. Everyone is talking about Bhagat Singh and his martyrdom but how many of you have heard of K V Balakrishna Menon, who was first in the freedom struggle in India to die in jail?  He was imprisoned in 1921 along with Mr. Kelappan, 10 years prior to Bhagat Singh. Balakrishna Menon was a brilliant student, a young lad who was studying to become a doctor. He left his education to join the freedom struggle like scores of others including Mr. Kelappan when the then KPCC leaders K Madhavan Nair and U Gopala Menon were arrested and imprisoned in 1921. Mr. Kellappan Nair writes in his biography that he was studying law in Bombay and as soon as he heard about the arrests, he left his studies and boarded a train to Kerala. Both Kellappan and K V Balakrishna M

An image from an article written by Shashi Tharoor  in Mathrubhumi K. Madhavan Nair the “Heart” of Mathrubhumi Founder, first Managing Director of Mathrubhumi, first and foremost president of Kerala Provincial Congress Committee (KPCC), accomplished lawyer, social reformer, dynamic leader who attracted and invigorated thousands of people to the freedom movement. These are a few of the achievements of my grandfather K. Madhavan Nair. A time when the British were brutally suppressing the Freedom movement….. A time when public meetings were the only platform to disseminate the policies and ideas of Gandhiji and other national leaders….. A time when the aftermath of the Moplah riots created confusion and misunderstanding amongst people and steered them away from the lofty goal of Indian Independence….. A time when Malayalam newspapers were in short supply….. The leaders of KPCC convened and concluded that a newspaper is necessary to disseminate truthful information and views o