Last night, as the clock ticked past midnight, Annikki and I remembered two people, both of whom Annikki did not have the chance to know as they passed away before we met. But she knew them through me and others whom she had met in later life.
Today is the 130th birth centenary of Dewan Bahadur Kuriyan Matthan, also known as Mysore Matthan, my paternal grandfather. He is survived by four of his 11 children, Mrs. T. Thomas (Elizabeth, Chinchaya, my godmother, standing second from left), Mr. Jacob Matthan (Kochuppapen, the youngest son who at his retirement was the Chairman of the Life Insurance Corporation, standing on far right) and the two youngest children, Mrs. M. V, Kurian (Grace, Accahi, sitting far right) and Mrs. G. T. Verghese (Susan, Papachi, sitting third from right). All of the surviving members, including grandson George Matthan Jr.. sitting on the floor, now reside in Bangalore, although Accachi does spend time with her daughter in Ernakulam.
At one point of my life, Annikki and I did live in Mandya District in Karnataka. It was only then that I discovered how Mysore Matthan was loved by so many people in that part of Karnataka, as he had changed the lives of many people by his wisdom and concern for the ordinary people that he had governed when he was an Administrator in the service of the Mysore Maharaja.
The second person that I remember today is my elder sister, Nalini, who tragically passed away on this day 47 years ago.
Nalini, as a baby - with the beautiful smile
that she carried through her entire life.I remember, vividly, how she returned to India to have her baby in Bombay. I was at the Santa Cruz airport to receive her, as I was on holiday from college in Delhi.
It was a wonderful holiday, as it included a family weekend of living in a shack in Juhu Beach, Bombay, as my mother's brother's family, Mr. K. M. Philip (Peelukuttychayan, former World Y. M. C. A. President and now 95 and still active), his wife, Chinnamakochamma, and children, Sen and Suresh, were also with us.
During that wonderful weekend where we swam in the sea, played games on the beach, played cards in the shack, and in general had a really great time, we enjoyed having my sister back from her time in England where she had been living with her husband.
Nalini, although eight months pregnant, was so full of life. She was really close to all of us that weekend.
But then, it was time for Suresh and me to return to College. Despite her condition, Nalini insisted on coming to the station to see us off on the Air-Conditioned Deluxe train. She met all my other friends who were travelling with us and walked the long walk down thee Bombay Central Station platform to say goodbye at the door of our compartment. She stayed there to wave goodbye to us as the train pulled away.
Just 2 weeks later, the news of the birth of my first nephew was relayed to me in Delhi. I was able to ring the hospital and speak with her at the joy of the arrival, albeit, just for less than 3 minutes.
But that joy did not last for long as just 4 days later I was told that I should return to Bombay as Nalini had a problem. As I flew from Delhi to Bombay I was told that she had contracted tetanus, a fatal infection, especially in her weak state after childbirth.
When I reached Bombay and went directly to the hospital, she was already in deep sedation as the lock jaw was excruciatingly painful and the body would be put into spasms, which were so strong it could crack the spine.
Although under sedation, she knew when family members were in the room, as when I clasped her hand, she reacted almost immediately to tell me that she knew that I was there.
The next 10 days were nightmarish, as each day we hoped for better news, but each day the news was not good. There were no signs of any improvement and the pain was getting worse by the hour, till at one point we all prayed that God relieve her of this terrible suffering.
And on 29th October 1960, the end came and we all were deeply moved by the passing of a wonderful human being, my dearly beloved sister, who had meant so much to me as also many other people.
The funeral was the next day. Her husband had arrived from the UK. When we said goodbye to Nalini at the Sewri Cemetery, there were tears streaming on faces the many tens of mourners who were there, which included, besides relatives, many of her dear friends from her college days in Bombay and their families, all of whom had been touched by the gentleness and kindness of this human being.
So today, I honour, with a feeling of humbleness, these two wonderful people on this our blog.
