15 years ago today the Kandathil family lost a great man. My uncle, K. M. Varghese Mappillai, Varichayan to me, and called by many endearing names by all his nephews and nieces, father of Thambachayan and Somakochamma, husband of one of our finest and most humourous aunts, Thandammakochamma, passed on peacefully to the other world.
When Annikki and I were leaving for Finland in 1984, both Varichayan and Thandammakochamma insisted that they had to take us out with the whole family for dinner - and knowing what we liked best, it was the finest Chinese restaurant in Bangalore.
This revived many memories of when I was a small boy when it was always the two of them who would start a family revolution to go and eat at the Chinese reatuarant on Brigade Road. They would reserve a special family room at the back of the restaurant and would pre-order the food so we did not have to wait for service. Chicken noodle soup, fried rice, American chop suey, sweet and sour pork, was the basic order and then there would be special dishes to suit each ones taste. And the atmosphere was of great fun and laughter led by the two of them. And the bill was always paid by Varichayan!!
Those were really the days.
But, simultaneously, Varichayan was the mainstay of order in the family. He worked in the Chickmagalur estates. When he moved to Bangalore, he took over running of Young India Agencies. He stayed in a small house in Gandhinagar. When we came from Mysore we stayed at his place. It was much much later that the house was built at the bottom of Grant Road.
I could go on for hours about this wonderful man who took me on my first hunting trip in the estate when he shot a flying fox. He took us on our first all night shikar when they shot a samba deer. Somewhere there exists a picture of me standing with a rifle on the samba!! We had wonderful holidays in the Estate when he lived there. He showed me where to listen to Radio Goa (wonderful music) when it was still under Portugese control. We could only listen to it when we were at the estate!!
My memories of this great man are all positive. His joyous nature at all the weddings was like plague as it spread to everyone. He was always the butt of jokes - at his own bidding. I wish I could be like him to all my nephews and nieces!! A man who gave, gave, gave and gave!!
So on this day, with this very short tribute, let us remember my uncle, a wonderful kind and gentle human being whom we all loved and all miss, even 15 years after his passing.
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